Physician Assistant Studies, M.S.

Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA)

The Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistant (CASPA) cycle will open on April 25, 2024, for the 2024-25 cycle. Please click the link below for direct access to CASPA:

Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA)

Admission Requirements

The following information applies to the 2024-25 admissions cycle.

Bachelor’s Degree

• The degree must be from a U.S. institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting association.
• A bachelor’s degree equivalent from another country may also be accepted. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from outside of the U.S. must send their transcripts to one of the member organizations associated with the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (www.naces.org/members) for translation. Results must be uploaded into the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA).
• Students may apply while their degree is in progress; however, proof of degree completion will be required before matriculation in the program.

NOTE: Students beginning the M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies who complete their bachelor’s degree in the same month they graduate will need to provide documentation of their undergraduate degree before beginning their coursework at MTSU. Documentation must be sent directly to the College of Graduate Studies at MTSU. Students should either provide a final transcript reflecting the degree conferral or a letter from their undergraduate institution’s records office stating that the student has completed all requirements required for graduation, date by which the degree will be conferred, and confirmation that a final transcript has been ordered and will be sent to MTSU once the degree has been conferred. Students will then be considered as fully admitted to the university. If a student receives financial aid for the program but is later discovered not to have been conferred a bachelor’s degree, that student must pay MTSU back for all dispersed loan amounts. 

Minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements (on a 4.0 scale)

• Minimum GPA requirement as calculated by CASPA: 3.0 overall AND
• If graduate degree completed, minimum GPA: 3.0 overall for graduate coursework
• Science GPA will be utilized as preference placement only

Direct Patient Care (DPC) Experience

• All completed but no designated minimum number of hours needed for holistic faculty application review.
• Hours logged to satisfy the direct patient care requirement will only be considered if the experience involves direct responsibility for some aspect of patient care, either by administering, influencing, or providing care in a “hands-on” capacity. It is recommended that students acquire direct patient care hours in various medical settings to obtain strong, diverse direct patient care experiences.
• Medical scribe experience is not accepted as direct patient care.
• The focus for DPC will be on the quality of experience.
• Direct patient hours CANNOT be completed with a relative or family member. 

Community Service or Mission Work

• No minimum number of hours required for an interview, but the focus will remain on the quality of experience. 
• Hours do not need to be health care related.

Physician Assistant Shadowing 

• Applicants must identify and initiate all PA shadowing experiences. The program cannot suggest nor arrange shadowing opportunities for prospective students. NOTE: Virtual shadowing is not accepted.

Letters of Recommendation

• At least three strong letters of recommendation detailing the potential of the applicant to be a PA are required.
• At least one letter of recommendation from a PA is highly recommended. 
• Letters from friends or family will not be accepted. 

Personal Statement

• A personal statement should be crafted to detail the applicant’s desire to become a PA, communicating ideas appropriately and effectively. Well-written personal statements should be free of grammatical and spelling errors. 

Other Requirements

• Applicants must not have a history of dismissal from another Physician Assistant program for academic or disciplinary reasons.
• The MTSU Physician Assistant Studies Program does not accept transfers from other programs.
• Applicants must not have a history of current drug abuse or conviction of a felony. All students will be required to submit to criminal background checks and drug screens before matriculation and during enrollment in the program.
• All applicants must be able to meet the program’s technical standards. Please refer to the technical standards section found within the student handbook.

Standardized Tests

• GRE not required
• MCAT not required
• PA-CAT not required

Applicants whose primary language is not English will be required to complete an English Proficiency exam with minimum score as follows:

• TOEFL: iBT score of 80, PBT score of 550, or CBT score of 214
• IELTS: an overall band score of 7.0, with no individual band score below 6.0.

Prerequisite Courses

*Not subject to the 10-year time limit

• All applicants must successfully complete prerequisite requirements with a grade of “B-” or higher within the bachelor’s degree or through coursework at a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education.
• Prerequisite science courses are to be completed within 10 years prior to the date of admission. A waiver of the 10-year requirement for a prerequisite course may be requested by the applicant if the following occurs: there is a continuous employment history that would demonstrate knowledge of the course content.
• Prerequisites and waivers must be completed and verified by the end of February of the matriculating year.
• Knowledge-based testing does not satisfy prerequisites.
• NOTE: Online courses and labs are accepted from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher learning

All courses need to be completed by February prior to matriculation (February 2025).

Advanced Placement

The MTSU PA Studies program does not award or grant transfer credits or advanced placement to any matriculating student. Prerequisite and graduate coursework from other institutions, which may correspond to courses in the program, will not be considered as substitutions for programmatic curriculum.

International Student Policy

International applicants with degrees from outside the United States must have a degree equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree as verified by an acceptable evaluation service. Transcripts must be provided in the original language and with an English translation. Regardless of where undergraduate studies are completed, if a student does not indicate English as the primary language the program may require an English proficiency exam score to be submitted.

In addition, all applicants must successfully complete prerequisite courses with a grade of “B-” or higher at a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education. Prerequisites may NOT be completed at a foreign institution for credit. All required items must be sent to CASPA for verification and official application to the program. No exceptions will be made.

International applicants must also comply with the International Graduate Admissions policies within the MTSU College of Graduate Studies.

Admissions Practices

The admissions process is highly selective. Applicants who meet the criteria as outlined above will have their files forwarded to the program for faculty review. The program faculty will conduct a holistic review of the applicant’s CASPA application and make recommendations for interviews. It is anticipated that the MTSU Physician Assistant Studies Program will receive a large number of applications for a class of 30 students. Competitive applicants will likely have more than the required minimums; thus, applicants meeting the required minimums are not guaranteed an interview. Performance on interview day is strongly considered in the admissions process.

The MTSU PA Studies Program endeavors to recruit and retain a diverse community of Physician Assistant students whose qualifications align with programmatic mission and goals. As such, the program has admissions and enrollment practices that advantage specific individuals or groups. Applicants demonstrating any of the following attributes will receive incremental weighting within various sections of the admission’s rubric.

Capacity for Academic Success
Preference will be given specifically to (in no order of importance):

• Tennessee residency
• MTSU alumni
• Second career applicants
• Military service with honorable discharge
• Continual medical employment greater than one year
• Volunteer commitment greater than 100 hours
• Healthcare/Research experience with documentation of completion
• Achievement of graduate degree
• College athlete
• Extracurricular commitment greater than one year
• Applicants raised in medically underserved areas
• Applicants raised in a family who received public assistance or who are deemed economically disadvantaged
• Bilingual applicants
• Re-applicants to MTSU Physician Assistant Studies program with documented improvement in application
• Applicants living in an isolated rural area (population < 2500)
• Applicants providing examples of overcoming adversity

Application Procedures

Applicants must apply to the program through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) to be considered for admission. Students must submit the appropriate CASPA and MTSU applications fees to be considered. If selected for an interview, students may be asked to complete an additional, abbreviated application form through the College of Graduate Studies.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies requires completion of a minimum of 108 semester hours comprising both didactic and clinical education. Candidates will be required to maintain a minimum 2.75 GPA to complete the program and graduate. The following grading scale is used in the Physician Assistant Studies program:

No D grades will be assigned.

Curriculum: Physician Assistant Studies

Academic Credit

Total academic credit offered by the program is reflected in the chart below: