Baylor University – Waco Physician Assistant Program
Waco, Texas · Master of Physician Assistant Studies
Tuition + fees $140,673
Estimate for the cohort starting October 2025
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A closer look
A full-time, entry-level 24-month hybrid MPAS. The first 12 months combine distance education with Waco immersions; the second 12 months contain supervised clinical practice experiences in varied locations. The 108-credit plan comprises 63 preclinical and 45 clinical credits.
Mission & approach
Educate and prepare compassionate healthcare leaders within a Christian environment through academic excellence, science, and innovation while dedicated to expanding access to health and wellness through team-based, patient-centered medical care.
Admissions insights
What this program looks for in applicants
Minimum cumulative, prerequisite and overall science GPAs are 3.00 (the science minimum starts with the Fall 2027 entering cohort). If you are below 3.00 cumulative, at least 3.50 over your last 60 semester or 90 quarter credits may qualify. Baylor prefers GPAs above 3.19. At least 500 hours of direct healthcare experience, paid or volunteer in the U.S., must be complete before you apply; Baylor counts roles such as scribe, pharmacy technician, health educator and therapist aide, so judge your duties against its published definition. More than 500 hours is generally preferred, and extra preference goes only to applicants with at least one year (1,000 hours) of paid professional healthcare work after licensing, certification or graduation. Baylor also prefers sustained research, first-generation applicants, applicants from shortage or underserved areas, and Baylor degree holders. Final decisions follow a holistic review after interviews.
Summarized from the program’s admissions information. Confirm current selection criteria with the program.
Program admissions informationHow this program interviews
If invited, you record spoken answers to a series of interview questions on a web-based video platform.
Source checked Sep 13, 2026. Interview formats and dates can change between cycles.
Program interview informationAdmissions & prerequisites
Admission requirements
Prerequisite coursework
Semester creditsReview each course, its lab, and the program’s policies. Your links are planning records; the program decides equivalency.
| Course | Credits | Lab | Min grade |
|---|---|---|---|
EnglishCourse notes & alternativesMust be writing-intensive or writing-flagged. | 3semester credits | Not required | C |
BiologyCourse notes & alternativesA lab is required for each course; Biology I and II or other science-major biology courses with labs are accepted. | 8semester credits | Required | C |
Human AnatomyCourse notes & alternativesMay be paired with separate Human Physiology, or replaced by a two-course A&P I/II sequence totaling at least six semester credits, with labs. | 4semester credits | Required | C |
Human PhysiologyCourse notes & alternativesSeparate four-credit physiology with lab, or the combined A&P I/II alternative totaling at least six credits with labs. | 4semester credits | Required | C |
MicrobiologyCourse notes & alternativesMust be a science-major, non-introductory course with a lab. | 4semester credits | Required | C |
General ChemistryCourse notes & alternativesScience-major, non-introductory course; a lab is not listed as required. | 3semester credits | Not required | C |
Organic ChemistryCourse notes & alternativesMust be a science-major, non-introductory course with a lab. | 4semester credits | Required | C |
PsychologyCourse notes & alternativesMay be introductory or intended for non-science majors. | 3semester credits | Not required | C |
StatisticsCourse notes & alternativesNo additional subject restriction is published. | 3semester credits | Not required | C |
Policies that can change your plan
- Grades and repeats
- Grades below C do not qualify. For a repeated course, both grades count in your cumulative and science GPA, but the credits count once. On pass/fail, the admissions page says an individual waiver may be possible, while the prerequisite FAQ lists only a Spring 2020 to Spring 2021 COVID exception; ask the program.
- Labs, AP and expiry
- Online labs are allowed only for Spring 2020 through Spring 2021. AP and CLEP are not accepted. Prerequisites expire after 10 years, counted year to year from your application.
- Experience
- You need at least 500 hours of paid or volunteer direct healthcare experience in the U.S., completed before you apply. Baylor counts roles such as scribe, pharmacy technician, health educator and therapist aide, so judge your duties against its published definition. More than 500 hours is generally preferred. Extra preference goes only to applicants with at least one year (1,000 hours) of paid professional healthcare work after licensing, certification or graduation.
- Letters
- Three CASPA recommendations are required, and at least one must come from a healthcare professional who knows your clinical performance. You may submit up to five. A separate academic evaluator or PA letter is not required.
- Testing
- The GRE is required and must be within five years. The program does not mention the PA-CAT or CASPer.
- Shadowing
- Shadowing a PA, physician or other healthcare provider is recommended but not required. No minimum hours are published, and virtual shadowing is not accepted.
- Clinical placement
- The program selects clinical sites. Students do not arrange placements, though they may recommend a site or preceptor.
- Employment
- The full-time program strongly discourages employment and says schedules may make work impossible.
- Outcomes
- Baylor says its program goal outcomes, PANCE report and attrition information will be available in Fall 2027, after the first cohort graduates. No actual PANCE or attrition results are published yet.
- Accreditation
- ARC-PA lists the program as Accreditation-Provisional, first accredited June 2025, with a maximum entering class of 75 and a next review in January 2028. In January 2026 ARC-PA accepted the program's report and observation response with no further information needed, noting zero areas of noncompliance.
- Costs
- For the cohort starting in October 2025, Baylor estimates tuition of $23,333 per trimester for six trimesters ($139,998), administrative fees of $100 per trimester ($600) and a one-time $75 AAPA membership, for $140,673 in tuition and required fees. This is an estimate for that cohort, not a Fall 2027 quote. Baylor's travel and housing table has an arithmetic error: rotation housing is printed as $28,220, but 258 days x $90 is $23,220, and the printed $33,830 total matches only $23,220.
Nine required courses total 36 semester credits with separate 4-credit anatomy and physiology courses, or at least 34 with the combined A&P I/II route (6 credits). Science prerequisites must be science-major, non-introductory courses unless noted. Online labs are accepted only for Spring 2020 through Spring 2021. AP and CLEP are not accepted. All prerequisites must be finished by the time you apply, within the last 10 years, at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian institution. Grades below C are not accepted. For repeated courses, credits count once but both grades count in your GPA. Course substitutions are decided case by case.
When courses must be complete: Every prerequisite must be complete when the application is submitted. The bachelor’s degree, or qualifying U.S./Canadian master’s degree for an applicant whose bachelor’s was earned elsewhere, must be complete before matriculation.
Dates & application steps
Published for the September 2027 entering cohort.
For the cohort starting September 2027, applications opened April 30, 2026. CASPA must verify your application by October 1, 2026, and Baylor warns that verification can take up to four weeks after CASPA has all your documents. A Baylor supplemental application follows CASPA verification; no separate supplemental deadline or fee amount is published.
The program publishes the start month, not an exact day.
Know what the total includes
Published cost estimate
Estimate for the cohort starting October 2025For the cohort starting in October 2025, Baylor estimates tuition of $23,333 per trimester for six trimesters ($139,998), administrative fees of $100 per trimester ($600) and a one-time $75 AAPA membership, for $140,673 in tuition and required fees. This is an estimate for that cohort, not a Fall 2027 quote. Baylor's travel and housing table has an arithmetic error: rotation housing is printed as $28,220, but 258 days x $90 is $23,220, and the printed $33,830 total matches only $23,220.
See additional expenses & assumptions
Tuition plus required fees is $140,673. Other listed required items total $3,050. With the corrected travel and housing figure ($33,830), the total is $177,553. Baylor does not call this a comprehensive cost of attendance and does not publish food, routine living, insurance or loan-fee amounts.
Curriculum & clinical training
Three 21-credit trimesters
Distance coursework plus one or two 5–9 day Waco immersions per trimester, with anatomy, clinical medicine, pharmacology, diagnostics, assessment, evidence-based medicine, research, health systems and professional practice.
Three 15-credit trimesters
Eleven rotations over 12 months: seven four-week core rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, women’s health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery and behavioral medicine, plus four three-week selectives.
The six terms total 21 + 21 + 21 + 15 + 15 + 15 = 108 credits. Delivery is roughly 40% distance education, 10% immersions and 50% clinical experiences.
The admitted class
Class of 2027
Published class statisticsThis is the profile of admitted students. The program does not publish class size or demographics.
Compare published cohorts
| Class | Published GPA | Published science-related GPA | Published experience hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2027 | 3.57 | 3.44 | 3,093 |
Class of 2027 admitted-student averages (not minimums): cumulative GPA 3.57, science GPA 3.44, prerequisite GPA 3.63, last-60-credit GPA 3.62, patient care experience 3,093 hours, research 529 hours, volunteering 294 hours. The acceptance rate is 11%.
Published class statistics describe the named cohort or population. They are not admission minimums or acceptance probabilities.
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: No graduates yet
First-time program results are not yet available; no graduates have been reported.
- Five-year first-time PANCE pass rate: No graduates yet
Five-year first-time results are not yet available.
Accreditation history
Provisional- June 2025Initial provisional accreditation
ARC-PA granted Provisional status with maximum entering class 75.
- January 2026Reports accepted
ARC-PA accepted the program's report and its observation response with no further information needed, noting zero areas of noncompliance.
ARC-PA lists the program as Accreditation-Provisional, first accredited June 2025, with a maximum entering class of 75 and a next review in January 2028. In January 2026 ARC-PA accepted the program's report and observation response with no further information needed, noting zero areas of noncompliance.
Sources you can open
Links to the program’s own pages and the official directories we use.
- Baylor University Waco paea
- Baylor University Waco about
- Baylor University Waco outcomes
- Baylor University Waco admissions
- Baylor University Waco faq
- Baylor University Waco prerequisites
- Baylor University Waco tuition
- Baylor University Waco curriculum overview
- Baylor University Waco curriculum
- ARC-PA currently accredited programs — sponsoring-institution directory
- Baylor University Waco arc
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.”
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