Temple University PA Program Interview: Format and Questions

The interviews page says Temple wants candidates with strong interpersonal skills who can listen and be "culturally sensitive to another's point of view." The program says it is committed to enriching medicine through diversity and service to community.

The admissions committee gives strong consideration to applicants who have shown exceptional service to others, and it names military, police and fire service, the Peace Corps and Teach for America as examples. It gives the same consideration to applicants who are educationally or environmentally disadvantaged.

The program's mission is to develop "compassionate, respectful, and culturally humble" PAs who give patient-centered, evidence-based, accessible care in their communities. Its core values are diversity, inclusion, integrity, humanism, professionalism and scholarship. The program also says the need for PAs is most pressing in "our historically underserved urban community" of North Philadelphia.

Temple calls its process holistic, and its fair practice page says meeting the minimum prerequisites guarantees neither an interview nor admission.

• Degree and length: a Master of Medical Science (MMS) in PA studies, about 26 months and 117 credits (69 preclinical, 48 clinical).
• Structure: a 14-month didactic phase taught in organ-system blocks, then a 12-month clinical phase with seven required and two elective five-week clerkships.
• Start: Temple's pages say classes start in June (the Summer I term). The PAEA directory lists the start month as May 2027, so confirm with the program.
• Campus: the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at 3500 N. Broad Street in North Philadelphia. PA and medical students learn side by side, and the William Maul Measey Institute for Clinical Simulation and Patient Safety is used for skills and teamwork training.
• Class size: 35. The program reports an entering class of 35 for the Classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025, and 35 is the maximum ARC-PA approved.
• Accreditation: Accreditation-Continued from ARC-PA. Temple's page says the next validation review is about June 2030, while the ARC-PA history page header says April 2030.
• Other route: an accelerated 3 + 2 program for Temple undergraduates in the College of Science and Technology, with its own GPA and hours rules.

The university's MD program has its own interview. See our Lewis Katz School of Medicine interview guide. GPA, prerequisites, hours, letters and the January 15 deadline are in the admissions table below.

• Prepare for two separate conversations. Two personal interviews means two people forming a view of you. Your core stories should hold up when told twice to different listeners, without sounding memorized.
• Show listening, not only talking. Temple names the ability to listen as a trait it seeks. Practice pausing, restating a question and asking a clarifying question when a prompt is vague.
• Bring a story about cultural humility. Have one example where you misread a patient or a peer from a different background and changed what you did.
• Connect your service to North Philadelphia. If you have military, first responder, Peace Corps, Teach for America or other sustained service, be ready to explain what it taught you about care in an underserved urban setting.
• Know your 400 hours. Temple requires at least 400 hours of direct, hands-on patient contact to be considered for an interview. Pick two moments from those hours you can describe in detail.
• Use the student meeting. Prepare two questions for current students about clerkships, the simulation center or learning with medical students.

1. Write three stories in four sentences each: one on listening, one on cultural humility and one on service. Name the person, what you did, what changed and what you would do now.
2. Run a mock with a partner who asks five questions from the list above, with one follow-up per answer.
3. Run a second mock right after with a different partner and different questions, to match the two personal interviews.
4. Ask both partners which story they remember and whether you listened before answering. Rewrite the weakest story.
5. Repeat two days later with new questions, and finish by asking your partner two questions you would ask current students.

If you don't have a partner, Confetto's PA school interview prep runs AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you said and give rubric-based feedback.

Is the Temple PA interview virtual or in person?

Temple's pages don't say as of November 2026. PAEA's directory says an onsite interview is not required. Go by your invitation email.

Is the Temple PA interview an MMI?

Temple describes two personal interviews plus a program overview and a meeting with current students, and PAEA lists the type as a traditional interview. Neither mentions an MMI.

Does Temple require the GRE or CASPer?

No GRE or MCAT is required. Temple says scores are optional and will not affect your application status. Its pages don't mention CASPer or the PA-CAT as of November 2026.

When is the Temple PA deadline?

Your CASPA application must be submitted, complete and verified by January 15, and you must pay the $60 Temple Graduate Application Fee. Temple recommends finishing by December 1 because verification can take six weeks or more.

What are the Temple PA program prerequisites?

Biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, statistics, psychology, medical terminology and two or more courses from genetics, molecular biology, immunology, microbiology and cell biology, each with a C or better. The full list and time limits are in the admissions table below.

Applying elsewhere? See our guides to the George Washington University PA program and Duke PA program interviews, and our how many PA schools to apply to guide.

Sources: Temple PA Program home, admissions, interviews, requirements, fair practice, accreditation and PANCE and attrition pages, Temple University's program format page, the PAEA program directory and the ARC-PA accreditation history.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Temple University. Everything here about the program comes from its public pages, checked in November 2026.

Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.