Physician Assistant, MS: Accreditation & Program Data

Professional Accreditation, Certification, and Licensure

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the SUNY Upstate Medical University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by the State University of New York. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2026. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

Program accreditation is a requirement for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) as well as for physician assistant practice in the United States. Students enrolled in an accredited program are eligible to take the PANCE.

The program's accreditation history may be viewed on the ARC-PA site.

NCCPA Pass Rate 2019-2024

PA Program Enrollment & Graduation Data

Graduation Rate

Cohort	Admitted	Graduated	Percentage
Class of 2020	34	32	94.1%
Class of 2021	35	34	97.1%
Class of 2022	35	33	94.3%
Class of 2023	35 + 1 decelerated	34	94.4%
Class of 2024	34 + 1 decelerated	34	100%
5 Year Average	175	167	95.4%

NCCPA Board Pass Rate

Cohort	First Time Test Takers	Number of Exams Passed on First Attempt	Upstate First Time Pass Rate - %	Upstate PA Program Overall Pass Rate - # candidates	Upstate PA Program % of Candidates Who Ultimately Passed
Class of 2020	32	28	88%	32	100%
Class of 2021	34	31	91%	34	100%
Class of 2022	33	32	97%	33	100%
Class of 2023	34	30	88%	34	100%
Class of 2024	34	27	79%	33*	97%
5 Year Average	167	155	92.8%	168*	99.4%*

*Final results pending as additional testing is scheduled at this time; data will be updated when results available.

Attrition Rate

Cohort	Admitted	Program Completion - # Students	Program Attrition - # Students	Percent Attrition
Class of 2020	34	32	2	5.9%
Class of 2021	35	34	1	2.9%
Class of 2022	35	33	2	5.7%
Class of 2023	35 + 1 decelerated	34	2	5.6%
Class of 2024	34 + 1 decelerated	34	1	2.9%
5 Year Average	175	167	8	4.6%

Employment Rate

(Of all graduates who sought employment, # employed within 4 months of graduation)

Cohort	# graduates employed / # graduates	Percent of graduates employed
Class of 2020	32/32	100%
Class of 2021	34/34	100%
Class of 2022	33/33	100%
Class of 2023	34/34	100%
Class of 2024	33/34	97%*
5 Year Average	166/167*	99.4%*

*Employment data as of March 12th, 2025

Graduate Employment in Primary Care

Primary Care includes Family Med, General Internal Medicine, OB/GYN and Pediatrics

(# employed in Primary Care within 12 months of graduation)

Cohort	Primary Care: # grads working in primary care / total # graduates	Primary Care: % graduates working in primary care
Class of 2020	5/32	15.6%
Class of 2021	6/34	17.6%
Class of 2022	5/33	15.2%
Class of 2023	8/34	23.5%
Class of 2024	10/34	29.4%
5 Year Average	34/167	20.4%

Graduates' Community of Origin & Community Setting for First PA Position

Community setting for first PA position within 12 months of graduation

Cohort	Rural: # grads originating from rural communities / total # graduates	Rural: % grads originating from rural communities	Rural: # grads who return to rural / # grads who originate from rural	Rural: % grads who return to rural hometown	Rural: # grads working in rural communities	Rural: % grads working in rural communities
Class of 2020	8/32	25.0%	3/8	37.5%	8/32	25.0%
Class of 2021	7/34	20.6%	5/7	66.7%	5/34	14.7%
Class of 2022	8/33	24.2%	5/8	62.5%	6/33	18.2%
Class of 2023	9/34	26.5%	3/9	33.35%	12/34	35.3%
Class of 2024	8/34	23.5%	3/8	37.5%	9/34	26.6%
5 Year Average	40/167	24.0%	19/40	47.5%	40/167	24.0%