About the program
The Florida State University PA program is described in PAEA's published program data; full curriculum details, faculty, and admissions cycle specifics are maintained on the program's own website.
From the program's mission statement: "The mission of the Florida State University, School of Physician Assistant Practice is to educate and prepare physician assistants to practice patient-centered healthcare in any clinical setting and to be responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, minority and underserved populations throughout the state of Florida."
Our faculty of PAs, physicians and biomedical scientists are in the process of developing a world class program that will assist you in your goal to become a practicing physician assistant. Our 27-month, 7-semester, 111 credit hour program was designed to prepare our graduates to practice medicine as part of the Physician-PA Team. Upon completion, our graduates will receive the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Practice degree. The PA Program at FSU is extremely challenging.
Matriculant data
Actual stats for students who enrolled in the most recently reported cohort, sourced from PAEA's published program data.
Admission policies
Out-of-state applicants are accepted. International applicants: yes. DACA status applicants are considered. Distance learning is not offered. Part-time enrollment is not available. Veteran support programs are available; consult the program directly for details.
Prerequisite coursework
Recency: No Requirement · up to 2 outstanding at application
Program overview
Florida State University's School of Physician Assistant Practice offers a 27-month, 111-credit-hour program leading to a Master of Physician Assistant Practice degree, with ARC-PA Continued accreditation and a planned cohort start in August 2027. The program accepts both in-state and out-of-state applicants, as well as international candidates, though no distance learning or part-time options are available.
The program's mission is explicit about its priorities: preparing PAs for patient-centered care across any clinical setting with particular emphasis on serving elder, rural, minority, and underserved populations throughout Florida. Applicants who have a genuine interest in community-oriented practice and working with historically overlooked patient populations will find this mission a meaningful part of their training environment. The curriculum draws on case-based, problem-based, and organ-systems-based learning, with early clinical exposure built in - an approach that grounds classroom work in practical clinical reasoning from early in training.
The academic floor is a 3.0 across overall, science, and prerequisite GPAs. Prerequisite coursework includes two semesters each of general chemistry and general biology with labs, plus standalone courses in human anatomy, human physiology, and microbiology - all with lab components - and a statistics course. There is no time limit on prerequisite completion, and applicants may have up to two prerequisites still outstanding at the time of application. The patient-care requirement sits at 500 hours of paid direct patient care, which is a meaningful but not unusually high bar compared to many peer programs.
The application deadline is October 1, 2026, and the program uses rolling admissions reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, making early submission a practical advantage. Applicants must submit GRE scores - the MCAT is explicitly not accepted - along with CASPer, and a minimum of three reference letters. International applicants must also provide TOEFL or IELTS scores. Interviews are conducted in a Multiple Mini Interview format and are required on-site.
The estimated incoming class size is 60 students. Tuition rates differ for in-state and out-of-state students, so applicants should review current fee schedules directly with the program to understand total cost of attendance under their residency status.
An applicant should carefully assess whether their paid patient-care experience, GPA profile, and genuine alignment with FSU's underserved-population mission make this program a strong mutual fit before investing in an early application.