The Duke PA program interview format

Duke's Physician Assistant Program, part of the Duke University School of Medicine, interviews on Zoom. Its application page says about 250 of the most qualified applicants are invited, and that the interview day has two individual interviews plus a group exercise. For the class that starts in fall 2026, the program reports 243 interviewed and 90 who accepted an offer.

Item	What Duke says
Delivery	Zoom
Individual interviews	Two, each with a faculty member, a PA alumnus or another Duke health professional
Group exercise	One, with other applicants
Also on the day	Time with current PA students to ask questions
Length of each part, open or closed file, group exercise topic, rubric	Not published
Decisions	As early as 10 days after your interview and no later than March 1
Review style	Applications are reviewed in the order received

Duke also keeps a ranked alternate list of interviewed candidates and says it does not offer deferments. If you cannot start with the cohort in August, you forfeit the seat and reapply.

What the Duke PA program looks for

Duke describes itself as mission-driven: it wants students committed to service and to increasing access to primary care in rural and underserved communities. Its What We Look for in an Applicant page says knowledge of the health care system and the PA role, motivation, maturity and personal insight, and interpersonal skills weigh strongly in the decision. It also lists non-academic attributes it gives preference to:

A record of significant volunteerism
Advanced skill in another language
Being born and raised in North Carolina, or long-standing contributions to the state
Coming from a rural area
Perseverance through adverse life events
Experience in primary care or with underserved communities
Being a non-traditional applicant, working full time while in school, or being economically or educationally disadvantaged
Active military or veteran status

Duke also says the most competitive applicants align strongly with its values of academic excellence, leadership, life experience and community service. The FAQ confirms that Duke gives preference to North Carolina residents as a mission-based program in the state. Nothing in the interview details says which of these your interviewers will probe, so prepare a specific story for each one that applies to you.

The 2026-27 timeline

CASPA: opens April 30. Your application must be verified by September 1 for the class that starts in August 2027. Duke tells applicants to apply early to be considered for its earliest interview week.
GRE: required for every applicant, taken by August 15 and sent to CASPA code 0422.
Patient care experience: at least 1,000 hands-on hours completed by May 1 of the application year. Duke does not accept hours added after you submit.
Prerequisites: eight courses, finished by December 31, 2026, with grades of B minus or better.
References: three evaluations, at least one from a health care professional you worked with.

Duke publishes the Fall 2026 class ranges: the middle half had an overall GPA of 3.655 to 3.935 and 2,238 to 6,033 health care hours. The minimum GPA among those admitted was 3.14, and Duke says it has no minimum GPA or GRE. That is context, not a cutoff.

What the program is like

The Master of Health Sciences is 24 months: a preclinical year of small-group sessions, simulation, cadaver dissection and standardized patients, then a clinical year. Duke says students should plan to be away from the local area for at least two rotations, and that on average they complete four assigned rotations more than 50 miles from the program, with housing provided for rotations beyond 50 miles. If you are asked about adaptability or being away from your support network, that detail is worth knowing.

How to prepare for Duke

Know the PA role, not just the title. Duke names knowledge of the PA role and the health care system as a deciding factor. Be able to describe a PA's day in a setting you have seen, and what a PA can and cannot do.
Tie your story to the mission. Choose one or two experiences with underserved or rural patients and say what you would do differently and what you learned.
Prepare for two different interviewers. One may be a PA alumnus who knows the day-to-day work well. Another may be a health professional outside PA. Practice explaining the profession to each.
Rehearse the group exercise. Duke does not publish the format, so practice the skills that matter in any group task: listening, building on others' ideas, watching the clock and including quieter members.
Treat the student time as part of the day. Ask something you could not learn from the website, such as how the away rotations are assigned.

Duke PA practice questions (written by us, not Duke)

Duke does not publish its interview questions. These are ours, built from the mission, the PA role and the formats above. Answer each aloud in about two minutes.

Why do you want to be a PA rather than a physician or a nurse practitioner?
Tell me about a patient interaction that changed how you think about access to care.
Duke prefers applicants committed to primary care in underserved communities. Where do you see yourself practicing in ten years, and why?
A supervising physician asks you to do a procedure you have not been trained for. What do you do?
You are on a team and one colleague is not carrying their share. How do you handle it?
You have thousands of hours of patient care. What did you learn from patients that no class could teach you?
Describe a mistake you made at work. What did you do next, and what changed?
A patient asks to see the doctor and declines to see a PA. How do you respond?
You will be away from home for several clinical rotations. How will you manage that?
Tell me about feedback that was hard to hear. What did you do with it?

For a wider set, see our PA program interview questions guide and the scored PA school mock interview.

A drill for two interviews and a group task

Write one sentence on why PA, and three experiences that support it. Say it aloud in under 90 seconds.
Pick two preference areas from Duke's list that fit you. Prepare a two-minute story for each, with a concrete patient or community detail.
Ask a friend to play a PA alumnus and then a hospital administrator. Notice what you change when the listener changes.
Run a ten-minute group task with two friends: agree on a ranking or plan with a time limit. Record yourself and count how often you invited someone else to speak.
Repeat the drill two days later with new examples.

If you do not have practice partners, Confetto's PA school interview prep uses AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward. The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.

Duke PA interview FAQ

Is the Duke PA interview virtual?

Yes. Duke says interviews are held via Zoom.

Does Duke use an MMI?

Duke describes two individual interviews and a group exercise, not an MMI. It does not publish station counts or timings.

Do I need patient care hours before I can interview?

Yes. Duke requires 1,000 hands-on hours by May 1 of the application year and will not consider an application with fewer.

Does Duke require the GRE?

Yes, for all applicants, including those with graduate degrees. Scores must be sent to CASPA code 0422 by August 15.

Does Duke prefer North Carolina residents?

Yes. Duke says it gives preference to in-state applicants as a mission-based program.

Applying elsewhere in the South or East? See our guides to the Emory PA program and George Washington University PA program interviews, or our PA school interview prep page.

Sources: Duke PA Program application, what we look for, prerequisites, FAQ and curriculum pages.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Duke University. Everything here about the program comes from its public admissions pages, checked in October 2026. Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.