Tuition + fees $136,766
August 2027 entering-cohort estimate
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A closer look
A 27-month PA program in Ithaca, New York. The CASPA deadline is November 1, 2026 (Orange Complete), 500 direct patient-care hours are required, and the August 2027 tuition estimate is $128,156.
Mission & approach
The mission of the Ithaca College Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program is to educate, engage, and empower physician assistant learners to achieve excellence through medical theory, clinical practice, and exemplary professional performance in communities*. Communities = historically marginalized, underserved, health professional shortage areas, and rural.
Admissions insights
What this program looks for in applicants
Holistic, whole-application review. Weighted factors: baccalaureate degree, advanced degrees, veteran / Ithaca College student / alumni status (preference), overall + prerequisite GPA, direct patient care experience, 3 LORs (from contacts within last 5 years), personal & supplemental statements, healthcare experience especially with medically underserved/vulnerable populations (economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minorities, uninsured, low-income children, elderly, homeless, those with HIV or severe mental illness) or rural populations, and interview performance.
Summarized from the program’s admissions information. Confirm current selection criteria with the program.
Program admissions information2026 PAEA Virtual Admissions Fair
The admissions team stressed a process detail that quietly sinks applications: direct patient-care hours must be entered in the CASPA Experiences section with verifiable contact information - hours mentioned only in an essay or resume do not count. They also emphasized quality over bare quantity, noting that experience serving disadvantaged populations strengthens your story well beyond clearing an hours threshold. On coursework, course titles are not self-explanatory: if you are unsure whether a class counts, send the institution name, the course code and the syllabus or description and ask, rather than assuming. They described their review as holistic while being clear that holistic review still begins with meeting the published minimums. Elective rotations are positioned as the place to explore a specialty, and clinical training draws on regional health systems including rural and health-professional-shortage areas of upstate New York, community hospitals and a VA hospital.
Shared at the fair on Aug 22, 2026; paraphrased program-level notes. This is a past event, not an upcoming session. Confirm current guidance with the program.
About these fair notes
PAEA Virtual PA Admissions Fair (CareerEco), July 11 2026 and August 22 2026 - program-level, paraphrased; qualitative only
How this program interviews
Interviews for the 2026-2027 cycle run virtually via Zoom from October 2026 through March 2027, each involving two interviewers drawn from the program director, principal faculty, IC faculty and alumni. An invitation is competitive and does not guarantee acceptance.
Source checked Aug 1, 2026. Interview formats and dates can change between cycles.
Program interview informationAdmissions & prerequisites
Admission requirements
Prerequisite coursework
Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts.Review each course, its lab, and the program’s policies. Your links are planning records; the program decides equivalency.
| Course | Credits | Lab | Min grade |
|---|---|---|---|
Human anatomy1 course(s)Course notes & alternativesPart of the required two-semester human anatomy and physiology sequence with labs. | 4Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Required | C |
Human physiology1 course(s)Course notes & alternativesPart of the required two-semester human anatomy and physiology sequence with labs. | 4Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Required | C |
| Microbiology1 course(s) | 4Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Required | C |
| Organic chemistry I1 course(s) | 4Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Required | C |
| Biochemistry1 course(s) | 3Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Not specified | C |
| Genetics1 course(s) | 3Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Not specified | C |
| Statistics1 course(s) | 3Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Not specified | C |
Psychology1 course(s)Course notes & alternativesThe college does not specify a type of psychology. | 3Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Not specified | C |
Writing-intensive or English composition1 course(s)Course notes & alternativesOne course under either name. | 3Semester credits. The college's own table lists semester course counts. | Not specified | C |
Policies that can change your plan
- Course age
- Within 10 years of starting the program, and completed after January 1, 2017, for the current cycle.
- Minimum grade
- C or better in every prerequisite; prerequisite GPA at least 3.2.
- AP/CLEP
- Not accepted for prerequisites.
- Course completion
- At most one outstanding by November 1, 2026; complete by May 31, 2027.
- Foreign courses
- Degrees and prerequisites taken outside the U.S. are not accepted, even if evaluated as equivalent.
- Medical terminology
- Strongly recommended, not required.
Complete both human anatomy and physiology lab semesters. Writing-intensive or English composition counts as one requirement. Based on the published wording, general Psychology is sufficient, but the program decides course equivalence. At most one prerequisite may be outstanding at the CASPA deadline.
When courses must be complete: At most one prerequisite may be outstanding on November 1, 2026; complete it by May 31, 2027. All prerequisite courses need C or better and a 3.2 prerequisite GPA.
Dates & application steps
To be Orange Complete in CASPA, your application, payment, all transcripts and at least two evaluations must be received. Three recommendation letters are required overall.
August 2027 start month.
Know what the total includes
Published cost estimate
August 2027 entering-cohort estimateEstimated full-program tuition; annual charges may change. Mandatory fees are listed separately.
Ithaca College estimates full-program tuition of $128,156 for the August 2027 entering cohort (27 months); annual charges may change. The August 2026 cohort estimate was $124,426. Listed separately for August 2027 entrants: $7,500 for required startup books, certifications and equipment, $900 for support and technology across three years, and about $210 for liability insurance, roughly $8,610 in all. Tuition plus these items comes to roughly $136,766. Living costs, travel and waivable health insurance are not included.
Curriculum & clinical training
Didactic curriculum
Seventy-three credits develop medical science, clinical practice, leadership, ethics, health policy and population health.
Clinical curriculum
Thirty-nine credits of clinical learning; a clinical-research capstone is part of the graduate curriculum.
The residential MS program runs continuously for 27 months and requires 112 credits.
The admitted class
Published class statistics describe the named cohort or population. They are not admission minimums or acceptance probabilities.
The program’s track record
Graduate outcomes
PANCE pass rates
See first-time program performance with clearly dated national context.
- First-time PANCE pass rate: 69%
No 5-year average yet - only three graduating cohorts (2023-2025); 77% first-time across all three (84/109)
- Five-year first-time PANCE pass rate: Not available yet
Five-year first-time results are not yet available.
Accreditation history
Accredited-ProvisionalSources you can open
Links to the program’s own pages and the official directories we use.
- CASPA 2027 program description
- Ithaca College graduate catalog
- PA School Finder deadline record
- ARC-PA currently accredited programs — sponsoring-institution directory
- PA School Finder contact record
- Ithaca College admission requirements
- Ithaca College admission timeline
- Ithaca College curriculum and clinical training
- Ithaca College 2027 entering-cohort tuition
About the U.S. News rank
The U.S. News PA rank uses the 2025 PA edition, matched to the listed program and campus. It reflects peer-assessed reputation, not admissions odds or a personal fit score. Programs without a separate entry are labeled “Unranked.”
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