Frequently Asked Questions

The Accreditation Review Commission of Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Florida Gulf Coast University MPAS Program sponsored by Florida Gulf Coast University.  Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

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Upon successful completion of the curriculum, the student is awarded the Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree. 

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No, the MPAS Program is a full-time program. 

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The Program is 27-months long. The first 15 months are completed on campus. The last 12 months are clinical rotations.

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Twenty students are selected for each class.

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Classes begin in August. A mandatory Program orientation is held prior to the start of classes.

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Yes, many students enrolled at FGCU receive some form of financial aid, which may come from governmental and/or private sources. More information regarding financial aid may be obtained from the FGCU Financial Aid Office.

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Students are strongly discouraged from obtaining any type of employment while enrolled in the Program. 
The Program acknowledges that living expenses and costs associated with graduate school are considerable. However, the MPAS is a rigorous full-time program.  Expectations, assignments, and due dates are not adjusted for students who are employed.

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No, the MPAS Program does not offer advance placement for students with prior clinical, graduate, or doctoral level work. All incoming students are required to take all of the courses outlined in the Program curriculum.

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The MPAS Program does not offer preferential consideration to any applicant for program interview or admission.

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Yes, students are required to complete a MPAS Capstone graduation project. Students will present their findings during the Seminar course at the end of the clinical year. Successful completion of the capstone project is required to graduate from the MPAS Program.

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The MPAS Program does not require that applicants major in any specific academic subject. The Program accepts applicants from a wide range of undergraduate majors. Regardless of the major, a heavy concentration in science-based courses that are highly correlated with medicine is recommended. Additional chemistry, biology, and social science courses beyond the minimum strengthen an application.

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The MPAS Program requires a minimum GRE score at or above the 20th percentile. The most competitive applicants will have a verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning score of ≥ 154 and analytical writing of ≥ 4.

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Yes, selected applications are invited to FGCU for an on-campus interview. Interviews occur in early spring of the matriculating year.  If you are selected for an interview you will be notified via email or phone by one of our admissions committee members who will set up a date and time for your interview.

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No, the MPAS Program receives hundreds of applications and is unable to review individual applications prior to submission. The admission information is posted on the FGCU website. The MPAS Program can answer questions via email at paprogram@fgcu.edu.

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The following prerequisite courses must be completed within 7 years prior to matriculation to be considered for acceptance into the Program: 

• Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II including lab: 8 semester hours
• Microbiology including lab: 4 semester hours
• Genetics: 3 semester hours

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No, the MPAS Program does not accept transfer credits from other institutions. 

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Three letters of recommendation are required to be submitted with the CASPA application.

• One letter must be from a Physician Assistant (PA)
• One letter must be from a non-PA clinician (MD, DO, or NP).  While we appreciate the work done by pharmacists, physical therapists and podiatrists, we do not currently accept these letters of recommendation in place of a letter of recommendation from a non-PA clinician, which should be from an MD, DO or NP.
• One letter from a Professor or Supervisor who has worked with the applicant in a medical, professional, or educational setting. The reference should have worked with the applicant for a minimum of six months.
•  The Program does not accept references written by relatives, personal friends, or friends of the applicant’s family. Character references from pastors, teachers, counselors, family doctors, etc., are also not accepted.

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The Program requires that all applicants complete a minimum of 250-hours of direct hands-on patient care experience. These hours must be completed prior to submitting your CASPA application. The program does not accept “anticipated” hours and/or hours completed after the application has been submitted to CASPA. For applicants who are already health professionals, such as nurses, paramedics, or respiratory therapists, the practice of your profession for the recommended length of time would constitute such clinical experience. Direct patient care experience requiring certification and providing monetary compensation is most competitive. Healthcare experience as part of an academic training program (clinical rotations, internship) does not meet the requirement for direct patient care.

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The 250 hours of direct patient care may be acquired through a wide range of experiences. Patient care requiring certification and monetary compensation is preferred. Most competitive applicants will have more than 1,000 hours of direct patient care. It is important to gain a skill or certification that will allow you to work directly with patients.

Applicants without previous health care experience often will complete training as a medical assistant, medical scribe, or emergency medical technician (EMT).

The following are common examples of accepted patient care experience:

• Athletic Trainer (ATC)
• Cardiovascular Technologist
• Certified Nurse Aide (CNA)
• Chiropractor
• Dental Hygienist/Assistant
• Dietician
• EMT/Paramedic (‘on-call’ hours not calculated in patient care hours)
• Emergency room technician
• Epidemiologist
• Exercise Physiologist
• Hospital pharmacy technician (must work directly with patients)
• Medical Assistant (MA)
• Medical Scribe
• Military Corpsman/Medic
• Nursing (RN, LPN)
• Occupational Therapist (OT)
• Ophthalmology Technician
• Orthopedic Technician
• Patient Care Technician
• Pharmacist (Pharm.D, RPh)
• Phlebotomist
• Physical Therapist (PT)
• Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)
• Podiatrist
• Registered Behaviorial Technician in a Clinical Setting
• Respiratory Therapist
• Surgical Technician
• Ultrasound Technician
• X-Ray Technician
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker

The following DO NOT meet the requirement for direct patient care:

• Care of a family member
• Shadowing or observation of a PA or physician
• Medical records/office clerical position in a medical office or hospital
• Retail pharmacy technician
• Healthcare experience part of an academic training program (clinical rotations, internship)
• Coach/Camp counselor
• Hospital or patient transporter

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The Program strongly encourages applicants to obtain at least 20-hours of in-person shadowing of a PA.

Applicants with minimal exposure to physician assistants should arrange with one or more PAs to “shadow” them on a regular basis, especially in a primary care setting (family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics) to gain a clear understanding of the role of the PA on the healthcare team.

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 Yes, all students selected for admission into the MPAS Program are required to complete a criminal background check, drug screen and immunization documentation prior to matriculation via www.CastleBranch.com, an online screening verification service. The offer of admission is conditional upon the results of the background check, drug screen and the successful submission of the immunization documentation. During enrollment, repeat background checks, drug screens and updated immunizations are required.

Background check findings could preclude participation in affiliated clinical sites and/or acceptance as a candidate for licensure as a PA in any state. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the appropriate state licensing board.

If a prospective student declines to submit all required CastleBranch documentation, or if findings of a grievous nature are revealed, the offer of admission will be revoked.  If a student does not continue to meet the CastleBranch requirements while enrolled in the Program, or if findings of a grievous nature are revealed, this will be grounds for dismissal from the Program.

Acceptance into and successful completion of the MPAS Program does not imply or guarantee that the student obtain state licensure upon graduation. 

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The Program does not accept AP courses but does accept dual enrollment from an accredited university.

Online courses taken at a regionally accredited university are accepted.

The science GPA is calculated based on ALL biology, physics and chemistry courses taken; this includes any repeat courses. CASPA calculates this not the program. If you find there is an error with the calculation you will need to contact CASPA to resolve the issue.

It will be the responsibility of the applicant to send follow-up documentation if requested by the program showing that a satisfactory grade is equivalent to a grade of "C" or above. CASPA does not factor S/U grades into the calculated GPA. At this time the program will give credit for the completed course as a prerequisite but will not recalculate any GPAs.

Admission into the MPAS Program is highly competitive. Meeting the admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Most competitive students will meet and exceed the entrance requirements.

For both the completed application and the interview processes, candidates will receive a numerical score that quantifies their appropriateness and competitiveness for the Program. The score is calculated via a Program specific rubric.

Students receive more points in the application process for the following:

Higher science GPA (biology, chemistry, and physics courses)

Higher GRE scores (at or above 20th percentile)

Greater experience with direct patient care and in-person shadowing PAs

Experiences consistent with program mission, vision, and goals

Understanding the role of a PA

Community service and leadership responsibilities 

Service in under-served populations

Strong letters of recommendation from PAs and non-PA clinicians (MD, DO, or NP)

Strong personal statement

Strong research or teaching experience

1. All applicants must apply through the CASPA Application. The application must be CASPA verified by January 15, in order to be considered for fall enrollment.

2. Applicants no longer need to submit a Graduate Admissions application.  All application materials received through CASPA will be reviewed by FGCU.

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Applicants must have a complete and verified CASPA application on or before the application deadline date. For example, if you are currently enrolled in courses and will not complete your degree until after the January deadline you would need to apply to the following application cycle. Documents should be sent several weeks prior to the application deadline date to ensure items arrive on time. A verified application must be complete with all transcripts and letters of recommendation received and verified by CASPA. The MPAS Program only reviews applications that have been verified by CASPA.

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No, applicants to the MPAS Program no longer need to submit applications to both CASPA and FGCU.  All application materials received through CASPA will be reviewed by FGCU.

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If additional letters of recommendation have been requested these can be sent directly to CASPA or to paprogram@fgcu.edu.

No. Only applicants who have completed all of the program admission requirements will have their applications reviewed. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed until the missing requirements have been completed.

International applicants are required to submit official English proficiency test scores: TOEFL exam (minimum score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, or 79 internet-based) or IELTS exam (minimum score of 6.5).

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The Program does not allow preferential or advanced placement for any applicant.  All applicants, including foreign medical graduates, must complete all required prerequisites within the published time frame in order to be considered as a candidate for the MPAS Program.

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Clinical year rotations are primarily in Southwest Florida within 50 miles of the FGCU campus. Rotations may be assigned in Collier, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota counties.

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All clinical rotations are conducted within the State of Florida. The MPAS program does not allow for rotations outside of the United States.

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The first priority when assigning rotations is to ensure that every student meets the educational objectives of the clinical year. A well-rounded clinical education requires that students be exposed to a variety of clinical practice settings (in-patient vs. outpatient practices, academic medical centers vs. community-based sites, urban vs. rural practices, operating room, ER, etc.). While every effort will be made to accommodate reasonable requests for selective rotations, the quality of the student’s clinical education will come first, and the student might not be assigned to their primary choice of selective rotation. 

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No, the Program does not provide students with housing during rotations. MPAS students are responsible for transportation, housing, and living expenses during the Program. Reliable transportation is also essential and required. Students are required to return to campus at the end of each rotation for mandatory exams and other administrative and educational activities. Any expenses for housing and travel to and from rotation sites and the FGCU campus are the sole responsibility of the student.

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Students who must have time off from a rotation must obtain approval from their preceptor first, and then the Clinical Director. The Clinical Director and the Program Director reserve the right to determine how many and what types of absences will be approved.

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