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Address & Contact

Our Address

University of North Carolina Bondurant Hall, CB #7121 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599

GPS

35.899912959878165, -79.09191160316296

Telephone

(919) 962-8008

Email

[email protected]

Web

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PROGRAM PROFILE

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Physician Assistant Program

Chapel Hill, North Carolina · Master of Health Sciences

Continued accreditation ↗On campus ↗24 months ↗
Save schoolCheck my fitSee where you're competitive — Match AIProgram website
Application deadline Next deadline not yet publishedCASPA verified
Tuition Resident $62,142 (estimate)Nonresident $109,034 (estimate)
Tuition + fees $68,692 / $115,584 nonresident
Published Class of 2027 two-year tuition and fees; the rate for newer cohorts is not yet published
Class size 20 studentsThe program admits 20 students each January.
Program length 24 monthsFull program
GRE requirement Not requiredUNC does not require or recommend the GRE or another standardized admissions test and does not use submitted scores in application review.
Patient-care minimum 1,000 paid direct hoursAt least 1,000 hours of paid, direct, hands-on patient care must be complete and verified by the CASPA deadline. Shadowing, training hours, academic-credit experience, and administrative or clerical work do not count.
Overall GPA minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA, or 3.00 over the last 60 semester hours.Applicants must have either a 3.00 cumulative GPA or a 3.00 GPA over the last 60 semester hours; a 3.00 cumulative GPA is not the only route.
Science GPA minimum No separate cutoffUNC does not publish a separate overall science-GPA minimum. The published 3.20 threshold is for the required prerequisite courses.
PANCE pass rate 89%First-time pass rateFive-year first-time: 98%
U.S. News PA rank #93 (tie)2025 PA edition · Peer-assessed reputation
YOUR PROFILE & THIS PROGRAM

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THE PROGRAM

A closer look

To promote high-quality, accessible, patient-centered health care for the people of North Carolina and the nation through excellence in education, scholarship, and clinical service. The UNC PA program is committed to the health care and workforce needs of North Carolinians and will use an inter-professional approach to prepare skilled and compassionate health care practitioners across the continuum of life.

24-month programNot required1,000 paid direct hours
Bondurant Hall exterior, home of the UNC Chapel Hill Physician Assistant Program office
Bondurant Hall, UNC Chapel Hill. Photo: Bbfd / Wikimedia Commons, CC0; cropped, resized, and compressed.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Admissions insights

What this program looks for in applicants

Holistic review; mission targets non-traditional students (age >26), military veterans (esp. medical-MOS; founded via Fort Bragg/JSOC partnership), and NC residents; prepares grads for medically under-resourced NC communities (HPSA>=14, FQHCs, county health depts); benchmark 25% nontraditional/veteran; 1000 hrs paid hands-on PCE (shadowing not accepted); 3 LORs incl. >=1 practicing PA; not…

Summarized from the program’s admissions information. Confirm current selection criteria with the program.

Program admissions information

How this program interviews

Virtual or on campus

Selected applicants first complete two 30-minute virtual interviews via Zoom with UNC admissions committee members or department faculty, then top candidates are invited to a required on-campus interview day held later in the cycle. Final admission decisions weigh the application together with both the virtual interviews and the on-campus interview.

Source checked Aug 1, 2026. Interview formats and dates can change between cycles.

Program interview information
YOUR STARTING POINT

Admissions & prerequisites

Admission requirements

GRENot requiredUNC does not require or recommend the GRE or another standardized admissions test and does not use submitted scores in application review.
Patient care1,000 paid direct hoursAt least 1,000 hours of paid, direct, hands-on patient care must be complete and verified by the CASPA deadline. Shadowing, training hours, academic-credit experience, and administrative or clerical work do not count.
Overall GPA3.00 cumulative GPA, or 3.00 over the last 60 semester hours.Applicants must have either a 3.00 cumulative GPA or a 3.00 GPA over the last 60 semester hours; a 3.00 cumulative GPA is not the only route.
Science GPANo separate cutoffUNC does not publish a separate overall science-GPA minimum. The published 3.20 threshold is for the required prerequisite courses.
Recommendations3 recommendations required, including 2 from clinicians (one of them a PA).Three recommendations are required. At least two must be from experienced health professionals who observed or supervised the applicant clinically, including at least one practicing PA. Personal recommendations are not accepted.
International applicantsConditional: you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. UNC's own pages disagree on the degree: the requirements page calls for a degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution, while the FAQ allows a foreign degree if all prerequisites were completed at a U.S. regionally accredited institution. Confirm degree eligibility before applying.
English proficiencyTOEFL is conditional; about 100 is typical, but it is not a strict cutoff.Applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL scores. UNC says strong applicants typically score 100 or higher but does not publish 100 as a mandatory minimum.

Prerequisite coursework

Semester credits

Review each course, its lab, and the program’s policies. Your links are planning records; the program decides equivalency.

Choose one complete option in each group

Courses shown as alternatives in the table are not all required. Confirm the accepted route with the program.

  • Anatomy and physiology route: Human Anatomy + Human Physiology OR Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II
  • Chemistry route: Biochemistry OR Organic Chemistry
  • Behavioral science route: Psychology OR Sociology
  • Statistics route: Statistics OR Biostatistics
CourseCreditsLabMin grade
Human Anatomy

Human-based coursework is strongly preferred. The two-course A&P I/II route can satisfy both anatomy and physiology; confirm equivalency.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Human Physiology

Not additionally required when a qualifying A&P I and II sequence is completed.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II2 course(s)

Accepted as an alternative to separate Anatomy and Physiology courses. The total credits for the combined route are not stated — check equivalency with UNC.

Not publishedSemester creditsNot specifiedC
Biochemistry

One route for the chemistry prerequisite.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Organic Chemistry

Alternative to Biochemistry.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Microbiology3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Psychology

Alternative to Sociology.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Sociology

Alternative to Psychology. Check with the program for course matching.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Statistics

Alternative to Biostatistics.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Biostatistics

Alternative to Statistics. Check with the program for course matching.

3Semester creditsNot specifiedC
Medical Terminology
Course notes & alternatives

A certificate of completion may be accepted instead of academic credit; verify the certificate with UNC.

Not publishedSemester creditsNot specifiedC

Policies that can change your plan

Minimum grade
C
Course age
Seven years is recommended, not required.
AP and CLEP credit are treated the same way.
Limited
Prerequisite GPA
Minimum cumulative prerequisite GPA 3.2.
Course grades
C or higher in prerequisite courses; C-minus is not accepted.
Course age
Within seven years is strongly recommended, not required.
Quarter credits
Quarter hours convert to semester hours by multiplying by 0.667, and you must still meet the semester-hour minimum.
Medical Terminology
A certificate of completion may be accepted in place of academic credit.

UNC's program page lists Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry, and Sociology or Psychology. A March 2026 national directory listing instead shows Biochemistry, Psychology, and Sociology as separate requirements. Confirm the current requirement with the program before choosing courses.

UNC Physician Assistant Studies admissions requirements Checked 2026-09-23
BUILD YOUR TIMELINE

Dates & application steps

Application deadlineNext deadline not yet published

The August 1, 2026 deadline has passed. The next deadline has not been confirmed.

Past published deadlineAug 1, 2026 · Passed

This date has passed and is not the next application deadline.

Published date
Month-only dates stay month-only.
THE FINANCIAL PICTURE

Know what the total includes

Published cost estimate

Published Class of 2027 two-year tuition and fees; the rate for newer cohorts is not yet published
Resident tuition$62,142 projected full-program tuition
Nonresident tuition$109,034 projected full-program tuition

$109,033.98 program + $6,050 program + $500 program · Estimate for an earlier cohort; confirm current charges for your applicant cohort.

Required program feesConfirm with program
Tuition + required feesExcludes living and other expenses
$68,692

Tuition is $62,142 resident or $109,034 nonresident for the Class of 2027. Required fees add $6,550, for $68,692 resident or $115,584 nonresident. Living costs are extra.

HOW YOU’LL LEARN

Curriculum & clinical training

01Preclinical phase

Medical foundation

Lecture-based and experiential instruction builds medical knowledge, patient-care skills, cultural humility and professional competencies.

02Clinical phase

Core and elective experiences

Supervised clinical practice develops patient assessment, diagnosis, care planning and teamwork across healthcare settings.

Generalist Master of Health Science curriculum; the 2026–2027 catalog describes more than 100 credit hours.

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill curriculum/program program page Checked 2026-09-26
WHO STUDIES HERE

The admitted class

Recorded average GPA3.45
Recorded science GPANot recorded

Published class statistics describe the named cohort or population. They are not admission minimums or acceptance probabilities.

OUTCOMES & OVERSIGHT

The program’s track record

Graduate outcomes

PANCE pass rates

See first-time program performance with clearly dated national context.

  • First-time PANCE pass rate: 89%
  • Five-year first-time PANCE pass rate: 98%

Accreditation history

Continued
First accreditedSeptember 11, 2015
Next reviewApril 2030
ARC-PA currently accredited programs — sponsoring-institution directory Checked 2026-09-26
CHECK THE EVIDENCE

Sources you can open

Links to the program’s own pages and the official directories we use.

About the U.S. News rank

The U.S. News PA rank uses the 2025 PA edition, matched to the listed program and campus. It reflects peer-assessed reputation, not admissions odds or a personal fit score. Programs without a separate entry are labeled “Unranked.”

YOUR NEXT STEP

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