Tuition + fees $58,110 / $86,565 nonresident
Class of 2028 (entering 2026); full program
A closer look
A 28-month Arkansas PA program with a 40-student class and 500 direct patient-care hours required before enrollment.
Mission & approach
The mission of the UAMS PA program is to produce PA graduates who will practice transformative patient-and family-centered care with the highest professional standards in any community by: Embracing cultural diversity, collaborating effectively with all members of the a health care team, contributing to the PA profession through leadership, education, and service.
Check my fit with this school
Check three basics
Enter any GPA or patient care hours you know. We’ll compare them with this school’s published numbers. This is a starting point, not an eligibility decision.
The quick check needs JavaScript.
Admissions insights
What this program looks for in applicants
Holistic review. Preference given to Arkansas residents (out-of-state strongly encouraged to apply). Weighs cumulative & science GPA; coursework beyond minimums; LORs; direct patient care; military service; community service; leadership; research. Personal attributes include first-generation status, socioeconomic/educational disadvantage, geographic background, and residence in medically…
Summarized from the program’s admissions information. Confirm current selection criteria with the program.
How this program interviews
The program's Admission Committee arranges in-person interviews for the most qualified candidates as part of a rolling admissions process, with interviews running from September through December for the following May's entering class. The specific interview format (individual vs. panel) is not published.
Source checked Aug 1, 2026. Interview formats and dates can change between cycles.
Program interview informationAdmissions & prerequisites
Admission requirements
Prerequisite coursework
semester credit hoursReview each course, its lab, and the program’s policies. Your links are planning records; the program decides equivalency.
Courses shown as alternatives in the table are not all required. Confirm the accepted route with the program.
- Anatomy and Physiology route: Human Anatomy with lab + Human Physiology with lab OR Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs
| Course | Credits | Lab | Min grade |
|---|---|---|---|
General or Principles of Biology I and II with labs2 course(s)Course notes & alternativesBiology II may be General Zoology with lab or Cell Biology with lab if Biology II is unavailable. | 8semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Human Anatomy with lab1 course(s) Separate route; may instead complete A&P I and II with labs. | 4semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Human Physiology with lab1 course(s) Separate route; may instead complete A&P I and II with labs. | 4semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs2 course(s) Complete both combined courses as alternative to separate anatomy and physiology. | 8semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Microbiology with lab1 course(s) | 4semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Genetics or Medical Genetics1 course(s) | 3semester credit hours | Not specified | C |
| General Chemistry I and II with labs2 course(s) | 8semester credit hours | Required | C |
| Organic Chemistry I with lab1 course(s) | 4semester credit hours | Required | C |
| General Psychology1 course(s) | 3semester credit hours | Not specified | C |
| Statistics or Biostatistics1 course(s) | 3semester credit hours | Not specified | C |
Policies that can change your plan
- Total
- 41 required semester credits across nine subject areas, with a choice of anatomy and physiology route.
- Minimum grade
- C or better in every prerequisite; pass/fail not accepted.
- Recency
- Anatomy, physiology and microbiology must be within seven years of enrollment; no blanket seven-year rule for every course.
- AP/IB/CLEP
- None accepted for PA prerequisites.
- Completion
- Up to two outstanding prerequisites may be conditionally accepted, but all must be complete before matriculation.
- Course location
- All prerequisites at U.S. institutionally accredited colleges; foreign coursework does not count, even with evaluation.
- Biology II alternative
- Zoology with lab or Cell Biology with lab is accepted only when General Biology II is unavailable; the program reviews the course individually.
Anatomy, physiology, and microbiology must be completed within seven years. The other prerequisites have no blanket seven-year limit.
Dates & application steps
CASPA application deadline is November 1 for mid-May 2027 matriculation.
This is the expected start of the entering class.
Know what the total includes
Published cost estimate
Class of 2028 (entering 2026); full programTuition only, from the school’s published rates for this cohort. Rates can change.
Class of 2028 (entering 2026): full-program tuition is $49,490 for residents and $77,945 for nonresidents (UAMS flat-rate tuition over three years: $21,210 + $21,210 + $7,070 resident; $33,405 + $33,405 + $11,135 nonresident). Rates can change for later cohorts, so confirm with the program. Required fees for the same cohort total $8,620: lab $3,150 + standardized patient $595 + diagnostic equipment $1,200 + graduation $70 + student health $580 + transportation $429 + technology $496 + university services $2,000 + student activity $100. Tuition plus required fees = $58,110 resident / $86,565 nonresident. Not included: health insurance, textbooks and laptop, background check and drug screen, housing and transportation.
Curriculum & clinical training
Didactic education
Sixty-nine credits combine classroom, laboratory, simulation, clinical encounters and service learning.
Clinical education
Fifty-nine credits provide supervised practice and continued professional training.
The Little Rock program spans 28 continuous months and 128 credits; its current degree plan applies to Summer 2026 entrants.
The admitted class
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: 100%
Class of 2026: 100% first-time pass rate (33 first-time takers). Earlier classes: 2025 97%, 2024 97%, 2023 97%, 2022 78%. The program's own five-year first-time average is 94%.
- Five-year first-time PANCE pass rate: 94%
Accreditation history
ContinuedSources you can open
Links to the program’s own pages and the official directories we use.
- UAMS PA 2027 admissions
- UAMS PA how to apply
- Published class of 2028 cost chart
- University of Arkansas curriculum and clinical training
- Program program page
- ARC-PA currently accredited programs — sponsoring-institution directory
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.”
How competitive are you for this program?
Match AI compares your full profile with this program and every other one, then sorts your list into Reach, Target and Safety.