Admission Information

Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant Studies

Application Timeline

Summer 2025 Admission Cycle

Admission Requirements

Phase I (Academic Requirements)

The FSU Physician Assistant Program is open to applicants who have earned, or will earn, by the end of the spring semester prior to summer semester entry, a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

Applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or higher, at the time of application and before matriculation into the program.

Pre-requisite GPAs are considered as a part of the admissions process with higher GPAs preferred. All science prerequisites must be completed for letter grade with at least a grade of C or higher at the time of application.

You may have only one non-science prerequisite outstanding at the time of application, but this grade must be submitted before final admission. 

Please note that not all qualified candidates will be extended an interview. Candidates will be invited for interviews on a rolling basis. Admission will also be determined on a rolling basis until the class is filled, typically in early March.

• Verified CASPA application received and verified by the deadline date of EOD November 1. A complete application includes all letters of recommendation, health care experience information, short essay, personal statement, and all official transcripts confirming science prerequisite courses have been completed and graded by the time of application.

  • Please note that only one non-science required prerequisite can be outstanding at the time of application.

  • Repeated science courses completed after the CASPA deadline will not be considered.
• Earned bachelor's degree with an overall cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 as calculated on the CAPSA application. The bachelor's degree can be pending completion by the end of the Spring semester immediately preceding the program start and this must be noted on the transcript.
  • If the GPA is not calculated as a 3.0 or higher by CASPA, students will not be considered. GPA will not be rounded up.
  • Students can be considered if the student is completing only one non-science prerequisite, which must be completed prior to an offer of admission.
  • Official transcripts should be sent directly to CASPA. Please note that if official transcripts are not available, CASPA will be accepting unofficial transcripts for this reason.
    • Transfer credits included on a transcript must include grades if earned; if not, transcripts from the original school indicating grades must be submitted.
  • All repeated course grades are counted in the CASPA GPA calculation. For information on how CASPA calculates GPAs, please go to their Frequently Asked Questions web page.

In accordance with our mission to prepare PAs to live and work in rural and medically underserved areas, particularly those in western Maryland, the FSU Physician Assistant program provides preference to:

1. Higher pre-requisite GPAs
2. Direct patient care experience requiring advanced training, certification, and/or licensure
3. Leadership activities with a maximum preference for those with activities for greater than 1 year
4. Volunteer activities with a maximum preference for those who volunteer at least 2 hours/week for a total of at least 96 hours over a 12-month period
5. Permanent address in CASPA is listed in a medically underserved areas (MUA), health professions shortage area (HPSA), or rural location
6. Permanent address in CASPA is listed in the state of Maryland at the time of application
7. Graduation from a regional institution located within 120 miles of the Frostburg, MD campus
8. Alignment with the program’s mission statement to serve rural and underserved patient populations in the primary care setting
9. Military service (veterans must have an honorable or under honorable discharge characterization)
10. Frostburg State University alumnus
11. Permanent address is CASPA is listed at the time of application as Washington, Garrett, Frederick, or Allegany county in Maryland
12. Advanced language proficiency in addition to English as reported in CASPA including American Sign Language 
13. Application via the FSU Bachelor's to Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies Pathway

Prerequisites:

Please note: Due to COVID-19, P/F grades will be accepted for prerequisite courses only if the institution does not provide the student with a choice for graded option. Students with P/F grades may also be required to obtain a letter from their school/professor indicating the final earned grade. Also note, online courses and labs for spring 2020 semester will be accepted.

• A minimum average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 in required prerequisite courses as calculated by CASPA. The higher the GPA the more advantage an applicant has in final application scoring.

• Completion of Prerequisite Courses: All science prerequisites must be completed at the time of application. All but one non-science prerequisite must be completed no later than January 15 prior to matriculation.
  • Please also note that all prerequisite courses must have been taken within the previous ten years with the exception of Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology which must be taken within the last 5 years. Applicants who have remained clinically active in the health care arena or a content-specific field may request a waiver of the time limitation up to the last 10 years.
  • Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (8 credits) (must be completed within 5 years of application, unless waiver eligible)
  • Microbiology (3-4 credits) (must be completed within 5 years of application, unless waiver eligible)
  • Medical Terminology (1-3 credits, course must be a graded course. P/F grade will not be accepted)
  • Chemistry with lab (4 credits) may be completed as AP courses in high school with credit reported on the CASPA electronic transcript
  • Organic Chemistry with lab (4 credits) or Biochemistry with lab (4 credits) (better choice)
  • Abnormal Psychology or Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
  • Statistics - may be completed as AP courses in high school with with credit reported on the CASPA electronic transcript
  • Recommended but not required – Genetics

All pre-requisite courses must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. Foreign Medical Graduate and International Students see below for more information.

Phase II (Other Requirements)

Frostburg performs a holistic review of each student's application. However, students must meet the minimum GPA and prerequisite requirements outlined above to advance in the selection process.

The program does not allow students to waive courses, nor does it admit students with advanced standing. 

Increasingly, clinical facilities require that students seeking placements undergo various criminal background checks, child abuse clearances, and/or drug screens prior to placements. Therefore, students should be prepared to participate in these screenings. Applicants who are unable to pass these clearances will be denied admission into the program.

• Health Care Experience Hours-a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care completed at the time of application is required to apply. Patient Contact Experience must be reported on the CASPA application and is subject to verification. Patient Contact Experience cannot be updated once the CASPA application has been completed.
  • Eight hours of shadowing a Physician Assistant is required as part of the application. Please reach out to AAPA or your local state PA Academy for assistance with obtaining shadowing experience with a PA. 
  • An admissions preference is given to applicants with direct patient care experience requiring advanced training, certification, and/or licensure. The list includes, but is not limited to: EMT, Paramedic, Respiratory Therapist, Nurse, Physical or Occupational Therapist, Hospital Corpsman, Medic, Chiropractor, Athletic Trainer, Dietician, or Exercise Physiologist. 

• Leadership and volunteer experience. Leadership and volunteer experience are program preferences and are scored according to the information listed under preferences above using the applicant's activities listed in CASPA 
• Submission of 2 letters of recommendation with one required from a Physician Assistant and another from a supervisor. The letter from a Physician Assistant must be able to speak to the applicant's potential for success in PA school and beyond. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all letters of recommendation are received by CASPA or the application will be considered incomplete and ineligible for further consideration.

• Supplemental Mission Statement – embedded within CASPA application

• Personal Statement - embedded within CASPA application
  

• Technical Standards - Along with other Program prerequisites, all candidates must be able to independently, with or without reasonable accommodation, meet our Program specific technical standards and continue to meet these standards throughout the entirety of their program. The technical standards have been developed in consideration of the demands of didactic and clinical training in graduate health sciences and clinical practice as a physician assistant.

• Applicants will be screened and will move to the pre-qualified applicant stage. After a full review of pre-qualified applicants, students who are best aligned with the admissions preferences listed above will be invited for an interview. Please note that not all pre-qualified candidates will be invited for an interview.

• Applicants who are invited for an interview are required to respond to the interview invitation within 48 hours or they will be withdrawn from consideration. Interview invitations are sent via the email address the applicant enters in CASPA.

Foreign Medical Graduate and International Students

Please note that students seeking F1 Visa cannot be considered for this program. Currently, FSU does not have SEVP approval for programs delivered at USM Hagerstown, the site where this program is delivered.

• All foreign-educated applicants must have transcripts of all higher education institutions attended evaluated by World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) prior to submitting the CASPA application. All foreign transcripts must be evaluated (course-by-course with GPA evaluation is required) by one of these organizations listed above; no other evaluation services will be accepted. Please be advised that this process may take several months and must be submitted with the completed CASPA application by the application deadline.

• The following prerequisite courses must be taken at a US regionally accredited college or university. Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry, Microbiology, and Abnormal/Developmental Psychology.

• English Fluency
  International students who have not graduated from an accredited college or university in the United States and whose native language is not English, must achieve a passing score on one of listed exams below. Scores must be current within two years from the time of application. If you choose to take the TOEFL or IELTS exam, we recommend that you take it at least six (6) months in advance of the semester for which you are seeking enrollment.
  1. TOEFL – passing score of 550P/213C/79iBT
  2. IELTS – passing score of 6.0
  3. ELS Language Centers – successful completion of ELS Level 112
  4. Inlingua Language Center – successful completion of Level 8
  5. The Language Company – successful completion of Level 9
  6. LADO International College– successful completion of LADO Level 10
  7. iTEP – passing score of 4.5
  8. EIKEN – successful completion of Grade Pre-1
  9. DuoLingo passing score of 100

Phase III - Interview

Interviews will be conducted in-person at the program in Hagerstown. Applicants are selected for an interview based on the strength of their CASPA application, including a review of their academic preparation and the program's preferences. During the interview process, the applicant will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement related to the interview questions and process. The program's professionalism expectations applies to applicants and can be found under student policies. An applicant can be removed from further consideration due to violation of the program professionalism expectations.

Applicants will be provided with the technical standards of admission at the time of interview and must meet these standards upon admission. The interview includes The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), developed by McMaster University, which is an interview format that consists of interview stations, each focused on a different question or scenario. The MMI is designed to measure competencies like oral communication, social and nonverbal skills, and teamwork that are important indicators of how an applicant will interact with patients and colleagues as a physician assistant. Additional components of the interview include a group interaction and writing sample. Professional dress is expected during the interview. Lunch will be provided to all applicants invited for an interview. Applicants who perform well on the MMI, writing station, and group interview are more likely to be submitted for admission. 

The attributes being evaluated and selected for based on the interview are: 

• Integrity and Self-Reflection
• Ethics
• Empathy
• Knowledge of the PA Profession
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Potential for Success in an academically rigorous program
• Written Communication
• Professionalism

Selected applicants will be notified via email by the dates listed below. Those selected for an interview will have 48 hours to respond to the invitation or the program will move to the next qualified applicant. The program will interview up to 15 applicants per session for a total of 75 interviewed applicants to admit 25 students each year. Interview dates, interview notifications, admission offers and deposit deadlines are listed below. Interview invitations will be extended two weeks prior to each interview date via the applicant email address in CASPA. Invitations will be extended throughout the entire interview cycle based on pre-interview qualifications.

For Interviews conducted in October (Date TBD):

• 15 notified by September 30^th. Invitees have 48 hours to accept invitation. 
• Initial admission offers by October 31^st.
• Deposit ($1,500) due 72 hours after notification of offer of admission

For Interviews conducted in November.(Date TBD):

• 15 notified by October 31^st. Invitees have 48 hours to accept invitation. 
• Admission offers by November 30^th.
• Deposit ($1,500) due 72 hours after notification of offer of admission

For Interviews conducted in December.(Date TBD):

• 15 notified by November 30^th. Invitees have 48 hours to accept invitation. 
• Admission offers by December 31^st.
• Deposit ($1,500) due 72 hours after notification of offer of admission

For Interviews conducted in January.(Date TBD):

• 15 notified by December 31^st. Invitees have 48 hours to accept invitation. 
• Admission offers by January 31^st.
• Deposit ($1,500) due 72 hours after notification of offer of admission

For Interviews conducted in February.(Date TBD):

• 15 notified by January 31^st. Invitees have 48 hours to accept invitation. 
• Admission offers by February 28^th.
• Deposit ($1,500) due 72 hours after notification of offer of admission

The daily schedule of the interview session will be as follows: TBD

Phase IV - Admission

Applicants are scored according to both pre-interview factors and interview performance, and a proportion of the top-scoring applicants from all interview sessions are offered admission after each interview. 

Applicants will be offered conditional admission pending completion of their Bachelor's degree (if applicable, completion of any outstanding prerequisites (if applicable), and completion of the following items before matriculation.

• Completion of a satisfactory background check, comprehensive drug screen, and documentation of required immunizations prior to matriculation. The PA program requires students adhere to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Recommended Vaccines for Healthcare Workers https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/index.html. Documentation of the above will also be required prior to matriculation. The PA program will provide detailed information on the required process to meet this requirement at the time of admission. Declining immunizations could impede clinical rotation requirements and therefore delay or prevent successful completion of the program.

*Contraindications to the above will be considered on a case-by-case basis, only with documentation from a medical provider, and must be discussed prior to matriculation. Personal/Religious reasons for declining immunizations will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be discussed prior to matriculation. It is important to understand that participating in some clinical experiences may be prohibited from some institutions/practices without completion of immunization requirements.

• Please note that admitted students may also be required to complete a second drug screening and background check prior to the start of their clinical phase of the program. Students are responsible for any associated costs.

• Demonstration of your ability to meet the technical standards

• Health Insurance is required for all students in the PA program and must be secured prior to the first day of class and continued throughout the program. Students are encouraged to check for competitive health insurance rates via the federal government's official ACA website -(you may be eligible to enroll out of the typical enrollment period) - or the healthcare.org general health insurance marketplace website - or any other vendor.