PA Admissions Information

Due to the limited number of seats and our policy of offering admission on a rolling basis, applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the application process early in our cycle.

Applicants must submit the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA), non-refundable Application Processing Fee, and official GRE Score Report to be eligible for admission. No incomplete applications will be considered and no application materials will be accepted after the published deadlines. The program will begin making invitations to interview in the late summer. To be considered for our first interview day of the cycle, an applicant should have his/her application and all supporting materials submitted no later than the end of June. An applicant's CASPA must be verified and all application materials must be received before the file will be read by the Admissions Committee. No application status updates will be available until after CASPA has verified an application.

Applicants must earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States prior to matriculation into the MPAS program. You may have a degree in progress at the time of application, but you must have a plan in place to have your degree conferred prior to the beginning of our courses in August.

Applicants must achieve a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 as calculated by CASPA.

Applicants must complete all of the prerequisite course requirements by the published deadline.

Applicants must submit letters of professional reference through CASPA. A letter from a practicing PA is highly recommended. No recommendation letters will be accepted outside of CASPA

Note: There are no waivers or exceptions to any of the admissions eligibility requirements.

CASPA: The Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) is offered through the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). Applicants must have a Verified Date through CASPA on or before the October 1, 2019 deadline. Once all of your required application materials are received, your application's status changes to Complete and your application is placed in line to be verified. Verifications occur in chronological order and on average take two weeks to complete. Once your application is verified by CASPA, you will receive a notification from CASPA and your application's status will change to Verified. All transcripts and letters of recommendation must be submitted through CASPA. No letters of recommendation will be accepted outside of CASPA. Transcripts should not be mailed to the program unless you have received an email requesting that you submit transcripts. You may use CASPA's academic update feature to report grades that have been earned since submitting your application. No academic or health care updates should be sent to the school. No supplemental application is required in addition to the CASPA.

GRE Score Report: All applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test scores that were received no more than five years prior to the date of application. No minimum GRE scores are required. However, scores will be taken into consideration during the competitive application review process. The GRE reporting code for the MPAS Program is 6380. Reporting code 6380 will route your scores to our program through the CASPA portal. Re-applicants will need to contact CASPA to determine if GRE scores need to be resubmitted.

$40 Non-refundable Application Processing Fee: This processing fee is in addition to any fees required by CASPA. The processing fee is payable online. Instructions for paying the application processing fee will be emailed to an applicant once the program has received a verified CASPA.

Prerequisite courses may be in progress or planned at the time of your application, however, all prerequisite coursework must be completed by December 31st of the year you apply. Prerequisite coursework must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Prerequisite coursework must be satisfied with a grade of C or higher (2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale). All science coursework must be intended for science majors.

If you have a question about whether a particular course satisfies one of our requirements, you must complete the Course Evaluation Request Form to have a staff member from the Office of Admissions review the course in question. We are unable to review coursework over the phone.

Only coursework from regionally accredited colleges and universities in the United States can be used to satisfy prerequisite requirements. Foreign coursework is not accepted. The Office of Admissions cannot provide transcript evaluations. Applicants are responsible for confirming that prerequisite requirements have been satisfied.

We will accept CLEP or AP credit as long as your courses have been recognized by your undergraduate institution and the credit is recorded on your college/university transcript.

Required Courses:

Psychology - 3 Semester Credit Hours

Statistics - 3 Semester Credit Hours

Anatomy with Lab - 4 Semester Credit Hours *

Physiology with Lab - 4 Semester Credit Hours *

Organic Chemistry with Lab - 4 Semester Credit Hours

Microbiology with Lab - 4 Semester Credit Hours

Genetics - 3 Semester Credit Hours

*A combination of 8 semester credit hours of A and P coursework can be used to fulfill the requirements for Anatomy and Physiology.

Note: there is no restriction on how long ago prerequisite courses were completed.

In reviewing applications for interview selection and acceptance, we evaluate many factors that help us examine the qualities that you bring to our program. Those factors include:

Academic background
Direct patient care or healthcare-related experiences
PA mentorship/shadowing experiences
Understanding of the role of the PA
Enthusiastic letters of reference
Community service
Honors, achievements and awards
Other life experiences and extracurricular activities
Mature, insightful essay

Although an applicant's entire academic record is considered, strong academic performance alone does not ensure acceptance. While prior experience in a health care setting is not required, this experience is considered a beneficial attribute and viewed positively by the Admissions Committee. PA mentoring and shadowing experiences are not required, but are encouraged. Letters of reference from a physician assistant or physician are strongly encouraged. Evidence of personal integrity, maturity, motivation, communication skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, writing ability, dedication and the ability to work with others are additional factors that will be considered. The above qualities are evaluated by several means, including letters of reference, the scope and nature of extracurricular activities (including work and volunteer experience), the scope and breadth of prior education and through the interview process. Our recent class entering profiles will give you some insight into how successful applicants have performed in some of the areas assessed by the Admissions Committee.

Because we value diversity in each class, be sure to tell us if you:

Speak more than one language.
Come from a rural or medically underserved area.
Are the first person in your family to attend college.
Come from a disadvantaged background.
Have rare talents or accomplishments.

Selected applicants will be invited to the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth for an admissions interview. Interviews generally take place on campus from September to late January. Interviews may end sooner if the class is filled. Candidates who are invited to interview will be contacted by phone or email. Declining an invitation or failing to appear for a scheduled interview will result in rejection of your application. Early submission of your application can increase your chances of interview selection. Interview results are confidential and are considered in the competitive selection process.

The PA program may make admission offers as early as September. Offers will be continuously made until the class is filled.

Applicants are considered without regard to age, race, creed, sex, national origin, veteran's status or disability. All applicants are required to meet the posted Health and Technical Standards in order to participate in the MPAS degree program.