Master of Physician Assistant Studies Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree program, an applicant must have participated in the competitive admissions process and previously earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. The minimum overall grade point average (GPA) required for admission is 2.85 on a 4.0 scale. Enrolled students must meet the program’s minimum Health and Technical Standards to participate in a significant portion of the program activities. Completion of the GRE General Test is required prior to entry. No minimum GRE score is required; however individual candidate’s scores will be taken into consideration as a potential indicator of future success in the curriculum. Other entrance requirements apply and are detailed below.

GRE Requirement

The PA Studies (PAS) program requires a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test Score. The official GRE score report is due by December 1. There is no minimum score requirement; however, higher scores are considered more competitive. Applicants will be considered incomplete until an official score report is received from Educational Testing Service (ETS). Early submittal of scores is strongly encouraged. The GRE code for PA Studies is 6380.

Prerequisite Coursework

Minimum prerequisite coursework requirements cannot be waived. Prerequisite courses must be completed by the posted deadline(s) and obtained from regionally accredited U.S. colleges or universities or through coursework that is deemed equivalent by the PA Studies Admissions Office. Prerequisite course work must be satisfied with a grade of “C” or higher (2.0 on 4.0 scale). A single course cannot be used simultaneously to meet more than one course prerequisite. All coursework completed by the applicant will be considered in the admissions process. Exceptions to these requirements are not permitted.

General Course Requirements

Coursework is converted to semester credit hours when calculating GPA and when determining if minimum prerequisite requirements have been met. Meeting the prerequisite requirements generally calls for completion of courses designed for science majors. Courses offered for non-science majors do not typically satisfy the prerequisite requirements of anatomy, physiology, microbiology, organic chemistry, genetics, immunology, cell biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, pharmacology or histology. A maximum of three (3) semester credit hours in psychology may be obtained through advanced standing examination such as CLEP or its equivalent. Prerequisite credit received through advanced standing examinations such as CLEP (or equivalent) is not acceptable for science coursework other than psychology.

Foreign Coursework

An applicant with academic credentials from a college or university located outside the United States, who chooses to apply that study toward meeting prerequisite requirements, must follow all instructions posted in the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistant (CASPA) application. The requirement for having previously earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university cannot be waived. When submitting individual coursework from foreign colleges or universities as meeting U.S. equivalence, Applicants must carefully follow application instructions published by the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) and these courses must also be deemed equivalent by the PA Studies Admissions Office. Upon satisfying all prerequisite course requirements, applicants with academic credentials from non-U.S. colleges or universities are processed with the same consideration as all others.

Transcripts

Upon acceptance of an offer of admission, applicants are reminded they must request that new official transcripts from each institution previously attended be sent directly to the School of Health Professions (SHP) Office of Admissions. Final transcripts must list all courses including those that were in progress between initial application and final matriculation into the program.

Prerequisite Coursework Substitution

In the unusual event that an applicant desires to submit a course that is similar in content to a prerequisite course listed above, but it does not carry the same name or was not delivered by a usual academic department, and the applicant feels the course meets the prerequisite requirement, the applicant may request consideration of the coursework as a prerequisite substitution. Prospective applicants seeking substitution for prerequisite coursework should submit their request via e-mail to:
PAAdmissions@unthsc.edu or by regular mail to:

UNT Health Science Center
Attn: PA Admissions
3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699

The request must include a catalog course description and copy of the course syllabus from the college or university where the course was completed. If a catalog course description or course syllabus is not available, a letter from the academic department that offered the original course describing the content and nature of the course may be substituted. Coursework substitutions and content hours must be equivalent or comparable to the prerequisite being considered. Substitutions are approved on an individual basis and the program reserves the right to approve or deny any prerequisite course substitution requests.

Admission Procedures

Applicants will be considered for admission as early as September during the year prior to matriculation. Applications through CASPA typically become available in April. The deadline for submitting the CASPA application is November 1 of the year prior to matriculation. Early application is recommended. Applicants should not send CASPA application materials, transcripts, reference letters or other information to the PA Admissions Office unless specifically requested to do so. The PA Admissions Office or program does not assume any responsibility for application materials sent to CASPA and will not forward admissions materials to the application service on behalf of applicants. To allow for timely receipt and processing, it is recommended that all application materials, fees, transcripts and reference forms be submitted at least 30 days prior to the posted deadline. Applicants submitting after the posted deadline will not be considered. An application processing fee may be due in addition to the required CASPA application. A fee waiver is available to applicants who have financial hardship and who have received a fee waiver through CASPA.

Re-Application

A complete CASPA application must be received anew for each year in which the candidate is applying. Applications cannot be held over for subsequent years.

Applicant Selection

The PA Admissions Committee seeks applicants with the best qualifications who have previously demonstrated aptitude to successfully progress through the curriculum and become exemplary physician assistants. Although an applicant’s entire academic record is considered, this alone does not ensure acceptance. Evidence of personal integrity, maturity, creativity, motivation, dedication, and the ability to work with others are additional factors that will be considered. These qualities and attitudes 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. Although prior experience in a health care setting is not required, this experience is considered a beneficial attribute and viewed positively by the Physician Assistant Studies Admissions Committee. Selected applicants will be invited to the UNT Health Science Center (UNTHSC) in Fort Worth for an admissions interview prior to selection. The Dean of the SHP has final approval for all admission decisions. Deferred matriculation is available upon approval for up to one year in unusual circumstances.

Transfer Credit

The program does not accept transfer credits. No credit is awarded for portfolio-based experiential learning or non-credit courses.

Transfer Policy

The program does not admit transfer students from other physician assistant programs.

Advanced Placement

Advanced placement may only be considered once the student is already enrolled in the MPAS program and that student has: 1) successfully completed the exact or nearly exact same course as that listed in the current MPAS curriculum; 2) taken the exact or nearly exact same course within 3 years of enrollment into the MPAS curriculum; 3) completed the exact or nearly exact same course with a letter grade of “B” or better; and 4) has obtained written approval of the Chair of PA Studies. Advanced placement may not be offered or approved during the admissions process. Requests for advanced placement or a course waiver must be initiated by the student in writing within 5 class days of enrollment into the MPAS curriculum. No requests for course exemption will be considered after that time.

Approval of advanced placement is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Dual Degree Opportunities

UNTHSC also offers numerous dual degree opportunities bridging the MPAS and DO degrees with the MPH, MHA, MS and PhD degrees within the School of Public Health and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Future dual degree opportunities will also be offered to students pursuing the DPT and PharmD degrees. For details, please see the section on the Multidisciplinary Programs within this catalog.