Most important takeaways…
- JBU's $34.5 million gift launches the first PA program in Northwest Arkansas.
- MA patient care hours often satisfy PA school experience requirements.
- PAs earned $135,880 median pay versus $44,200 for MAs.
New Physician Assistant Programs: A Medical Assistant's Guide
What new program growth means for your timeline, patient care hours, and salary outlook.
Near-term wages and long-term advancement rarely sit this far apart: physician assistants earn a median $135,880 nationally, while medical assistants earn $44,200, a median that hides differences in medical assistant salary by specialty.
In August 2026, John Brown University announced a $34.5 million gift to launch the first PA program in Northwest Arkansas, where only 48% of PA workforce needs are projected to be met. For medical assistants weighing medical assistant career paths, the question is whether patient care hours can become a PA seat; documented hours and completed prerequisites matter more than job tenure.
What New PA Program Growth Means for Medical Assistants
What does a wave of new PA programs actually change for a medical assistant who wants to advance? In 2026, ARC-PA lists 335 accredited entry-level PA programs1, up from 293 when PAEA reported six newly provisional programs2. Growth in more regions means fewer geographic dead ends for working MAs, especially if new programs build hospital partnerships for medical assistant programs with the same health systems that already employ medical assistants.
A regional case study
Arkansas has only two PA programs. In August 2026, John Brown University announced a $34.5 million gift commitment from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation to launch a Master of Science in physician assistant studies, the first PA program in Northwest Arkansas; ARC-PA lists the school as an applicant program.3 JBU plans clinical rotations with Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, Washington Regional Medical Center, Freeman Health Systems, and Community Clinic. For MAs in those systems, that is a direct signal: the hospitals training you today may become the rotation sites and employers for PAs tomorrow.
Why shortages push MA-to-PA pipelines
Arkansas ranks 46th nationally in physicians per capita, 68% of its counties are Health Professional Shortage Areas, and the state was projected to meet only 48% of its PA workforce needs by 2026. When regional shortages collide with new graduate programs, medical assistants with documented patient care hours and employer sponsored medical assistant training become an obvious recruitment pool. Program growth plus clinical rotation partnerships means MA experience can lead somewhere: local, funded, and in demand.
New, Provisional, and Ma-Friendly PA Programs to Watch
Because new and provisional programs often open seats before they are widely known, medical assistants with direct patient care experience can get an early look at the medical assistant to physician assistant path. This is not a ranked list or a complete national directory. Details like tuition, patient care hour policies, and MA acceptance change quickly, so confirm current status directly with each program before applying.
Verified programs to watch
- Chamberlain University-Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ): Provisional ARC-PA status.1 Publicly available sources do not confirm tuition or whether medical assistant hours are explicitly accepted.
- University of Pittsburgh PA Studies Hybrid Program (Pittsburgh, PA): Hybrid format, accreditation-provisional.2 The hybrid delivery may fit working medical assistants, but direct care hour requirements are not publicly confirmed.
- Cedarville University PA Program (Cedarville, OH): Accreditation-provisional per the 2024-25 catalog.3 Tuition, patient care hour policies, and MA acceptance are not established in current public materials.
- Medical University of South Carolina-Hybrid (Charleston, SC): Applicant status, not yet provisional.4 Tuition and MA-specific admissions notes are not available in verified sources.
- John Brown University (Siloam Springs, AR): Announced in 2026 as the first PA program in Northwest Arkansas. ARC-PA status and tuition are not yet published. Clinical partnerships with Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, Washington Regional, Freeman Health Systems, and Community Clinic may create relevant rotation sites for medical assistant externships.
How to read these listings
Provisional accreditation is limited to no more than five years from the first class and does not guarantee later accreditation status.5 Programs often update patient care hour policies after initial accreditation, so ask an admissions counselor whether your medical assistant hours count before assuming they will. Franklin Pierce University's Goodyear, Arizona hybrid6 is currently accreditation-probation as of March 20254, so we did not include it as a new or provisional option.
When a region has fewer than half the physician assistants it needs, new PA programs are not just opening. They are actively looking for clinically experienced applicants. Your medical assistant hours are the proof, and that gives you real leverage.
Does Medical Assistant Experience Count as Patient Care Hours for PA School?
For working medical assistants, the PCE question is becoming less theoretical and more about documentation as PA applicant pools grow in 2026.
Yes, clinical MA work usually counts as PCE
Medical assistant experience counts as patient care experience (PCE) when your duties are hands-on: rooming patients, taking vitals, drawing blood, giving injections, or assisting during procedures. CASPA defines PCE as work where you are "directly responsible for a patient's care." If your role is mostly scheduling, billing, prior authorizations, or scanning, programs are more likely to classify it as healthcare experience (HCE), which may not satisfy minimums.
Hour minimums vary, so know your target
Many PA schools list minimums between 500 and 2,000 PCE hours. Examples: Mayo Clinic and Stanford require 500; Rosalind Franklin requires 800; UC Davis, George Washington, Northwestern, and Iowa require 1,000; Boston University and Oregon Health & Sciences require 2,000. About 89% of accredited programs accept MA experience as PCE, but weighting varies, and some programs still exclude MA hours entirely.
Document the clinical side
CASPA asks you to enter job duties, not just title. Keep pay stubs, logs, or a supervisor note. Schools generally count only hours completed at application time, not projected. If your job mixes front and back office, describe direct patient care tasks first and be specific about how often you performed them.
PA School Prerequisites: What Medical Assistants Already Have, and What They Still Need
Medical assistants start with more clinical foundation than many career changers, but PA school still has specific academic and experience requirements. This table maps where your MA background helps and where you will likely need to add coursework, tests, and documentation.
| Requirement | Medical Assistant Starting Point | What You Still Need |
|---|---|---|
| Science prerequisites | Typical medical assistant associate programs include a combined anatomy and physiology course such as a 4-credit health professions A&P course covering body systems. | A full sequence of lab-based sciences: general biology (8 credits), advanced biology (3), general chemistry (6), organic chemistry or biochemistry (3), human anatomy and physiology with labs (8), statistics (3), psychology (3), and medical terminology (1), all completed with at least a C and a prerequisite GPA of at least 3.0. |
| Bachelor's degree | Most medical assistant programs lead to a certificate or associate degree, not a bachelor's degree. | A completed bachelor's degree in any major, with all PA prerequisites completed within that degree or afterwards. |
| GPA | Medical assistant associate programs require college-level placement and passing program courses, but they do not typically require a graduate-level 3.0 science GPA. | Most PA programs require at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 science GPA. Some schools set higher thresholds such as 3.2 overall and science. |
| GRE or other standardized tests | CMA and RMA pathways do not require the GRE or other graduate admissions tests. | Many PA programs still expect GRE scores, though some have moved to test-optional policies and may not require or consider GRE, MCAT, or PA-CAT scores. |
| Patient care experience (PCE) | Paid medical assistant work counts as direct patient care hours. A common target for PA applicants is around 1,000 hours, and more direct patient care is helpful. | Many programs require documented minimum PCE or patient contact hours, often at least 1,000. Others set lower thresholds such as 200 to 500 hours or program-specific minimums. |
| Shadowing and PA exposure | Medical assistants routinely work alongside physicians and other providers, gaining practical exposure to clinical workflows and informal observation. | Many PA programs require clearly documented shadowing hours, such as a minimum of 20 hours shadowing an MD, DO, or PA. PA-specific shadowing is often highly recommended or expected. |
| CASPA application profile | MA graduates can list clinical skills, vital signs, basic procedures, rooming patients, documentation, and administrative experience under CASPA experiences and achievements. | A completed bachelor's degree, all science prerequisites with strong grades, documented PCE (often 1,000 to 2,000 or more hours), any required test scores, and strong entries for experiences, personal statement, and recommendations. |
Did you know Arkansas is projected to meet only 48% of its physician assistant workforce needs by 2026? According to John Brown University, that leaves more than half of the demand for PAs unfilled.
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Medical Assistant vs Physician Assistant Salary and Career Outlook
The most recent BLS national figures show a steep pay gap between medical assistants and physician assistants. Physician assistants earned a median annual wage of $135,880, while medical assistants earned $44,200, a difference of about $91,680 per year. Projected job growth from 2024 to 2034 is 20% for physician assistants and 12% for medical assistants.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Median hourly wage | 25th percentile annual wage | 75th percentile annual wage | Mean annual wage | Total employment | Projected job growth (2024 to 2034) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | $44,200 | $21.25 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 12% |
| Physician Assistants | $135,880 | $64.07 | $120,670 | $163,980 | $141,280 | 162,150 | 20% |
Physician assistants earn roughly triple the median wage of medical assistants, one of the strongest pay jumps in allied health.
PA vs RN: Time, Cost, and Career Comparison for Medical Assistants
Medical assistants deciding between the physician assistant and registered nurse routes face different timelines, costs, clinical roles, and pay ceilings. The table below compares the two paths using 2025 and 2026 published data so you can weigh which fits your goals, budget, and lifestyle.
| Factor | PA Path | RN Path |
|---|---|---|
| Typical education timeline after medical assistant prerequisites | 4-year bachelor's degree plus a 2 to 3 year PA program, approximately 6 to 7 years total postsecondary | ADN: 18 to 24 months full-time once admitted, not counting prerequisite time; BSN: longer depending on prior credits |
| Estimated tuition and total cost range | No single national total in the sources reviewed; graduate tuition varies by school and residency status | Public in-state ADN tuition $10,000 to $30,000; BSN total cost $70,000 to $220,000; medical assistant to ADN bridge $15,000 to $35,000 |
| Entry-level salary with 0 to 2 years of experience | $95,000 to $115,000 per year; average about $105,347 | $58,000 to $72,000 per year, or about $27.88 to $34.62 per hour |
| Experienced or median pay ceiling | Median total compensation $134,000 per year (AAPA 2025 Salary Report) | National median $97,550 per year (BLS May 2025) |
| Typical clinical role focus | More diagnostic and prescriptive responsibility, often in outpatient or specialty settings | Bedside nursing care, medication administration, patient monitoring, and patient education, often on hospital shifts |
| Best fit when you want | Broader diagnostic authority and a higher earning ceiling, and you can commit to 6 to 7 years of school | A faster, lower-cost entry into nursing with flexible shift options, plus later bridge paths to nurse practitioner or specialty roles |
Online, Hybrid, and Part-Time PA Program Options for Working MAs
Most physician assistant programs are still built as full-time residential programs, and some schools actively discourage working during enrollment. St. John's University, for example, strongly discourages even part-time work while in its PA program.
Flexible formats to watch
- Rutgers University School of Health Professions: Offers full-time and part-time tracks and holds ARC-PA accreditation, making it one of the clearest options for students who need to keep working.
- Northeast College of Health Sciences: Has a 24-month hybrid M.S. that pairs online coursework with hands-on training. It is still under ARC-PA and state review, so accreditation is not yet final.
- Yale University's online PA program: Lists an online format, but it currently carries a probationary accreditation status. Confirm the current standing before building a plan around it.
What to check before applying
Ask whether the didactic phase is truly asynchronous or just recorded, and get the clinical rotation schedule in writing. A part-time classroom phase can still turn into full-time rotations, so make sure your employer can flex around that before you commit.
How to Choose a New or Provisional PA Program as a Working Medical Assistant
How do you tell a promising new PA program from one that is still finding its footing? Start with accreditation. ARC-PA provisional status means the program is too new to have graduated a cohort; it is limited to five years from first class matriculation and does not guarantee continued accreditation. Continued status is renewed with validation visits roughly every 10 years. For PANCE eligibility, NCCPA requires that your program be accredited at the time you matriculate, so confirm the program has that status on your start date, not just planned later.
Look for rotation partners before you commit. JBU's planned program is a useful test case: Phase 2 funding is contingent on accreditation, and it lists Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, Washington Regional Medical Center, Freeman Health Systems, and Community Clinic for clinical rotations. That level of specificity is a good sign.
Red flags: vague rotation geography, no named clinical sites, unclear tuition breakdown, or admissions staff who will not state what happens if accreditation changes before graduation. Ask: Which cohort will be first? What is your next ARC-PA review milestone? Will this year's matriculants meet the NCCPA accredited-at-matriculation rule?
Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Loan Repayment for Ma-To-PA Students
PA school carries a steeper sticker price than medical assistant training, so the real question is how much debt you accept now versus how quickly a PA salary can help you pay it down. Nationally, average tuition for 27-month PA programs sits around $98,000 for residents and $107,000 for nonresidents, before fees and living costs.1 Average total cost of attendance runs about $101,300 in state and $152,000 out of state, and individual programs can run much higher depending on public or private status and location.2
Federal loans are the foundation. Direct Unsubsidized Loans cover up to $20,500 per year, and Grad PLUS loans can fill the gap up to the full cost of attendance. After graduating, NHSC loan repayment may offer $50,000 for a two-year full-time service commitment, while many state programs offer around $25,000 per year for two years, but PA eligibility varies. Employer tuition assistance for medical assistants is often underused, so ask your current workplace early.[[LINK:1]]
Institutional aid can also reduce the burden. John Brown University's new PA initiative, for example, includes $10 million in Phase 2 scholarship funding. That signals new programs may front-load aid to recruit students.
For working MAs: file the FAFSA every year, ask your employer about tuition benefits, review medical assistant loan forgiveness, and check your state loan repayment program because not all states include PAs.[[LINK:2]]
