Physician Assistant Studies Program

Admissions in CASPA for 2024-2025 have closed.

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Admission Requirements

The following information applies to the 2024-2025 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. Please refer to the international student instructions.
• Students may apply while their degree is in progress; however, proof of degree completion or documentation of planned degree conferment be will be required before matriculation in the program.

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

• Overall GPA 3.00 AND
• Graduate Course GPA (if applicable): 3.00

Direct Patient Care (DPC) Experience

• No minimum number of hours is required for an interview; the focus will remain on the quality of experience, but direct patient care hours must still be completed.
• 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 will NOT be counted as direct patient care.
• Direct Patient care hours can NOT be complete with a relative or family member.

Community Service or Mission Work

• No minimum number of hours is required for an interview; the focus will remain on the quality of experience, but community service or volunteerism hours must still be completed.
• Hours do not need to be health care related.

Physician Assistant Shadowing 

• No minimum number of hours is required for an interview; the focus will remain on the quality of the experience, but physician assistant shadowing hours must still be completed.
• Applicants must identify and initiate all PA shadowing experiences. The program cannot suggest nor arrange shadowing opportunities for prospective students.
• Virtual/Zoom 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.

Preference will be given specifically to (in no particular order of importance): 

• Tennessee residency
• MTSU alumni
• Second Career Applicants
• Military service with honorable discharge
• Continual medical employment >1 year
• Volunteer commitment >100 hours
• Healthcare/Research experience with documentation of completion
• Achievement of graduate degree
• College athlete
• Extracurricular commitment >1 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 PA Studies program with documented improvements in application.
• First-generation college student
• Living in an isolated rural area (population <2500)
• Applicants providing examples of overcoming adversity

Standardized Tests and Other Requirements

• No GRE required
• No PA-CAT is required
• No MCAT is requited.
• Applicants that indicate their primary language is NOT English must submit official test scores for either Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The following are the minimum scores for admission consideration:
• 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.
• 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 which can be found further down the page.

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.
• Waivers will be provided to students after CASPA submission. The waiver must be approved by the program.
• Prerequisites and waivers must be completed and verified by the end of February of the matriculating year.

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. 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. 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 outline 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.

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

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.

Physician Assistant Student Technical Standards

Professional healthcare clinicians are challenged in environments that demand certain abilities, behaviors, and skills. The Physician Assistant must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. Students must be able to integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, consistently, quickly, and accurately, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze, and synthesize data. A student for the Physician Assistant profession must have abilities and skills including observation, communication, intellectual, motor, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative, and behavioral and social. To be eligible to enroll in the program, the student must be able to perform these skills and behaviors successfully either unassisted, with dependable use of reasonable assistive devices, or by employing another reasonable accommodation. The following descriptions define the capabilities expected from an individual to successfully complete the Middle Tennessee State University Physician Assistant Studies Program.

General Abilities

The PA student must possess the skills related to critical thinking, communication, gross motor dexterity, fine motor coordination, interpersonal skills, observational abilities, and social skills in an individual, group, classroom, laboratory, or other educational setting. The student is expected to possess functional use of the senses of vision, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. All data received by the senses must be integrated, analyzed, and synthesized in a consistent and accurate manner. In addition, the student is expected to possess the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, equilibrium, and movement. The student must be able to effectively perform and function in settings that are solitary, small group, large groups, social environments, public space, or even very large classroom settings without disruption of other students, patients, faculty, or staff. The student must be able to function and remain calm within stressful situations while maintaining a calm temperament. The student must be able to have on-time attendance and participate in classes and laboratory sessions, all supervised clinical practice experiences (including travel and which may include overnight call), and examinations and testing.

Observational Skill

The PA student is expected to participate in and observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic and health sciences including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacological demonstrations in animals, microbiological cultures, microscopic study of organisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states, human cadaver dissection, and medical procedures. The student is expected to observe the patient accurately at a distance and close at hand and accurately assess health/illness alteration. Inherent in this observation process is the use of the visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory sensations and sufficient motor capability to carry out the necessary assessment activities. These skills including the ability to inspect, palpate, percuss, and auscultate accurately during the physical examination.

Communication Skills

The PA student must be able to effectively hear, understand, speak, and observe patients to elicit history and other information necessary to interact with patients, students, faculty, and staff.  The student must be able to perceive nonverbal communication and cues, describe patient mood or changes, describe posture and appearance, and to interpret and describe patient activity and behavior.  The student must be able to communicate in verbal, written, typed, and electronic manner that is effective, efficient, and sensitive and in the English language. The student must be able to receive and give communication effectively to others in a professional manner. The student is expected to give oral presentations in small and large group settings. The student must be able to interact, communicate, and understand other students, clinicians, faculty, patients, and their families to respond appropriately and in a timely fashion.

Intellectual Capabilities

The PA student must possess and demonstrate the physical, emotional, intellectual, compassionate, and ethical capabilities required to undertake the full curriculum at normal pace with an on-time completion. The student must be able to learn, retain, and recall information and make a reasoned decision in a timely fashion. The student must be able to achieve a competent level of critical thinking and reasoning required to function in an entry level PA position.  To achieve this level, the student must be able to perform in areas of reasoning, measurement, analysis, interpretation, synthesis, calculation, and deduction. In addition, the student should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures. These skills must be evident in dealing with other students, faculty, staff, patients, patient families, and other health care professionals. Critical thinking and problem solving, while in stressful situations, are necessary to complete the program.

Interpersonal Abilities and Social Interactions

The PA student must be able to establish and maintain appropriate relationships in a professional manner with other students, faculty, staff, health care professionals, patients, as well as patient families.  This will encompass possessing the maturity and emotional health necessary to function within the healthcare and educational environments while achieving full utilization of his or her abilities, intellectual function, sound judgement, sensory input, critical thinking, and promptness. The student must be able to demonstrate compassion, empathy, responsibility and tolerance towards patients, families, faculty, staff, other students, and colleagues. This includes the ability to remain calm and function at this level within stressful situations and with competing demands for the student's time and energies.

Fine and Gross Motor Skills and Strength

The interaction with patients and the demands of the health care and educational environments while in training and practice require strength, coordination, and endurance of sufficient nature.  The PA student should have sufficient fine and gross motor coordination to function within the patient care and educational environments that may include clutter, equipment, tables, family members, stairs, textbooks, supplies, and distractions.  This includes the ability to ambulate, stand for long periods, concentrate, balance, interact, assist in movement, use of medical instruments, use of electronic devices, positioning of patients, and lifting of heavy objects.  In general, the student should be able to safely lift 50+ pounds without any assistance or injury. The student is expected to be able to perform gross and fine motor movements required to perform a complete physical examination (including male and female genital examination on patients). Interaction within the environment may include classrooms, treatment rooms, laboratory space, patient rooms, waiting rooms, operating rooms, public spaces, stairwells, outdoor movement and any other space generally necessary to interact with and treat patients or interact in the educational environment. This interaction may require standing or sitting for very long periods of time without disruption or change in position. This interaction may require altering lighting including bright or fluorescent lights or low light conditions. The student is expected to be able to maintain consciousness and equilibrium, and stamina to perform satisfactorily in didactic and clinical experiences. The student must be able to travel to all required MTSU PA Program educational settings.

In addition to the abilities and skills set forth above, the student must possess the general physical health necessary for performing the duties of a Physician Assistant student without endangering the lives of patients and/or colleagues with whom the student might have contact. Students whose performance is impaired by abuse of alcohol or other substances are not suitable for admission, continuation, promotion, or graduation.

Tuition/Fees

• Regional Out-of-state explanation (regional scholars’ program)
  • All amounts shown are estimates and subject to change
• Cost of attendance (explains average cost of living expenses)
  • All amounts shown are estimates and subject to change
• Estimated Tuition and Fees
  • All amounts shown are estimates and subject to change
• Other Common Expenses** for the PA Studies Student:
  

  Expense	Didactic Phase	Clinical Phase	Total
  Textbooks	$3,500	$500	$4,000
  Computer, software, etc.	$2,100	NA	$2,100
  Medical Equipment	$840	NA	$840
  Optional Conference Fees	$500	$500	$1,000
  Health Insurance (Needlestick care will vary based on exposure risk and health insurance coverage.)	$3,000	$2,400	$5,400
  Background Checks	$25	$75	$100
  Health Services (Drug screens, physical exam, immunizations, etc.)	$228	$228	$456
  BLS/ACLS	$180	NA	$180
  Housing	$18,000	$14,400***	$32,400
  Travel Expenses	$2,000	$7,200	$9,200
  Internet Connection	$1,000	$800	$1,800
  Personal/Miscellaneous	$4,500	$3,600	$8,100
  Total			$65,576

  *Tuition and fees are subject to change.

  **These are an estimate of common expenses related to attendance over the duration of the program. They may fluctuate year to year and are subject to change.

  *** Some clinical rotations may require students to temporarily reside outside of the Murfreesboro area. While reasonable efforts will be made to provide housing, ultimately, students are responsible for the supplemental costs that may incur with housing and transportation at all clinical training sites.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MS-PAS) in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences has been granted Accreditation-Provisional status by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Admission to the MS-PAS does not guarantee that students will pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) or obtain a physician assistant license. To obtain a Physician Assistant license in any state, an individual must graduate from a US PA program and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Successful completion of the 108-semester hour MS-PAS meets the educational requirements and qualifies students to sit for the PANCE and apply for licensure in Tennessee.

The MS-PAS disclosure provided on MTSU’s professional licensure disclosure website indicates the states and territories where MTSU has determined, through reasonable and good faith effort, that the program does or does not meet the educational requirements for other US states and territories. Current and prospective students not located in Tennessee or who plan to seek licensure or certification outside the state of Tennessee should contact the appropriate state licensing agency or board and discuss their plans with an advisor before enrolling in the program to ensure they have the most up-to-date information and guidance regarding licensure requirements.

Interested in becoming a clinical preceptor for the MTSU PA Studies program?

Complete Preceptor Application

Preceptor Resources

• Preceptor Handbook
• Incorporating Students into Patient Care/Workflow
• Introducing/Orienting a PA Student to Your Practice
• Tailoring Clinicial Teaching to an Individual Student

Additional Information

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