5 Best Online Physician Assistant Programs (2025)

Each year, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) publishes its Statistical Profile of Board-Certified PAs, which provides an overview of the state of the profession of physician assistants and physician associates, called PAs.

Becoming a PA requires a master's degree in the field. Each state licenses physician assistants, but all PAs must attend an ARC-PA-accredited master's program and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) as administered by the NCCPA.

This medical profession has seen much growth, with a 28.3% increase between 2018 and 2022. The majority of PA hiring is clustered in northeastern and midwestern states as well as in North Carolina and Alaska.

The top five states ranked by their number of PAs based on population are Alaska, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Montana.

However, the five states that experienced the largest percentage of growth in the number of PAs between 2018 and 2022 were Mississippi, South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, and Rhode Island.

If you're interested in preparing for a career as a physician assistant, please read on to find out about fully online physician assistant programs in the U.S. from accredited colleges and universities.

Where Can You Enroll in Online Physician Assistant Programs?

The most common PA degrees are a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) or a Master of Science (MS), although you could continue to earn a Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) or Doctor of Science in Physician Associate Studies (DScPAS).

While the programs we list below say they deliver coursework completely online, note that all PA programs require on-the-ground participation in the clinical experience components, so you will need to leave your house and immerse yourself in a clinical setting for a portion of your education.

1. Augusta University

Augusta University's online Masters of Physician Assistant program requires 91-93 hours, with a tuition of $600 per credit.

Augusta University is home to a fully online bridge program for certified physician assistants looking to upgrade their credentials through a master's degree.

Designed for working professionals who want to complete their requirements remotely, the program encourages online collaboration between students and faculty while enabling local completion of clinical experiential requirements.

2. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

While Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is well-known for its on-campus physician assistant master's programs (including an accelerated master's), the school's online offerings only include a doctorate degree program: Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (DScPAS).

The fully remote program is 24 credits in length, with asynchronous classes providing greater flexibility as to when you can study. Tuition is $1,110 per credit.

3. Pace University

The Masters in Physician Assistant Completion Program at Pace University requires 30 credits at a tuition of $825 per credit.

Pace University provides an online degree completion program for previously certified physician assistants desiring to earn the required master's degree.

Students should have completed an NCCPA-accredited PA program that included: 32 classroom credits, 40 weeks of supervised clinical work, and 3,600 documented hours of clinical work (post-bachelor's).

This fully remote, asynchronous program takes an average of 12 months to complete, allowing students to continue to work full-time while pursuing their studies.

4. Touro University

Like Pace, Touro University's School of Health Sciences also offers a PA degree completion program for previously certified physician assistants.

This fully online, part-time program, the Physician Assistant Masters Completion Program, enables you to complete your master's in just four semesters (a year).

Requiring 30 credits (at a very low tuition rate of $289 per credit), Touro's PA program is fully remote and asynchronous. Applicants should have an accredited PA bachelor's degree, NCCPA certification, and 2,600 documented hours of post-bachelor's clinical work.

5. University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley

The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley is home to a 16-credit Master in Physician Assistant Studies Bridge Program (MPAS), a fully online program for students who already possess bachelor's-level NCCPA certification and clinical experience as physician assistants.

Each online MPAS student enrolls in three month-long clinical tracks plus a research experience course.

As a degree completion program for practicing PAs, achieving the degree should take about 28 weeks, on average. Students can complete any clinical assignments in their local communities of residence.

What Factors Should You Consider When Choosing an Online Physician Assistant Program?

What other factors could you take into consideration when researching online physician assistant programs?

Accreditation

The Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) is the accrediting agency that also sets the standards for physician assistant education in the United States.

A school that is accredited by the ARC-PA ensures that its graduates will meet the required education standards when they apply for state certification.

Other accrediting agencies include:

• National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education
• The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistant
• Regional accreditation bodies such as the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Requirements for Eligibility

Most PA master's programs require a minimum of a bachelor's degree in the field or a related field. Some require certification as a PA (from the time before states required a master's degree) and/or paid work experience.

You might also be interested in an online accelerated or bridge master's program (also called a completion program). This type of program is more likely to require you to already be a certified and working physician assistant. These programs require fewer credit hours of study.

Be sure to look for the specific requirements for application to each program.

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Classes

As with any online degree program, you'll need to find out if courses will be synchronous (live), which requires you to attend at a specified time and interact online with a professor and fellow students. The asynchronous alternative is self-paced, independent learning.

Your availability for class attendance and study, in concert with your work hours, if employed, will determine which type of course structure would work best for you.

Any On-Campus Requirements

Be sure to find out if the program that interests you is 100% online or if it requires any on-campus visits.

While we have excluded many well-known hybrid PA programs from this, such as the esteemed PA programs at Yale University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Nebraska, read the program materials carefully for each program to see if you must travel to campus.

Location of Sites for Clinical Experiences

All programs will require clinical work in actual hospital settings with real-life patients. Find out if the program that interests you allows you to do your clinical work at a facility local to where you live or if you would need to travel to a medical site affiliated with the university.

Apply to an Online Physician Assistant Program Today

If you desire to earn a master's or doctorate as a physician assistant and are not able to enroll in a traditional face-to-face university degree program, you are in luck. One of the five fully online physical assistant programs we've listed above might be the way for you to achieve your dream.