Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)
Overview
The Master Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) prepares graduates with sound judgment, intellectual honesty, appropriate interpersonal skills, and critical thinking skills. The graduate will be capable of medical patient assessment and developing a plan of action for addressing health concerns. The professional curriculum for PA education includes basic medical, behavioral, and social science, introduction to clinical medicine, and supervised clinical practice, and health policy and professional practice issues.
Prerequisite Courses
- All prerequisites (listed below) must be completed by the September 1st program application deadline. Prerequisites completed after the September 1st deadline will not be considered for interview or admission.
- General Biology I and II
- Genetics
- Anatomy and Physiology I and II (human focus is preferred)
- Microbiology
- General Chemistry I and II
- Organic Chemistry OR Biochemistry
- General Psychology OR Abnormal Psychology
- Statistics
Pass or credit grades will not be accepted for any science prerequisite course. Credit by examination is accepted for Statistics and Psychology only. All prerequisite science courses must be taken for science majors. Science courses taken for non-science majors do not fulfill prerequisite requirements. Every applicant must meet ALL prerequisite requirements. No prerequisite course waivers will be granted. If admitted, no advanced placement standing will be given for any PA Program coursework regardless of educational background. All matriculants must complete the entire professional curriculum.
Admission Requirements
To be admitted to the graduate program in physician assistant studies, prospective candidates must first meet all requirements for graduate admission to UT Rio Grande Valley, as well as the other requirements listed below. Admission to the program is competitive; therefore, the criteria listed below represent the minimum requirements for consideration but do not guarantee admission.
- All applicants who are accepted must have completed at least a bachelor’s degree upon matriculation to the Physician Assistant Department from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or a recognized international equivalent.
- Applicants must have completed 15 semester hours in a domestic institution of higher education within the past 10 years.
- Applicants must have a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0.
- Minimum prerequisite course GPA of 3.0.
- Minimum overall science GPA of 3.0.
- Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on the last 60 hours.
- GRE General Test.
- CASPER Test Scores.
- Submission of a completed UTRGV Graduate College application prior to the published deadline. The application is available at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply.
- Submission of a completed program application through CASPA including three letters of recommendation/reference and personal statement at www.caspaonline.org.
Physicians Assistants Certification
Upon successful completion of academic and clinical training requirements, the student is conferred the degree of Master of Physician Assistant Studies and is eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) given by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
Program Requirements
Required Courses
Didactic Phase - 48 Hours
Clinical Phase - 36 Hours
Capstone Phase - 16 Hours
Capstone Requirement
Oral Comprehensive Exam
Written Comprehensive Exam
Evidence Based Medicine Research Paper
Total Credit Hours: 100