HENRY E. RIGGS SCHOOL OF APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
Postbaccalaureate Pre-PA Certificate
PPA
Program Details
Start Term
Fall
Deadline
rolling admissions thereafter
Clinical Experiences
Students in the PPA program can earn clinical hours in the fall, spring, and summer terms.
Curriculum
Graduate-level courses within the applied life sciences and combines courses in science and business.
Advising Support
Highly individualized support is available to all students to help navigate the PA school admissions process.
The PPA certificate program is designed specifically for those looking to enhance their academic credentials to gain a competitive edge for admission into Physician Assistant programs. Students also have the opportunity to complete a master’s degree during the glide year when applying to PA programs.
About the Program
The PPA certificate program is highly customizable to meet the needs of each student. Curriculum consists of graduate-level courses within the applied life sciences, which includes courses in science and business. There are additional upper-level undergraduate courses offered over the summer that are often required or highly recommended by many PA programs. Options include: human anatomy with lab, human physiology with lab, and biochemistry. Students are able to take the coursework they need along with the clinical and volunteer hours necessary to become competitive for admission to PA programs.
Co-curricular Learning Experiences
The following is a list of some of the activities and opportunities available to PPA students:
- Field trips to local and regional PA programs
- Meet with professionals from various medical specialties
- Simulated individual interviews, group interviews, and multi-mini interviews (MMI)
- Guest speakers from various PA programs
- GRE prep course
- Networking opportunities with KGI alumni
- Research opportunities
- Clinical and shadowing opportunities
- Various community service and student club activities
- Gain up to 1,000 patient and clinical-care hours
Interested in a Master of Science?
Pre-health students may also pursue KGI’s Master of Science in Applied Life Sciences (MS) program with a pre-health track. With this option, you take KGI’s PPA curriculum in year one, and complete one of our MS concentrations in year two.
Concentrations include: translational, clinical, public health, infectious diseases, or bioprocessing research, or a Team Master’s Project.
If you are interested in this option, apply for the MS program and select “Yes” when asked whether you want to apply for the pre-health track.
Program Faculty and Staff
Anna Iwaniec Hickerson, PhD
Associate Professor; Program Director, Master of Science in Medical Device Engineering
How to Apply
- Completed online application
- Personal statement
- Resume
- Letter of recommendation
- Transcripts
- English language proficiency (TOEFL, PTE, IELTS, iTEP)
- $75 non-refundable application fee
- Admission interview
Admitted students are required to submit a $400 non-refundable enrollment fee to hold their spot in the program.
Joon Kim, EdD
Senior Director and Instructor of Postbaccalaureate Programs
Joon Kim serves as the Senior Director and Instructor of Postbaccalaureate Programs. In his role, Kim advises students and coordinates the programs’ activities, events, and visiting lectures. Prior to arriving at KGI, Kim served as an assistant director in the Office of Academic Advising at the University of Southern California. He holds a BA in psychology from UCLA, and an MEd in higher education and an EdD in educational leadership with a concentration in educational psychology from USC. Kim joined KGI in May 2011.
Anna Iwaniec Hickerson, PhD
Associate Professor; Program Director, Master of Science in Medical Device Engineering
Areas of Expertise: Cardiovascular Devices, Medical Diagnostics and Devices
Dr. Hickerson, who joined KGI in October 2005, received her BS in Engineering and Applied Science (2000) and her PhD in Bioengineering (2005) from the California Institute of Technology. Since joining KGI, she has worked on the design of multiple diagnostic instruments including subsystems in sample preparation, amplification, and detection of nucleic acids.
Hickerson is a listed inventor on 12 issued U.S. patents and several more pending. She has consulted for multiple diagnostic and medical device companies. In addition to her research and teaching at KGI, Hickerson has also taught Biomechanics, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, and Biosignal Processing at Harvey Mudd College.
Angelika Niemz, PhD
Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor
Areas of Expertise: Medical Diagnostics and Devices
Dr. Angelika Niemz, a native of Germany, received her undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1992 at the University of Konstanz in Germany and her PhD in chemistry in 1999 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After working as a postdoctoral fellow in chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, she joined KGI in February 2002 as an Assistant Professor. In 2008, she became an Associate Professor. In 2009, after a six-month sabbatical where she worked for Roche Molecular Diagnostics in Switzerland, she began serving as Director of Research at KGI and was named the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor. In March 2021, she was promoted to Chair of Business and Bioengineering for the Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences. In October 2022, she was promoted to Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor.
Niemz teaches courses on medical diagnostics, high throughput technologies, and instrumentation development at KGI. Additionally, she has taught short courses on IVD automation and nanobiotechnology at the Association for Laboratory Automation's annual conference for seven years. She has obtained independent research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense, and has frequently served on grant review panels.
Niemz is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, and the Association for Laboratory Automation. Beyond her research and other scholarly activities, she obtained funding for and organized a summer undergraduate research program at KGI for the past eight years. Niemz has also coordinated K-12 outreach activities, including internship opportunities for high school teachers and students.