Physician assistant · Master's

Northeastern University PA program: PANCE pass rate, cost and admission

At Northeastern University, 92% of the PA class of 2025 passed the PANCE on the first attempt, against 92% nationally. The program reports a class size of 52. IPEDS counts 51 PA degrees conferred by the institution in 2024-25.

Boston, MA ARC-PA: Accreditation-Continued, next review April 2035 Checked Oct 2026

PANCE score report, first-time takers

Source: NCCPA report posted by the program
Class of 2025
92%
Above national 2 of 5
First-time takers
49
National, class of 2025
92%report printed 10 Nov 2025
Classes shown
5
This programNational first-time rate
80%85%90%95%100%Class of 2021: 96%, national 93%, 49 takers96%2021Class of 2022: 96%, national 92%, 48 takers96%2022Class of 2023: 90%, national 92%, 50 takers90%2023Class of 2024: 92%, national 92%, 50 takers92%2024Class of 2025: 92%, national 92%, 49 takers92%2025
Table view
ClassProgramNationalTakers
202196%93%49
202296%92%48
202390%92%50
202492%92%50
202592%92% (report printed 10 Nov 2025)49

Cost, size and outcomes

  • Tuition, whole programProgram page, 2026-27$126,000
  • Class sizeProgram page, Class of 202552
  • PA degrees conferred by the institutionIPEDS completions, 2024-25 (provisional), CIP 51.091251
  • Median earnings, 1 year after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2020-21 and 2021-22$122,071
  • Median earnings, 4 years after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19$125,862
  • Median federal loan debtCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degreeNot published
  • Physician assistants, median wage, MassachusettsBLS OEWS, May 2025, context only$142,410

What it asks of applicants

  • Application service and deadlineAs the program states it, 2026-27 cycleCASPA · August 1
  • Minimum overall GPA3.0
  • Patient care hoursNot published
  • Program length2 years
  • Program startsAugust
  • Prerequisite coursesAs the program states it, Date not statedBiology lecture and lab; Chemistry lecture and lab; Anatomy and Physiology; Statistics

Accreditation

  • StatusARC-PA list, fetched 2026-10-28Accreditation-Continued
  • First accreditedSeptember 1972
  • Next accreditation reviewApril 2035
  • Program websiteVisit

Nearby PA programs

Attrition by class, as the program posts it

ARC-PA attrition table from the program's own page, with the entering and graduating counts it prints. A table that prints attrition as a fraction (0.20) shows here as a percent (20%).
ClassEnteredGraduatedAttrition
202352495.8%
202452503.8%
202552511.9%

What the numbers say

Northeastern's PA class of 2025 passed the PANCE at 92% on the first attempt, the same as the national rate that year. The 2024 class matched the national figure as well, at 92%. The classes of 2021 and 2022 both passed at 96%, tied for the best rate of the last 5 classes. Those 2 classes were the only ones in the window above the national rate. In 2023 the program passed 90% of first-time takers, 2 points below the 92% national figure. Each class sent between 48 and 50 graduates to the exam for the first time. IPEDS lists 51 PA degrees conferred by Northeastern in 2024-25. Program tuition across the 2026-27 terms comes to $126,000, before the comprehensive fee and other program charges. Applicants need an overall GPA and a science GPA of 3.0, and the CASPA deadline for the 2026-27 cycle is August 1. ARC-PA has accredited the Boston program since 1972, lists it as Accreditation-Continued and places its next review in April 2035. College Scorecard reports a median of $122,071 1 year after completion for graduates of the allied health diagnostic, intervention and treatment field at Northeastern, cohorts of 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Sources

  1. Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA): Entry Level Accredited Programs, fetched 28 Oct 2026
  2. bouve.northeastern.edu: Physician Assistant (MS) - Bouvé College of Health Sciences, fetched 28 Oct 2026
  3. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): IPEDS Completions, awards by program and award level, 2024-25 (provisional release), 21 Jul 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026
  4. U.S. Department of Education: College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data, 15 Oct 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026
  5. National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), posted by the program: PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report for Northeastern University (program 1023), printed 11/10/2025, fetched 28 Oct 2026
  6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state estimates, May 2025, 15 May 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026