Physician Assistant Studies Academics & Accreditation

Program Goals

Upon completion of the program, students are awarded a master's degree, Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), and may sit for the national certifying examination to achieve licensure and certification. The UTMB Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program strives to:

1. Maintain an applicant pool consisting of at least 20% applicants from one or more of the following:
   • Underrepresented Groups in Medicine (UIM) as defined by the AAMC
   • First generation college
   • Military service
   • Native language other than English
   • Economically disadvantaged household
   • and/or from a medically under-served area/health professional shortage area.

   	Class of 2026	Class of 2027	Class of 2028
   Underrepresented Groups in Medicine	10%	10%	12%
   Gender - Male	18%	16%	15%
   First Generation College	24%	29%	28%
   Military Service	2%	1%	1%
   Native Language other than English	9%	3%	11%
   Economically Disadvantaged Household	26%	27%	28%
   Medically Underserved Area / Health Professional Shortage	22%	22%	24%
   Goal	Met	Met	Met

2. Maintain a 95% or better 3-year average graduation rate for students in the UTMB PA program.
   * As of 2025, the 3-year average graduation rate for the UTMB PA program is 93%.
3. Maintain at least 50% of clinical rotation sites in low income zip codes (as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
   * As of 2025 over 53% of clinical rotations were in low income zip codes.
4. Maintain a 5-year first time PANCE pass rate above the national average.
   * The 5-year national mean first time taker average pass rate is 93%.
   * The 5-year UTMB mean first time taker pass rate is 89%.

Accreditation

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston Physician Assistant Program sponsored by the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be October 2027. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy. The program's accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at (Accreditation History - UTMB).

Click on the links below to download a copy of our most recent reports:

• UTMB NCCPA Pass Rate (PDF)
• UTMB PA Program Attrition (PDF)
• Exam Performance Summary Report (PDF)
• UTMB PA Program Accreditation History (PDF)

For verification, you may contact the Commission at the following address:

Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant
3325 Paddocks Parkway, Suite 356
Suwanee, Georgia 30024

Phone: (770) 476-1224
Website: https://www.arc-pa.org/
Email: webmaster@arc-pa.org