How to Become a Physician Assistant (PA): Education & Requirements
Becoming a physician assistant honors your goal to help people and work in the healthcare field. It may seem a daunting prospect at the beginning, but the rewards are many—both in terms of having a multifaceted and fulfilling career as well as your potential for earning. Here’s a guide to the common steps involved in becoming a physician assistant, including education details, requirements, roles and responsibilities involved and the financial potential of the position.
According to the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), most PA programs require that applicants have a bachelor’s degree before entering a PA program, in addition to about three years of healthcare experience. At a minimum, the agency says a candidate typically needs to complete at least two years of college coursework in basic and behavioral sciences before applying to a PA program. Many programs require a high GPA (typically 3.0 or higher) and prerequisites such as chemistry/organic chemistry, biology/microbiology, physiology, psychology and statistics.
Each physician assistant program has different requirements regarding healthcare experience. However, the AAPA indicates that PA program applicants typically have three years of healthcare experience before applying.
Considerations here include location, curriculum, cost, available financial aid and accreditation. Every state requires that its physician assistants attend a program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) in order to grant licensure.
Generally, physician assistant education programs may take about three years for coursework and clinical experience—the AAPA notes most programs run approximately 27 months—but each PA program may be different. Be sure to check with your preferred university for coursework and clinical experience sequences.
Pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) and earn National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) certification. The exam is five hours long and contains 300 multiple-choice questions; per NCCPA's PANCE Content Blueprint (effective January 2025), content areas tested include 94% medical content and 6% professional practice, covering tasks such as taking patient histories, formulating diagnoses and administering pharmaceutical therapeutics.
This requires that you have graduated from an ARC-PA accredited school and passed the PANCE. According to the ARC-PA FAQ for applicants trained outside the U.S., graduation from an ARC-PA accredited program and passing the PANCE remain required regardless of where a candidate trained. Each state may have additional requirements, so you should research the requirements in the state(s) in which you intend to seek licensure.
Should I Become a Physician Assistant?
Is becoming a physician assistant the right choice for you? The answer to that lies within. Physician assistants are generally people who love learning, as earning the degree is demanding and the job requires continued education.
PAs are typically compassionate people who thrive when helping others, which is important when you are involved in patient care daily. It’s helpful if you are good at working in collaborative settings, as you may be a member of each patient’s medical team.
Salary
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, physician assistants earned a median annual wage of $135,880 as of May 2025. Salary tends to vary by location, and as of May 2025 the five highest-paying states for physician assistants were:
State | PA Salary |
|---|---|
$165,690 | |
$165,650 | |
$164,360 | |
$164,050 | |
$160,880 |
Education Requirements
To become a physician assistant, you'll need to have a bachelor's degree and successfully complete several science prerequisites, a specified number of hours working in direct patient care, a master's degree from a program accredited by the ARC-PA, a state license and a passing score on the national certifying exam. Prospective students should research the requirements of their program(s) of interest before applying.
Roles and Responsibilities
Physician assistants are found in hospitals, doctors’ offices, outpatient clinics, urgent care clinics, retail clinics inside stores and drugstores and in telehealth settings. Their duties may include:
- Taking patient intake evaluations
- Diagnosing conditions and illnesses
- Ordering and interpreting lab tests or X-rays
- Prescribing medications
- Educating patients on preventive care and wellness
- Making rounds and assisting in surgery in a hospital setting
Getting Licensed as a Physician Assistant
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) offers the Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) credential, awarded after an applicant successfully passes the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination. After becoming NCCPA certified, a PA-C can apply for licensure in the state in which they intend to work as a physician assistant. This may be subject to additional requirements. Prospective students should research the requirements in the state(s) in which they intend to practice. Information on the below PA-C credential was retrieved from the NCCPA's certification and recertification pages.
- Type of certification: Physician Assistant Certified credential (PA-C)
- Eligibility requirements: Applicants must be no more than 180 days from completing their accredited PA program, as deemed by each individual program.
- Certification process: Submit an application and payment in advance to take the PANCE examination. You will receive an email to acknowledge your exam registration, and then you can schedule your exam date and choose a testing center. The earliest time you may take the test is seven days after program completion; you have 180 days in which to take the exam after registration. An applicant may take the test once in any 90-day period or three times in a calendar year.
- Fees: $550, and then a certification maintenance fee of $180 must be paid to the NCCPA every two years.
- Renewal: Certification must be renewed every 10 years through the applicable NCCPA recertification pathway—either the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam (PANRE) or the PANRE-Longitudinal Assessment (PANRE-LA).
- Fees: $350 for either recertification pathway.
Careers Related to a Physician Assistant
Just as professionals with PA degrees can replace and support the roles of other medical professionals, so can a few other advanced nursing and healthcare degrees. If you'd like to explore other healthcare careers, the following information may help:
- Nurse practitioners: A nurse practitioner also earns a master's degree at minimum (per the American Association of Nurse Practitioners) and has advanced clinical training. They practice in many medical settings, just as physician assistants do, and they also act as primary care providers for many patients upon completion of an on-campus or online nurse practitioner (NP) program.
- Registered nurses: Registered nurses are directly involved in patient care, in hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics and other settings. They can practice with an associate degree in nursing as long as they pass the NCLEX-RN exam, which gives them the RN credential, though many hospitals now prefer RNs with bachelor's degrees. Registered nurses can specialize in such areas as cardiovascular, critical care/ICU, gastroenterology, neonatal, medical–surgical and public health.
- Nurse midwives: A certified nurse midwife is an advanced practice nurse who primarily cares for women during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. Most online midwifery programs take about three years of full-time study, consistent with guidance from the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
- Clinical nurse specialists: Clinical nurse specialists are advanced nurses who have become experts in a specific area of care or a specific demographic of patients. They also may be involved in supervision or administration of other nurses.
- Family nurse practitioners: Requirements for physician collaboration or supervision for family nurse practitioners vary by state law (see the American Association of Nurse Practitioners' state practice environment overview), and FNPs may act as primary care providers to their patients. FNP programs require a graduate degree beyond the RN credential and, per the American Nurses Association, typically take two to four years to complete; check with your chosen online FNP program for its exact timeline.
- Women's health practitioners: A women's health practitioner specializes in well-woman care from adolescence through menopause, with an emphasis on obstetrics and gynecology. Per the American Nurses Association, NP graduate programs typically take two to four years to complete; check your chosen online women's health nurse practitioner program for its exact timeline.
- Psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners: Psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners perform many of the functions of a psychiatrist; they see patients, make diagnoses and prescribe medicine.
- Medical doctors: Doctors diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Physicians' and surgeons' education and training requirements typically include a bachelor's degree; a medical degree (M.D. or D.O.) from medical school, generally four years; and residency training accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), with length varying by specialty (commonly several years).
- Nutritionists: Nutritionists advise people on healthy eating and how to lead a healthy lifestyle to achieve their goals. To become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics now requires at minimum a master's degree from an accredited dietetics/nutrition program (a bachelor's degree alone was sufficient before this requirement changed in 2024).
FAQs
Physician assistants are medical and healthcare professionals who have thousands of hours of medical training. They work collaboratively with physicians—the specific supervision or collaboration requirements vary by state law—and may act as a patient's primary care provider.
Information last updated: September 2026