About the program
The University of Utah 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: "To improve the quality of health and access to care, with a commitment to the medically underserved, by educating students to become highly proficient, socially conscious, and accountable physician assistants (PAs) in the primary care model."
1. Mission focus 2. Faculty and staff engagement 3. First year clinical experiences 4. Weekly tutorial groups 5. Community based master's project 6. Community engagement opportunities, student-run free clinics
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, with exceptions. please visit the program's website. DACA status applicants are considered. Distance learning is not offered. Part-time enrollment is not available. On-campus housing is available. Veteran support programs are available; consult the program directly for details.
Prerequisite coursework
Recency: 7 Years
Program overview
The University of Utah offers an MPAS degree completed over 27 months, with the next cohort beginning in May 2027. The program holds continued ARC-PA accreditation and accepts both out-of-state and international applicants, though international candidates should review the program's website for specific conditions. The incoming class is relatively large at 68 students, which reflects the program's capacity to serve a broad range of qualified candidates.
The mission centers on improving health quality and expanding access to care, with particular emphasis on serving medically underserved populations within a primary care model. This is not a generalist program in the vague sense - it explicitly orients students toward community health, social accountability, and primary care practice. Applicants who have sought out underserved or community health experience will likely find the environment a strong match.
Curriculum delivery draws on case-based and systems-based learning, team collaboration, and early clinical exposure. Weekly tutorial groups are a structured feature, and students complete a community-based master's project, reinforcing the program's applied focus on community engagement. Student-run free clinics offer additional hands-on involvement beyond standard rotations.
The GPA floor is 3.00 for both overall and science coursework, placing this program within reach of a wide applicant pool, though competitive candidates will likely present stronger profiles. The patient-care requirement of 2,000 hours must come from paid work - volunteer hours do not satisfy this threshold - making this a meaningful bar that filters for candidates with substantive, compensated clinical roles. Healthcare experience beyond direct patient care is also required. Prerequisite coursework must have been completed within the past seven years and includes general chemistry (8 credits), general biology (4 credits), human anatomy with lab (4 credits), and human physiology (4 credits).
The application deadline is August 1, 2026, and the program uses a post-deadline batch review process rather than rolling admissions, meaning there is no strategic advantage to applying early beyond meeting the cutoff. A required onsite traditional interview is part of the selection process. Three letters of reference are required, and a seat deposit of $1,000 is collected upon acceptance. Tuition rates differ for in-state and out-of-state students, so applicants should factor residency status into their cost calculations carefully.
The program does not offer part-time enrollment or distance learning, so candidates must be prepared for a full-time, in-person commitment for the duration of training. An applicant should evaluate fit primarily by honestly assessing whether their paid patient-care hours meet the 2,000-hour requirement and whether their professional and academic goals align genuinely with primary care and community-centered medicine rather than specialty or hospital-based tracks.