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Physician Assistant Major

Physician Assistant

408 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
10,394 Master's Degrees Annually
#403 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Physician Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many physician assistant graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 11,542
Doctor’s Degree 510
Bachelor’s Degree 326
Undergraduate Certificate 72
Graduate Certificate 27

What Physician Assistant Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to physician assistant and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Physician Assistant Majors

Physician Assistant majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Physician Assistant Majors

When studying physician assistant, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Physician Assistant Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a physician assistant student include the following:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Physician Assistant Major?

People with a physician assistant degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Physician Assistants 37.4% $108,610

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Physician Assistant?

326 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
79% Percent Women
18% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
The major attracts more women than men. About 79% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of physician assistant majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 30
Black or African American 7
Hispanic or Latino 17
White 259
International Students 3
Other Races/Ethnicities 10

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Physician Assistant. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.

Some degrees associated with physician assistant may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for physician assistant careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 1.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 2.3%
Bachelor’s Degree 21.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 2.5%
Master’s Degree 43.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 7.5%
Doctoral Degree 12.5%
Post-Doctoral Training 9.6%

Online Physician Assistant Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 3 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 1 0
Associate’s Degree 4 0
Bachelor’s Degree 4 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 264 1
Post-Master’s 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 4 2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 6 5
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to physician assistant.

Major Number of Grads
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) 27,986
Radiologic Technology 10,598
Surgical Technology 7,433
Respiratory Care Therapy 6,800
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician 6,280
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy 3,991
Athletic Training 3,255
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions 1,970
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist 1,420
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology 921
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician 611
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist 588
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist 384
Polysomnography 235
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist 183
Mammography Technician/Technology 110
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician 71
Gene/Genetic Therapy 41
Cardiopulmonary Technology 39
Hearing Instrument Specialist 14
Orthopedic Technology 6

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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