Towson University PA Program Interview: MMI and Dates

Towson's mission is to educate and empower "resilient graduates to practice collaborative, evidence-based medicine" in a diverse health care environment. Its values are cultural humility, collegiality, integrity, interprofessionalism, life-long learning and leadership.

The FAQ says the program seeks academic readiness, professionalism, resilience, compassion and "a commitment to serving diverse communities," and that successful applicants show maturity, integrity and genuine motivation for the PA profession.

Towson gives admission preferences to Towson or University System of Maryland alumni and Maryland residents, military veterans with honorable or general discharge, first-generation or low-income applicants, bilingual applicants and applicants with fewer than two Ws in science courses. It says preferences are one part of a holistic review. Its program goals aim for at least 30% of clinical rotations in shortage, underserved or safety-net settings and at least 20% of students with advanced proficiency in a second language.

• Degree: the FAQ says graduates earn a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. The about page calls it a Master of Physician Assistant Studies.
• Length: the program page says 26 months and 98 credits. The FAQ calls it a 24-month curriculum and says it runs from mid-May orientation to graduation in May of the second year, and PAEA lists 24 months.
• Start: classes begin in late May 2027 for this cycle.
• Campus: in person on the Towson University main campus in Towson, Maryland, in the Health Professions Building that opened in 2024, with simulation labs.
• Class size: one cohort of up to 36 a year. Entering classes were 33, 35 and 23 for the Classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
• Clinical year: core rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women's health, emergency medicine, surgery and behavioral medicine, plus two electives, mostly in the DC, Maryland and Virginia region.
• History and CCBC: the program started in 1972 with Johns Hopkins and Franklin Square Hospital and was once sponsored by the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Essex. ARC-PA records the sponsor changing from CCBC-Essex to Towson in June 2017 and the name changing from the Towson-CCBC program in June 2023. Towson now says the program is "exclusively housed" at Towson University.
• Accreditation: Accreditation-Continued, granted by ARC-PA in September 2025 after a probation review, with the next review about October 2033.

GPA, prerequisites, hours, letters and the August 1 deadline are in the admissions table below.

• Practice short, timed answers. PAEA lists an MMI, which usually means several short stations. Practice reading a prompt, thinking briefly and answering in about two minutes. Since Towson doesn't publish station counts or timing, go by your invitation.
• Prepare for ethical reasoning. Towson names it as something the interview assesses. Practice walking through who is affected, what the options are and what you would do first.
• Show resilience with a real setback. Resilience is in the mission and the FAQ. Have one example where you struggled, what you changed and how it turned out.
• Know why Towson and Maryland. If you fit a preference group (Maryland ties, veteran, first-generation, bilingual), be ready to connect it to the program's goal of serving underserved Maryland communities.
• Talk about teams, not only patients. Collegiality and interprofessionalism are core values. Bring a story about working with nurses, techs or other clinicians.
• Use the student panel. Prepare two questions for current students about rotations in the DMV or learning in the new building.

1. Pick six questions from the list above. Write each on a card and shuffle them.
2. Have a partner read one card. Take one minute to think and two minutes to answer, then move to the next card with no break, the way short MMI stations run.
3. After all six, ask the partner which answers showed professionalism, communication and ethical reasoning, the three things Towson names.
4. Redo the two weakest answers the same day.
5. Two days later, repeat with new cards and finish with 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 Towson PA interview an MMI?

PAEA's directory lists Towson's interview type as an MMI and says an onsite interview is required. Towson's own pages say the interview is required and what it assesses, but don't name the format.

When are Towson PA interviews?

Towson schedules them tentatively for October and November, and invited applicants usually get at least two weeks' notice. Final decisions for those without an early offer come by late November.

Does Towson require the GRE or CASPer?

No. Towson says it requires no standardized test, including the GRE, PA-CAT or Casper.

What are the Towson PA program requirements?

A finished degree, a 3.20 overall science GPA, six prerequisites with a B minus or better, 500 patient contact hours and two letters, all before you submit CASPA. Towson doesn't use a minimum cumulative GPA. Details are in the admissions table below.

Is Towson's PA program still run with CCBC?

Towson's program page says the program is now housed only at Towson University. ARC-PA records the sponsor changing from CCBC-Essex to Towson in 2017 and the Towson-CCBC name being dropped in 2023.

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: Towson University PA program home, admission requirements and deadlines, FAQ, about, attrition and admissions survey summary pages, the PAEA program directory and the ARC-PA accreditation history.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Towson 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.