Physician Assistant Track

Choose Your Path to a Career as a Physician Assistant

At Touro LAS, you’ll find clear pathways that help you prepare for one of Touro’s BS/MS Physician Assistant programs in the School of Health Sciences — whether you’re just starting your college journey or already working toward your degree.

New Students: Apply to the Integrated Health Sciences Honors Track

If you’re a motivated high school senior who’s confident about pursuing a career as a physician assistant, the Integrated Health Sciences Honors Track provides a focused academic plan and personalized advising from day one. 

You’ll first apply to Touro LAS. Once accepted, you’ll have the opportunity to apply to the Integrated Health Sciences Honors Track and one of Touro’s PA programs. Once accepted into the honors track, you must follow the admission process and meet all of the admission requirements for Touro’s PA programs. 

Current LAS Students: Apply to the Dual BS/MS PA Program

Already at Touro LAS and thinking about a career as a physician assistant? You can apply to one of Touro’s PA programs at the School of Health Sciences once you’ve completed at least 90 college credits, including required program prerequisites. 

Whether you’re entering with seminary credits or building your transcript from the ground up, your academic advisor will help you stay on track, select the right science coursework, and plan for future clinical experience. You’ll graduate with a strong academic foundation, a clear understanding of the application process, and the support you need to move confidently into your next step.

Touro PA Program Locations

Touro offers several Physician Assistant programs and each campus location follows the same rigorous curriculum. Your LAS advisor will help you determine which site is the best fit based on your academic record, timeline, and goals. 

The following programs are available in New York through the Touro School of Health Science:

• Manhattan: The 32-month BS/MS PA program in Manhattan offers classes on a non-traditional schedule in the evenings and on Sundays.
• Long Island/NUMC: The 28-month BS/MS PA programs in Long Island/NUMC follow a traditional daytime schedule and allows students to take classes at either the Central Islip campus or the Nassau University Medical Center Extension (NUMC) in East Meadow.
• Middletown: The 28-month MS program in Middletown, NY requires a completed bachelor’s degree and the same prerequisite courses as the BS/MS programs. It follows a traditional full-time class schedule.

Touro PA Programs Beyond New York

Touro’s newest PA program is located in Skokie, Illinois, and offers a 28-month MS degree. This program requires a completed bachelor’s degree before entry and includes clinical rotations throughout the Chicago area. For more information about this program and its unique admissions and prerequisite requirements, visit the Touro University Illinois Physician Assistant Program website.

Prerequisite Course List for Touro SHS PA Programs

To apply to one of Touro’s dual BS/MS in PA studies at Touro SHS, you’ll need at least 90 transferable credits of bachelor’s-level courses. That said, you can apply while your prerequisite coursework is in progress as long as no more than one natural science prerequisite (i.e., biology, chemistry, or anatomy and physiology) is outstanding at the time of application.

Of the 90 prerequisites, 60 credits must be in general liberal arts and sciences and specifically include the following 55 prerequisite credits:

• 8 credits of General Biology I & II (with labs and designed for science majors)
• 8 credits of General Chemistry I & II (with labs and designed for science majors)
• 4 credits of Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry (with labs and designed for science majors)
• 8 credits of Anatomy & Physiology (with labs and designed for science majors)
• 3 credits of Microbiology (with labs and designed for science majors)
• 6 credits of the Behavioral Sciences (e.g., Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology) 
• 6 credits of English Composition and/or Literature
• 6 credits of the Humanities (e.g., History, Philosophy, Art)
• 3 credits of Mathematics (pre-calculus or higher) 
• 3 credits of Statistics 

Once you graduate from one of Touro’s PA programs, you’ll be well-prepared and eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the NCCPA to become credentialed as a PA-C (Physician Assistant-Certified). Although licensure procedures and requirements vary from state to state, passing the PANCE will make you eligible for licensure in all 50 states.

For more information about PA programs at Touro SHS in New York and admissions requirements, visit the Physician Assistant Programs website.

What to Expect as a Pre-PA Student at LAS

At Touro LAS, you’ll build a strong scientific foundation to succeed in a rigorous, graduate-level PA program, but you’ll also benefit from:

Strengthen Your Foundation for Graduate Study

As a pre-PA student, you’ll have access to meaningful academic and co-curricular opportunities that help you grow as a future healthcare professional and make your graduate application stand out. For example: 

• Faculty-Led Research: Biology majors on the PA track can take part in hands-on research courses, working closely with faculty on projects in physiology, microbiology, and other medically relevant fields.
• The Science Journal: Share your work in The Science Journal, the peer-reviewed undergraduate research publication of Touro LAS, and start building your resume early.
• Science Society: Join the pre-professional health and science society to connect with peers pursuing careers in healthcare, attend guest lectures, and more.

Student Spotlight: Moshe Bortz

The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for Moshe Bortz, who lives in Lakewood with his wife and three children. 

Moshe had spent most of his 20s in some of the most esteemed Jewish religious educational institutions including the Brisk Yeshiva in Israel and the Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood. But after the pandemic, he felt “helpless” and reevaluated his life. 

“I wanted to become a medical professional,” he said. “Being a PA was a natural fit for my personality, because I wanted to be someone who could spend time with their patients.”

He began studying biology at LAS while also spending 500+ hours volunteering and shadowing medical professionals.

 “I would highly recommend being a medical assistant, because you’ll get real clinical prep — working directly with doctors, nurses, and PAs,” he said. “You're taking vitals, you're rooming patients, you're writing the notes. If you want to see if you’re cut out for this, that’s how you find out.”

Today, Moshe is in the BS/MS in physician assistant studies at the Manhattan campus and says the program is “intense, but totally worth it.”