Contact Info

University of Colorado PA Program
Mail Stop F543
13001 E. 17th Place, Room E7019
Aurora, Colorado 80045

Phone: (303) 724-7963
Fax: (303) 724-1350

PA-info@ucdenver.edu

OFFICE HOURS

Monday - Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

CHA/PA Program Overview

The three-year, innovative curriculum of the University of Colorado PA program is designed to integrate clinical and basic sciences to prepare graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to practice medicine as part of the health care team. Graduates practice in all areas of medicine and serve patients of all ages.

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Welcome from the Director

Welcome to the University of Colorado Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant (CHA/PA) Program. I invite you to explore our website to learn more about our program and students. You will see that we are unique among Physician Assistant programs in terms of our curriculum and courses. We are proud to be a part of this dynamic educational program that is consistently among the top-ranked programs according to US News and World Report.

Over the past 50 years, over 1,200 CHA/PA graduates have entered the workforce. CHA/PA alumni can be found throughout Colorado and across the United States, practicing in a wide variety of primary and specialty care settings.

The program is also recognized for its unique educational value and comprehensive physician assistant training. Costs for our three-year program for both in-state and out-of-state students are lower or comparable to most two-year training experiences. In 2018, we launched the Colorado Curriculum. Based on current research in learning theory, this curriculum is designed to support learner mastery of the complex concepts of patient care. In addition to our extensive adult curriculum and integrated clinical training across all three years, we offer additional training in pediatric medicine and behavioral health as well as track options in rural and global health.

We are proud of our program and fortunate to be at the heart of a vibrant and growing health sciences center. The Anschutz Medical Campus has state-of-the-art hospitals, research centers, and nationally recognized health professional schools. Our campus was also built with a vision of interprofessional education; through our longitudinal interprofessional training curriculum, we are working together to prepare all our learners for team-based practice models of the future.

Thanks for your interest and I hope to see you on campus.

Jonathan Bowser
CHA/PA Program Director
Associate Dean of Physician Assistant Studies
Associate Professor, Section Head of Pediatrics

Newsletter

Would you like to receive our newsletter? It is sent quarterly to all those interested in CHA/PA. E-mail PA-info@ucdenver.edu to sign up.

Admission Requirements

The 2023-24 admission cycle will open late spring 2023. The deadline for the CASPA and supplemental applications is September 1.

The CASPA application needs to be complete (not verified) by September 1 to meet the deadline. CHA/PA has rolling admissions.

Required Materials

1. Verified CASPA application including three letters of recommendation. 
2. CHA/PA Program supplemental application and a nonrefundable $55 supplemental application fee. The supplemental application for the 2023-24 admission cycle will be available mid-May 2023.
3. CASPer is required for all applicants. CASPer is an online, video-scenario based, situational judgement test that assesses non-cognitive attributes. Results are valid for one admissions cycle. CASPer dates are posted each year on the CASPer website in mid-March. You will be required to enter your CASPA ID for the CASPer assessment.

• Neither the GRE nor the PA-CAT is required.
• We only review your CASPer score. We do not require or review the CASPer Snapshot. 

Note that all applicants are required to submit verification of COVID vaccination and COVID booster in order to interview.

Please be sure to make the following e-mail addresses safe to receive in your e-mail account: kay.denler@cuanschutz.edu, michele.martinez@cuanschutz.edu, PA-Info@ucdenver.edu, and caspal@caspa.org. You should also check your Spam or Junk mail folders periodically to be sure that e-mails from CHA/PA and CASPA are received.

CHA/PA Program Admissions Process

The University of Colorado PA Program is a participant in CASPA (Centralized Application Service for PAs).  To apply to our program, applicants must complete the CASPA application and a CHA/PA supplemental application. 

The selection process for the PA Program is highly competitive.  Potential applicants must demonstrate adequate preparedness to undertake the rigorous, accelerated program curriculum. Completion of prerequisite coursework, strength of the academic record, essays, letters of recommendation and interviews are all strongly considered in the admissions process.  Positions are offered to applicants who appear to be the most highly qualified to meet the mission and goals of the program in terms of academic potential and previous achievement, character, motivation and understanding of the profession, and life experience. Invitations for interviews are extended to competitive applicants who appear to have a good chance of being accepted to the program. Applicants may not be accepted without an in-person interview. We will attempt to accommodate special interview scheduling requests, however, this is not guaranteed.
Applications are considered once all required materials are received by the program.  Early submission of materials is highly encouraged as the program offers a rolling admissions process with interviews beginning in September.  Offers of acceptance are made on a continual basis until the class is filled.  Generally, admissions decisions are made by early spring.  Forty-four positions are offered annually.

Some candidates for the PA Program may be offered a position as an alternate.  Alternates not admitted to the program must reapply the next year.  Each applicant offered a position in the class, must acknowledge acceptance or decline no later than the prescribed time in the acceptance letter, generally 10 business days. A nonrefundable tuition deposit of $1,000 must accompany the acceptance.
Final acceptance is contingent upon passing a criminal background investigation and receipt of final transcripts for all outstanding prerequisites. All students must meet the technical standards of the PA Program to be considered for admission.

CHA/PA is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students, including those with disabilities (e.g., mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, or physical) who meet the technical standards of the program, with or without reasonable accommodations. If you are an applicant with a disability who would like to engage in a confidential consultation about disability access at CU Anschutz, or who requires accommodations to complete the application or interview process, please contact The Office of Disability, Access & Inclusion.

Prerequisites

Additional information is available via the prerequisite section of the admissions website.

General Information
 

1. All prerequisites must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. We accept courses from schools accredited by the Middle States Association (MS), North Central Association (NC), New England Association (NE), North West Association (NW), Southern Association (SA), and Western States Association (WS). Community college courses are generally acceptable for lower division coursework requirements.
2. To be considered for admission, applicants must have a minimum cumulative and science GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. Applicants who are offered interviews commonly have cumulative and science GPAs in the higher range. See our Admission Statistics webpage for full details on average GPAs of accepted students. Applicants with GPAs of less than 3.0 for either the cumulative or science GPA will not be considered.
3. A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution is required to be completed prior to matriculation to the program. Applicants from all academic disciplines are welcome to apply, provided they meet the prerequisite course requirements.

Note: Health care experience is not required​.

International students and students with credits from outside of the United States (including foreign medical graduates)

The following are required of international students or students receiving degrees outside of the United States:

1. All prerequisite requirements as prescribed on the website.  Science prerequisites must be completed at a college or university in the United States.  Science courses completed at Canadian Institutions will be evaluated on an individual basis.
2. Transcripts: Only accepted students need to submit WES evaluations. If an accepted student studied abroad for a semester or longer and the study abroad program was not affiliated with a US school or program of study that provides credits and grades according to the US system, he/she must submit official foreign transcript reports from World Education Services (www.WES.org). The service may take several weeks to process your foreign transcript. If an applicant studied abroad by a sponsoring US sending school and the credits and grades for that study appear on the US sending school transcript, and are included in the number of total credits and the cum GPA, a WES evaluation is not required. An official copy of the transcript and official transcript evaluation must be mailed from the evaluating agency directly to the CHA/PA Program. The transcript must be in English. The World Evaluation Services organization at www.wes.org is the preferred evaluation organization.
3. English Proficiency Testing: Students whose native language is not English or who have not completed a degree at an institution where English was the language of instruction must demonstrate language proficiency by submitting scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) given by the Education Testing Service (www.ets.org).  The following minimum TOEFL scores are required for consideration of admission to the UCDHSC Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant Program:
   1. Internet Based Testing (iBT): 85 with a minimum of 20 in each section
   2. Computer Based Testing (CBT): 230 or higher
   3. Paper Based Testing (PBT): 570 or higher

Study Abroad Courses

Study abroad is defined as courses that are taken through a foreign institution while the student is currently enrolled at a U.S. institution. If you have attended a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. institution and all courses, hours and grades appear on the U.S. transcripts, these courses should be entered as instructed on the CASPA application. We do not require transcript evaluation for these courses. For courses taken at a foreign institution that do not appear on the student's U.S. transcript, a WES evaluation is required if the student is accepted.

Interprofessional Education and Tracks

Educational content is enhanced through the applications of family-centered care, behavioral and psychosocial perspectives as well as social and community initiatives for health and wellness. The program has integrated content in public health, oral health, professionalism, and interprofessional education. Students with a personal area of interest may also have the opportunity to participate in specialized tracks to enhance learning in Rural, Global Health, and Pediatric Critical and Acute Care.

Clinical Experience and Affiliates

The curriculum includes a fully integrated clinical curriculum across all three years with clinical rotations in the hospital and community settings. During clinical experiences, students participate in history-taking, physical examination and assessment, development of a differential diagnosis and clinical decision-making and planning of treatments and interventions. Students work closely with preceptors and other members of the health care team and are evaluated on skills and competencies required for patient care.

As a part of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the faculty of the entire school of medicine and affiliates contribute greatly to the quality of the learning experiences provided at the CHA/PA Program. Affiliations with the University of Colorado Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Denver Health and Hospitals in addition to community centers and clinics provide a network of clinical rotations to enhance the training of students. The faculty within the departments of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and others regularly participate in both classroom and clinical training of the CHA/PA Program students.

Degree

The University of Colorado PA Program has gained national recognition for its curriculum in primary care medicine. The Program confers a Professional Master’s Degree (MPAS). In accordance with the mission of the program, the CHA/PA Program curriculum provides comprehensive physician assistant education in primary medical care with additional training in pediatrics and the need for service to disadvantaged, at risk and medically underserved populations. There are specific requirements that all students must complete to receive the MPAS degree from our fully accredited PA Program. Graduates are well prepared to perform in primary care practice with patients across the lifespan. Historically our students have performed above the national average in score and passing rate on the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) examinations.

Graduation and awarding of the Masters of Physician Assistant Studies is based upon the following requirements:

• Successful completion of all coursework and rotations of the University of Colorado PA Program
• Exhibiting professionalism throughout the course of study
• Successful completion of the Comprehensive Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills Examinations

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Degree Requirements

Year 1

Year 3

Policies

CHAPA_Student_Academic_Policies_and_Procedures_AY2022-2023_FINAL.pdf

LICENSE is a mnemonic for highlighting the vision and goals of the Colorado Curriculum.

Longitudinal

The Colorado Curriculum is a 3‐year, spiral‐design curriculum that progresses from foundational concepts to more complex topics and skills in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Integrated

The Colorado Curriculum integrates basic science, clinical medicine, and professional practice in didactic and active learning sessions for each clinical presentation.

Clinical Presentations

The Colorado Curriculum is anchored in over 70 clinical presentations arranged in 7 body system blocks, and drives learning through a case‐based approach.

Entry Ready

The Colorado Curriculum prepares students to meet all professional competencies to practice in primary care medicine, including interprofessional team practice, meeting the needs of the profession and the communities it serves.

Needs-Based

The Colorado Curriculum uses continuous quality improvement measures and assessments to monitor and respond to all stakeholder needs, including learners, faculty, patients, preceptors, and the community.

Student/Learner Centered

The Colorado Curriculum places learners/students at its center, encouraging reflective practice and wellness as they grow to be lifelong learners.

Experiential

The Colorado Curriculum grounds all learning in the context of the clinical encounter, using 4 threads to integrate and apply content to specific cases, patient populations and clinical settings.

CHA/PA Core Competencies

COMPETENCIES REQUIRED OF CHA/PA PROGRAM STUDENTS UPON GRADUATION

GRADUATE CORE COMPETENCIES

Upon graduation CHA/PA students are expected to demonstrate competencies in specific areas. Performance should be commensurate with that of a new practitioner. The CHA/PA program provides educational experiences to support student development of requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes.

I. PATIENT CARE

CHA/PA graduates must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for health promotion, disease prevention and the treatment of health problems. Graduates are expected to:

A. Communicate effectively and demonstrate caring and respectful behaviors when interacting with patients and their families