by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual reviewed 198 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of physician assistant. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,000 degrees in physician assistant annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Your choice of physician assistant school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Physician Assistant School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Physician Assistant Schools list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The schools below may not offer all types of physician assistant degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in physician assistant. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rochester.More information about a degree in physician assistant from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Every student who is interested in physician assistant has to check out Loma Linda University. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 36 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Loma Linda University
It's hard to beat Duke University if you want to pursue a degree in physician assistant. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were about 89 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Duke UniversityMedical University of South Carolina is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in physician assistant. Located in the city of Charleston, MUSC is a public university with a small student population.
There were roughly 85 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at MUSC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Medical University of South CarolinaLocated in the large city of Boston, MCPHS University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
There were roughly 231 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at MCPHS University in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 7th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were roughly 128 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Thomas Jefferson University in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Thomas Jefferson UniversityUT Health San Antonio is a small public university located in the city of San Antonio. There were approximately 44 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at UT Health San Antonio in the most recent data year. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 50 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington. There were about 124 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. UTMB Galveston is a small public university located in the small city of Galveston. There were roughly 90 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at UTMB Galveston in the most recent data year. UNMC is a small public university located in the large city of Omaha. There were roughly 74 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at UNMC in the most recent data year.7
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type6th
Most Popular In TX44
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded8
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type1st
Most Popular In WA124
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded9
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type2nd
Most Popular In TX90
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded10Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type1st
Most Popular In NE74
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 48 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Samuel Merritt University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Samuel Merritt UniversityGWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means GWU is a great university overall. There were roughly 55 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Rutgers New Brunswick is a fairly large public university located in the small city of New Brunswick. This university ranks 2nd out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey. There were about 92 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent year we have data available. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall. There were roughly 52 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Located in the large suburb of Stony Brook, SUNY Stony Brook is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 14th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York. There were roughly 79 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at SUNY Stony Brook in the most recent data year.12
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type1st
Most Popular In DC55
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded13
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type3rd
Most Popular In NJ92
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded14
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type2nd
Most Popular In CA52
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded15
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type7th
Most Popular In NY79
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #31 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.
There were about 56 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Emory University
Tufts is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Medford. A Best Colleges rank of #39 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Tufts is a great university overall.
There were about 48 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Tufts University
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 35 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Northwestern UniversityLocated in the city of New York, Touro is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 77th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 205 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Touro in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Touro College
SUNY Upstate Medical University is a small public university located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse.
There were approximately 34 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at SUNY Upstate Medical University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from Upstate Medical University
Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. This university ranks 1st out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 48 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in physician assistant from University of IowaUOHSC is a small public university located in the city of Oklahoma City. There were roughly 76 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at UOHSC in the most recent data year. Located in the city of Knoxville, South College is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. There were roughly 150 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at South College in the most recent data year. Located in the suburb of Hamden, Quinnipiac is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 5th out of 18 schools for overall quality in the state of Connecticut. There were about 50 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Quinnipiac in the most recent year we have data available. Touro University Nevada is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Henderson. There were approximately 75 physician assistant students who graduated with this degree at Touro University Nevada in the most recent data year.22
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type1st
Most Popular In OK76
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded23Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type2nd
Most Popular In TN150
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded24Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type2nd
Most Popular In CT50
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded25Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type1st
Most Popular In NV75
Physician Assistant Degrees Awarded
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Physician Assistant Schools award.
View the Best Physician Assistant Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 23 majors within the Allied Health Professions area of study, Physician Assistant has other similar majors worth exploring.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
