Physician Assistant Studies

Admission Criteria

Please see our policy on Transfer of Core Courses/Advanced Standing.

Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

For GRE scores, we use the Verbal and Quantitative sections for our initial comparison. We may also consider the Writing score in our evaluation of your qualifications. We now require a minimum of 900 for the combined Verbal and Quantitative sections. See the FAQ page for a longer discussion of the scores. All GRE scores still must be no more than 5 years old.

Please note that we accept ONLY the GRE for our program. We do not accept any substitutes (e.g. the MCAT).

Bachelor's Degree

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college with minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Academic Performance

Applicants with a GPA of less than 3.0, but other strengths may also be considered, and should contact the program to discuss their other qualifications. Please be aware that applicants will need other significant strengths to ameliorate the effect of lower GPA. Examples may be:

  • More than 20 hours of graduate level work with a high GPA
  • The Graduate GPA (rather than undergraduate) will be used for applicants with a graduate degree
  • Applicants with more than 20 hours of graduate level work with a high GPA may be considered at the discretion of the PA program
  • An academic record that shows excellent grades recently, with a GPA that may be lowered by poor grades in the remote past
  • Very high GRE scores and outstanding clinical experience
Prerequisite Courses

One semester each of the following prerequisite courses with a C grade or better:

  • General Chemistry with lab 1
  • Organic Chemistry with lab Pre-med or Chemistry major level
  • General Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Microbiology (lab recommended) 2
  • Biology/Zoology with lab Not Biology for non-majors
  • Human Physiology 3
  • Human Anatomy 3
  • Sociology/Anthropology
  • Medical Terminology 4

    Notes: 1) Our program requires only one semester of General Chemistry, however, applicants should be aware that usually two semesters of Chemistry are required to take Organic; 2) Bacteriology can substitute for Microbiology; Cell Biology, in general is NOT equivalent to Microbiology-- microbiology is the study of microorganisms, particularly infectious ones, whereas cell biology has to do with the biology and genetics of cellular function in general; 3) Animal Physiology and Vertebrate Anatomy can substitute for Human Physiology and Human Anatomy, respectively. This reflects the situation that the Human courses often cannot be applied toward a degree (e.g. Biology), whereas the animal versions can apply. Likewise, Bacteriology often can be applied toward a Biology degree whereas Microbiology may not be in some cases; 4) Medical Terminology may be taken as an Independent Study course from the University of Kentucky; click here and look for the CLA 131 course, or call 800-432-0963.

Advance Standing/Transfer of Credit

We do not offer "advance standing" to any students based on past qualifications or work experience (i.e. all students must take all of the coursework). However, it is possible to transfer in credit for some of our courses (e.g. PGY 412G, HSM 601 and STA 570; see the Curriculum section of the FAQ page). These courses must have been taken while enrolled as a graduate student in order for the credit to transfer, and you must have earned an A or a B in the course(s). In addition, only the hours, not the grades, will transfer. Please do not assume that hours will automatically transfer; check with the program to be sure. For further discussion of this issue, see the FAQ page.

Other Requirements

Three letters of recommendation, an admission essay, certification in Basic Life Support by the American Heart Association, compliance with the Technical Standards established by the College of Health Sciences for the College, and for the PA program (these are PDF documents). Competitive applicants are granted an interview.

NOTICE: Although every effort is made to ensure that this material is accurate and up to date, it is provided for the convenience of the user and should not be considered the official version. The official version of this material is available at the UK Graduate School site. Specific information about the PA program is at the UK Graduate School PA program site. The user is advised to refer to and rely upon the official version of this material when making significant decisions or judgments.

Technical Standards

All students matriculating into the PA program are required to be able to meet certain Technical Standards. Click here to view these Technical Standards. If you have questions concerning standards please contact the Office of Student Affairs.

Prerequisite Notes

All prerequisites must be completed by the time of your application to the program. We can no longer consider applicants who have courses in progress at the time of application. Thus, the last semester in which you may complete prerequisites is the Spring semester before the June 15 application deadline.

Note: An exception to these deadlines will be made for any newly-added prerequisites, such that the new prerequisites will be required by the time of enrollment (i.e. by the end of Fall semester).