Physician assistant · Master's

Samuel Merritt University PA program: PANCE pass rate, cost and admission

At Samuel Merritt University, 92% of the PA class of 2025 passed the PANCE on the first attempt, against 91% nationally. IPEDS counts 45 PA degrees conferred by the institution in 2024-25.

Oakland, CA ARC-PA: Accreditation-Continued, next review July 2029 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
38
National, class of 2025
91%
Classes shown
5
This programNational first-time rate
70%80%90%100%Class of 2021: 87%, national 93%, 45 takers87%2021Class of 2022: 95%, national 92%, 40 takers95%2022Class of 2023: 78%, national 92%, 41 takers78%2023Class of 2024: 77%, national 92%, 44 takers77%2024Class of 2025: 92%, national 91%, 38 takers92%2025
Table view
ClassProgramNationalTakers
202187%93%45
202295%92%40
202378%92%41
202477%92%44
202592%91%38

Cost, size and outcomes

  • Tuition, whole programProgram page, cohort starting August 2026, 27-month program$170,003
  • Class sizeProgram pageNot published
  • PA degrees conferred by the institutionIPEDS completions, 2024-25 (provisional), CIP 51.091245
  • Median earnings, 1 year after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2020-21 and 2021-22$145,651
  • Median earnings, 4 years after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19$144,577
  • Median federal loan debtCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degreeNot published
  • Physician assistants, median wage, CaliforniaBLS OEWS, May 2025, context only$165,650

What it asks of applicants

  • Application service and deadlineAs the program states it, for Fall 2027 entryCASPA · October 1, 2026
  • Minimum overall GPA3.0
  • Patient care hours2,000 required
  • Program length27 months
  • Program startsAugust
  • Prerequisite coursesAs the program states it, Date not statedHuman Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microbiology, Biology, Statistics, Inorganic/General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry

Accreditation

  • StatusARC-PA list, fetched 2026-10-28Accreditation-Continued
  • First accreditedApril 1999
  • Next accreditation reviewJuly 2029
  • 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
202346399%
202446422%
202546429%

What the numbers say

Samuel Merritt's class of 2025 posted a 92% first-time PANCE pass rate among 38 takers, 1 point above the 91% national rate. Before that came 78% in 2023, 14 points under the national 92%. The class of 2024 then hit the window's low point at 77%, 15 points behind the nation, so the jump to 2025 also amounted to 15 points. Earlier, the class of 2022 reached 95%, the high for the 5 classes and 3 points ahead of the nation, while the class of 2021 came in at 87%. Samuel Merritt trailed the national rate in 3 of those 5 classes, yet finished the window 5 points higher than it started. ARC-PA's attrition table gives 9% attrition for the class of 2025, and IPEDS counts 45 PA degrees conferred in 2024-25. For the cohort starting August 2026, full tuition is $170,003, a figure that covers the whole 27-month program rather than a single year. Applications for Fall 2027 entry close on October 1, 2026. CASPA calculates the cumulative and science GPAs, and each must be at least 3.0; applicants also need 2,000 hours of direct patient care experience. Required science coursework covers human anatomy, human physiology, microbiology, biology, statistics, and both general and organic chemistry. ARC-PA first accredited the program in 1999, and its Accreditation-Continued status is next reviewed in July 2029.

Sources

  1. Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA): Entry Level Accredited Programs, fetched 28 Oct 2026
  2. www.samuelmerritt.edu: Physician Education California | Master of Physician Assistant | SMU, fetched 29 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 Samuel Merritt University (program 1176), printed 4/10/2026, fetched 29 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