Mount St Mary’s University Physician Assistant Program
Emmitsburg, Maryland · Master of Medical Science
Tuition + fees $99,000
Current published two-year estimate; the cohort year is not labeled.
A closer look
A 24-month, 110-credit PA program in Emmitsburg, Maryland, combining 12 months of didactic training with 12 months of supervised clinical education. The curriculum emphasizes healthcare equity, ethical practice and clinician well-being.
Mission & approach
Develops ethical PAs who provide compassionate, equitable care and approach patients with humility and joy.
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Admissions insights
What this program looks for in applicants
Holistic review. Preferences: Frederick County residents or applicants within 30 miles first, then Maryland residents; first-generation scholars, multilingual applicants, Mount alumni, military service and higher science GPA. Cultural humility, empathy, equity, integrity, leadership, maturity and resilience guide review. Mount graduates/alumni meeting minimum requirements receive a guaranteed…
Summarized from the program’s admissions information. Confirm current selection criteria with the program.
Program admissions informationHow this program interviews
Faculty one-on-one interviews, MMIs, a team-building exercise, and a writing sample. The detailed page says fall; the timeline image says September.
Source checked Sep 13, 2026. Interview formats and dates can change between cycles.
Program interview informationAdmissions & prerequisites
Admission requirements
Prerequisite coursework
Credits, as worded by the program.Review each course, its lab, and the program’s policies. Your links are planning records; the program decides equivalency.
| Course | Credits | Lab | Min grade |
|---|---|---|---|
Human Anatomy and Physiology ICourse notes & alternativesFirst half of the required combined A&P sequence; paired with A&P II. | 4credits | Required | B- |
Human Anatomy and Physiology IICourse notes & alternativesSecond half of the combined A&P sequence; 8 credits total across both rows, not two separate 8-credit requirements. | 4credits | Required | B- |
MicrobiologyCourse notes & alternativesLaboratory explicitly required. | 4credits | Required | B- |
Two additional biology coursesCourse notes & alternativesExamples: biochemistry, cell/developmental/general/introductory biology, genetics, histology, immunology or pathophysiology. Additional to A&P and microbiology. | 6credits | Not specified | B- |
Organic ChemistryCourse notes & alternativesRequired separately from the two additional chemistry courses. | 4credits | Required | B- |
Two additional chemistry coursesCourse notes & alternativesExamples: general/introductory chemistry, Organic Chemistry II or physical chemistry. FAQ also allows biochemistry as an additional biology OR chemistry course. | 6credits | Not specified | B- |
PsychologyCourse notes & alternativesGeneral, introductory, developmental or abnormal psychology accepted. | 3credits | Not specified | B- |
StatisticsCourse notes & alternativesResearch methods and statistics, applied, introductory, or statistics and probability accepted. | 3credits | Not specified | B- |
Medical TerminologyCourse notes & alternativesCommunity college level or above. | 1credits | Not specified | B- |
Policies that can change your plan
- Experience accepted
- Examples include athletic training, CNA/GNA, chiropractic, dental assisting, EMT, imaging, medical assisting/research/technology, mental health work, military medic, nursing, OT/PT assisting, paramedic, phlebotomy, PT, respiratory therapy and patient-facing clinical scribing. Pharmacy technician work depends on patient contact and medication management.
- Experience excluded
- Lifeguard, medical records, personal caregiver, recreational aide, shadowing, sitter, transport and unit secretary. Pharmacy technician duties may be excluded. Ask admissions to review job duties and certifications.
- Course completion
- You may start CASPA before completing prerequisites, then provide official transcripts. The FAQ says no application components may remain outstanding at the application deadline. The number of pending courses allowed is not published.
- Online and pass/fail coursework
- Online classes accepted within the 10-year limit; online labs accepted only when completed before September 1, 2022. Pass/fail courses are not accepted.
- Advanced standing
- Prior coursework, advanced placement, and transfer credits do not replace the professional PA curriculum. Whether AP/CLEP eligibility applies to prerequisites is not confirmed — check with the program.
- After acceptance
- $900 non-refundable seat deposit and signed acceptance letter due within two weeks of the offer date; deposit is applied to tuition.
- Participation requirements
- Background check, drug screening, health insurance including exposure coverage, health documentation, immunizations and technical standards apply. Consult current program policies for exact requirements and accommodations.
- Clinical sites and travel
- Program secures placements; students need not solicit sites or preceptors. Suggestions may be considered without guaranteed approval. Sites can be up to 120 miles from campus; a majority are within 70 miles. Students pay travel costs.
- Employment and attendance
- There is no part-time option. A September 2025 policy strongly discourages both paid and unpaid full-time or part-time work during the program and provides no employment-based accommodations.
- Care for America scholarship
- Selected students can receive full tuition in return for two years at a high-need partner institution after graduation and certification. The tuition page's two awards refer to the inaugural class, not a promise for every cohort.
- Contact locations
- The program is at 16300 Old Emmitsburg Road, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Admissions: [email protected]; program: [email protected]. This is the Maryland program, not a similarly named California university.
All prerequisites require a B- or better, completion at a U.S. institution, and completion within 10 years of the application deadline. Biology and chemistry each require two additional courses beyond the separately named requirements. Biochemistry can serve as either an additional biology or chemistry course; it is not separately required. Online classes are accepted; online labs only if completed before September 1, 2022. Pass/fail courses are not accepted. AP/CLEP credit for prerequisites is not addressed; the program's no-advanced-placement policy concerns the professional PA curriculum.
When courses must be complete: You may start the application while courses are in progress, but all application components must be complete by the application deadline. Every prerequisite must meet the U.S., B- or better, and 10-year rules. No next-cycle deadline or limit on pending courses is published.
Dates & application steps
The deadline for January 2027 entry was August 1, 2026, and has passed. The program requires CASPA Complete: submitted application, payment, all transcripts, and at least two evaluation letters received. The annual timeline shows April opening, August 1 closing, September interviews, November documents, and January start. No later application cycle date is confirmed.
This is the CASPA Complete deadline, not the Verified deadline. It has passed.
The exact start day is not published.
The program timeline is shown only as an image. The exact date for the next cycle is not published — check with the program.
The timeline image says September, while the admissions text says fall. The exact interview day is not published — check with the program.
Shown on a timeline image; accepted students receive detailed instructions.
2–3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. See the program's registration page.
Know what the total includes
Published cost estimate
Current published two-year estimate; the cohort year is not labeled.Tuition is $99,000 for six semesters and 110 credits at $900 per credit, with no separate resident/nonresident rates. No additional program-specific enrollment fees are currently charged. The two-year estimate is $174,329 including other expenses and living costs. The page does not label an academic year or cohort, and tuition may increase annually, so this is an estimate, not a guaranteed quote for your entering cohort.
See additional expenses & assumptions
USD. Other expenses total $8,829 and living expenses total $66,500; with $99,000 tuition, that gives the published $174,329. There are no enrollment fees, but supplies, insurance, screening and CASPA costs are listed separately. The program estimates CASPA at $184 plus $61 per additional school, which is not an independently verified current price. Housing assumes $35,000 on campus, subject to availability (off-campus range $24,000–$42,000). Health insurance must include post-exposure coverage. Screening charges may increase, and equipment brands may need approval. The $900 deposit is credited to tuition and is not added twice. Tuition can rise annually. This estimate does not establish whether there is a separate program application fee.
Curriculum & clinical training
Didactic
66 credits over spring 24, summer 18 and fall 24 credits. Mainly campus instruction, with occasional online/asynchronous sessions.
Clinical
44 credits: seven core and three elective four-week rotations, plus Transition to Clinical Practice/capstone.
110 credits across six consecutive semesters. Core rotations cover internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, women's health, behavioral/mental health, surgery, and emergency medicine. Clinical courses are in person; some supervised telemedicine may occur. The program arranges placements. The September 2025 completion policy requires a 3.0 GPA and at least a C- (70%) in required courses, an end-of-curriculum exam, summative components, a capstone, and professional and administrative requirements. These are graduation rules, separate from the B- minimum for admissions prerequisites.
The admitted class
Matriculant profile, updated March 3, 2026; cohort year not specified.
Published class statisticsAverages are reported by the program; the entering or graduating year is not stated.
Compare published cohorts
| Class | Published GPA | Published science-related GPA | Published experience hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matriculant profile, updated March 3, 2026; cohort year not specified. | 3.58 | 3.45 | Not recorded |
Matriculant averages are 3.58 overall GPA and 3.45 science GPA, with no cohort year. The ARC-PA maximum and the estimated incoming class for January 2027 are both 46. The program's outcome table has placeholders only, so enrollment and attrition results are not available.
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
No graduates/PANCE results yet; program expects reporting from spring 2028. A 90% target is not an observed result.
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 2025Accreditation-Provisional granted
Two cited areas of noncompliance concerning syllabi and measurable learning objectives; report was due September 15, 2025. Maximum 46.
- January 2026Report accepted
ARC-PA accepted the program's evidence for two standards (B1.03e and D1.04e) and requires no further information. The next review is April 2028.
Provisional accreditation, first granted June 2025, with a maximum class size of 46. The next review is April 2028.
Sources you can open
Links to the program’s own pages and the official directories we use.
- Mount St. Mary’s event
- Mount St. Mary’s admissions
- Mount St. Mary’s curriculum
- Mount St. Mary’s travel
- Mount St. Mary’s brochure
- Mount St. Mary’s policies
- Mount St. Mary’s outcomes
- Mount St. Mary’s overview
- Mount St. Mary’s costs
- Mount St. Mary’s scholarship
- Mount St. Mary’s paea
- ARC-PA currently accredited programs — sponsoring-institution directory
- Mount St. Mary’s accreditation
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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