Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements for All Applicants

The BScPA Program has the following admission requirements:

  1. Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status required.

  2. Minimum 10 full-year courses (20 half-year courses) or the equivalent of 4 semesters of undergraduate university education from a recognized university. Please see our FAQ page for information on Winter 2020 courses. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application.

  3. Minimum GPA of 3.0 calculated on the OMSAS scale. All completed undergraduate studies will be considered in the calculation of the GPA. 

  4. Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience. All forms of health care experiences are considered toward the minimum requirement and can be obtained through employment, clinical placements as part of health care educational programs, or as a volunteer. 

For all admissions related inquiries, please contact the Admissions Department at admissions.pa@utoronto.ca

Preferred Admission Criteria

This is not mandatory, but preference will be given to those who possess any of the preferred criteria.

All applicants who present the minimum requirements and send in all required documentation will be considered for admission. However, due to the competitive nature of our admissions process, preference will be given to applicants who have any of the following: 

  • One full course equivalent (one full-year course, or two-semester courses) in the courses listed below. Please note that these courses must be completed or show on the transcript as registered prior to the application deadline, if an applicant would like the courses to be considered in the application process. These courses must be university level credits.

    • Human Anatomy

    • Human Physiology

  • Health care Experience that is recent (within the last 5 years).

  • Direct hands-on patient care experience in a clinical setting

  • Paid positions as a health care provider

  • Are a current resident of Ontario

  • Have been a resident, as an adult, in a northern or rural community. (For Ontario, "rural" = Rurality index of 40 or more; outside of Ontario, "rural" = population of <15,000)

Supplemental Application

  1. You will need your OUAC and U of T applicant numbers to fill out the Supplemental Application. We require your OUAC number and applicant number for your application to be considered. 

  2. After you submit your Supplemental Application, you will be sent a link to pay the $142.95 Supplemental Application fee ($130 supplemental + $12.95 processing fee). Please note that these fees are not refundable. If someone pays these fees for you, please email us at admissions.pa@utoronto.ca with your name and U of T applicant number, as well as the person who has paid for you. 

Please note: Your supplemental application must be an original piece of work. The Program will perform random checks of applicants' supplemental application for detection of possible plagiarism. Applicants will not be informed that their application has been submitted for comparison. Applications submitted will be included as source documents in the reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. To read more about academic integrity at the University of Toronto, please visit https://www.academicintegrity.utoronto.ca/

If you do not consent to your application being submitted please contact us by email at admissions.pa@utoronto.ca by February 1, 2024 to indicate this preference.

Healthcare Experience

As of the 2023-2024 admission cycle, a minimum of 350 healthcare experience  hours will be required.

Health care experience will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

  • the level of involvement in direct patient care

  • the specific clinical duties performed

  • the level of supervision

  • the total number of hours

  • the type of clinical setting

  • the recency of experience (preferred within last five years)

Applicants are expected to provide information on up to two healthcare experiences. These experiences must comprise the minimum requirement of 350 hours. Applicants are also expected to provide as much detail as possible in their supplemental application in order for their application to be assessed. Information provided by the applicant is subject to verification by the Program.

Our supplemental application includes the following list of related job titles. The following list is a guideline only. Health care experience may be paid, volunteer or through educational placements. Health care experience, may include, but is not limited to: Aboriginal Healthworker, Acupuncturist, Anaesthesia Assistant, Audiologist, Chiropodist/Podiatrist, Chiropractor, Dental Hygienist, Dentist/Dental Surgeon, Denturist, Dietitian, Homeopath, Kinesiologist, Massage Therapist, Medic/Military Medic,Medical Doctor/ Physician /Surgeon, Midwife, MRI Technologist, Naturopathic Physician/Naturopath, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Nurse - Nurse Practitioner (NP), Nurse - Registered Nurse (RN), Nurse - Registered Practical Nurses (RPN), Occupational Therapist, Optician, Optometrist, Osteopathic Physician/Osteopath, Paramedic, Paramedic - Advanced Care, Pedorthist, Pharmacist, Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy Assistant, Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Radiation Therapist, Radiological Technologist, Recreation Therapist, Respiratory Therapist, Social Worker, Sonographer, Speech Language Pathologist, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, and others.

The program is unable to confirm whether or not health care experience is appropriate prior to the time of application.

Application Requirements by Applicant Type

UNDERGRADUATE APPLICANTS

  • Degree: 10 full-year courses towards any university level undergraduate degree. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application.

  • Assessment of International Academic Credentials: Undergraduate studies completed at a non-Canadian institution must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES), including a course-by-course evaluation of your courses and grades with an overall OMSAS GPA. When requesting WES evaluations, applicants must add University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Physician Assistant Program Office as a recipient of WES Reports.

  • GPA: 3.0 minimum on the OMSAS scale.

  • English language proficiency: If your first language (the language you learned at home as a child and still understand) is not English, you may be required to present proof of English facility. Click here for information on English Language Requirements 

  • Supplemental documentationSupplemental Application and Reference Form

  • Health Care Experience: Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience, completed by the application deadline. 

CEGEP APPLICANTS

  • Degree: 10 full-year courses towards any university level undergraduate degree, that may include 5 full year CEGEP transfer credits. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application.

  • Assessment of International Academic Credentials: Undergraduate studies completed at a non-Canadian institution must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES), including a course-by-course evaluation of your courses and grades with an overall OMSAS GPA. When requesting WES evaluations, applicants must add University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Physician Assistant Program Office as a recipient of WES Reports.

  • GPA: 3.0 minimum on the OMSAS scale, the calculation will not include CEGEP grades. 

  • English language proficiency: If your first language (the language you learned at home as a child and still understand) is not English, you may be required to present proof of English facility. Click here for information on English Language Requirements 

  • Supplemental documentationSupplemental Application and Reference Form

  • Health Care Experience: Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience, completed by the application deadline. 

  • Preferred admission criteria: See requirements above.

GRADUATE APPLICANTS

  • Degree: 10 full-year courses towards any university level undergraduate degree. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application.

  • Assessment of International Academic Credentials: Undergraduate studies completed at a non-Canadian institution must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES), including a course-by-course evaluation of your courses and grades with an overall OMSAS GPA. When requesting WES evaluations, applicants must add University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Physician Assistant Program Office as a recipient of WES Reports.

  • GPA: 3.0 minimum on the OMSAS scale. Marks from your graduate degree do not count towards the GPA calculation. 

  • English language proficiency: If your first language (the language you learned at home as a child and still understand) is not English, you may be required to present proof of English facility. Click here for information on English Language Requirements 

  • Supplemental documentationSupplemental Application and Reference Form

  • Health Care Experience: Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience, completed by the application deadline. 

  • Preferred admission criteria: See undergraduate requirements above.

APPLICANTS FROM NON-CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES 

  • Degree: 10 full-year courses towards any university level undergraduate degree - these must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES) with a course-by-course evaluation with your application. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application. When requesting WES evaluations, applicants must add University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Physician Assistant Program Office as a recipient of WES Reports.

  • GPA: 3.0 minimum on the OMSAS scale, which will be taken from the WES course-by-course report. 

  • English language proficiency: If your first language (the language you learned at home as a child and still understand) is not English, you may be required to present proof of English facility. Click here for information on English Language Requirements 

  • Supplemental documentationSupplemental Application and Reference Form

  • Health Care Experience: Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience, completed by the application deadline. 

  • Preferred admission criteria: See requirements above.

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES

  • Degree: 10 full-year courses towards a university level undergraduate degree. You can use your international medical degree for this. Must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES) with a course-by-course evaluation included with your application. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application. When requesting WES evaluations, applicants must add University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Physician Assistant Program Office as a recipient of WES Reports.

  • GPA: 3.0 minimum on the OMSAS scale, which will be taken from the WES course-by-course report. 

  • English language proficiency: If your first language (the language you learned at home as a child and still understand) is not English, you may be required to present proof of English facility. Click here for information on English Language Requirements 

  • Supplemental documentationSupplemental Application and Reference Form

  • Health Care Experience: Minimum of 350 hours of health care experience, completed by the application deadline. 

  • Preferred admission criteria: See requirements above.