UAMS PA Program Interview, Requirements and Class Stats

What the UAMS Admissions Committee evaluates

On its Admission Requirements page, UAMS states that it uses a holistic admissions review. Alongside your undergraduate cumulative GPA, science GPA, biology, chemistry and physics coursework, letters of recommendation and 3 personal narratives (1 in CASPA plus 2 specific to the UAMS PA program), the committee evaluates your interview performance and a specific list of personal attributes and background factors.

Before your trip to Little Rock, match a concrete story from your clinical, academic or volunteer history to each attribute UAMS puts in writing:

• Professionalism and maturity: A time you owned an error, protected patient confidentiality, or handled a tense clinical shift calmly.
• Cultural humility: A patient or coworker whose background differed from yours and how you adjusted your communication.
• Self-direction: How you prepared for upper-level biology or chemistry courses or learned a new clinical skill without waiting to be told.
• Teamwork and collaboration skills: Working across roles in a clinic, hospital or group course, aligned with UAMS's 1-to-4 faculty-to-student ratio and weekly small-group case-based course.
• Communication and interpersonal skills: Explaining something complicated in plain language and listening actively.
• Resilience and adaptability: How you handled a setback or heavy schedule, and why you are ready for a Monday-through-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. lock-step curriculum where outside employment is not permitted.
• Background and service factors: First-generation college student status, socioeconomic or educational disadvantage, geographic background, background or residence in medically underserved areas, military service, community service, leadership, research and athletics.

Mission, vision and program features to know

Connect your goals to the program's mission and vision on its About page. If you are also applying to other programs on the campus, see our guides to the UAMS Medical School and UAMS Pharmacy School admissions processes.

Mission: "The mission of the UAMS Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies Program is to produce graduates who will practice transformative patient-and family-centered care with the highest professional standards in any community by doing the following: Embracing individuality, Collaborating effectively with all members of a health care team, Contributing to the physician assistant profession through leadership, education and service."

Vision: "The UAMS Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program will lead the region in innovative physician assistant education, advancement of the profession and transformative health care by embracing cultural humility and inclusivity, intentional patient and professional advocacy, and collaborative service."

Tie your interview answers to the features UAMS highlights on its About and Goals and Competencies pages:

• Continuous 28-month schedule: Starts in mid-May and ends in late August, split into a 13-month didactic phase and a 15-month clinical phase.
• Early patient encounters and case-based learning: Students see their first actual patient about 5 weeks into the didactic phase, alongside a weekly small-group case-based course for 3 semesters.
• 12th Street Health and Wellness Center and campus support: Implemented into program goal tracking starting with the Class of 2024, the 12th Street experience builds understanding of social, cultural and economic issues. Students also have a faculty advisor, mindfulness training, the Student Success Center and the Student Wellness Center.
• 10 core rotations and 2 electives across Arkansas: Covers family practice, internal medicine, inpatient medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, behavioral medicine, orthopedic medicine and geriatric medicine, plus 2 electives, a capstone project and a summative evaluation. UAMS secures all sites and preceptors, partnering with the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, UAMS Regional Campuses, UAMS College of Medicine departments, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Baptist Health Care and CHI St. Vincent Health System.
• Arkansas residency preference: First consideration may be given to Arkansas residents, while highly qualified out-of-state applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

UAMS PA practice interview questions (with our example answers)

Our team wrote the 12 practice questions and example answers below around the personal attributes, mission, curriculum features and policies on UAMS's official PA pages. For general prep across all programs, read our guide to PA school interview questions or visit our PA school hub. Every example answer is written by our team, and the applicants and clinical scenarios are invented.

• Why do you want to become a physician assistant, and why specifically at UAMS? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "Working as a medical assistant in a family practice clinic in Conway showed me how a PA expands access for patients who would otherwise wait months to see a provider. The PA in our clinic managed chronic conditions, consulted with our supervising physician on complex cases, and took extra time to teach a newly diagnosed diabetic patient how to use a glucometer. I applied to UAMS because you put students with actual patients about 5 weeks into the didactic phase. Combined with the 3-semester small-group case-based course and service learning at the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center, UAMS trains students to apply clinical reasoning with Arkansas patients from the start."
• First consideration at UAMS is given to Arkansas residents, and our rotations take place across the state. How do your goals connect to serving patients in Arkansas? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "I grew up in a rural town in southeastern Arkansas where our closest hospital was a long drive away, and I saw neighbors put off care until a manageable blood pressure issue turned into an emergency department visit. My clinical hours as an EMT showed me what rural communities face when primary care is scarce. UAMS places students across UAMS Regional Campuses, the VA, Baptist Health Care and CHI St. Vincent across 10 core rotations, including family practice, geriatric medicine and behavioral medicine. My goal is to stay in Arkansas after graduation and work in primary care to help close those access gaps."
• Our mission and vision emphasize cultural humility. Tell us about a time you cared for or worked with someone from a different background and had to adjust your approach. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "While working as a patient care technician on an inpatient floor, I cared for an older gentleman who refused help with bathing and barely spoke during morning vitals. Instead of rushing through my checklist, I asked him privately what would make him more comfortable. He shared that in his household, having a much younger person assist with personal care felt embarrassing, especially with the door cracked open. I apologized for not asking sooner, closed the privacy curtain and door, explained each step before taking his vitals, and coordinated with a male nurse on our shift for his bath. Cultural humility meant recognizing my blind spot and letting the patient define respectful care."
• UAMS students see their first actual patient about 5 weeks into the program. How has your direct patient care experience prepared you for early patient contact? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "Over the past year, I worked as an emergency room technician after starting as a medical scribe. Scribing taught me how providers structure a history and differential diagnosis, while working as an ER tech put me hands-on with patients who were scared or in pain. I learned how to introduce myself clearly, explain why I was drawing blood or placing ECG leads, and notice non-verbal signs of distress. When I step into my first patient encounter during week 5 at UAMS, I will be comfortable talking to a patient and taking vital signs, so I can focus on learning diagnostic reasoning."
• Tell us about a time you collaborated on a healthcare or academic team when communication broke down. What was your role in fixing it? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "At the urgent care clinic where I worked as a medical assistant, discharge times stretched out one Monday because nursing assistants and medical assistants each thought the other was running point-of-care strep and flu swabs. During a quiet lull, I pulled the other MAs and the lead CNA aside. We realized nobody had assigned room blocks at the start of the shift. I proposed splitting the exam rooms down the middle and writing our initials next to pending lab orders on the whiteboard. Our supervisor adopted that quick huddle for every shift afterward."
• The UAMS PA curriculum runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 28 continuous months, and outside employment is not permitted. How have you prepared for that pace? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "During my junior year, I took Organic Chemistry I, Human Physiology, and Microbiology all with labs in the same semester while working part-time as a phlebotomist. To keep my grades up, I treated weekdays like a full-time job, blocking 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for classes and study so I could protect a full night of sleep. For PA school, I have budgeted my savings and financial aid so I can leave my job before mid-May. I also plan to use UAMS's mindfulness training, Student Wellness Center, and my 1-to-4 faculty advisor check-ins early if I need to adjust my study strategy."
• Tell us about a mistake you made in a clinical, work or academic setting and how you handled it. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "During my early weeks as a phlebotomist at an outpatient lab, I called a patient back using only his first name and verified his birth date verbally, but I glanced too quickly at the requisition and missed that another patient shared the same first name and birth month. I caught the discrepancy right before uncapping the needle when I asked him to spell his last name on the tube label. I stopped immediately, apologized for the mix-up, walked him back to reception, and reported the near-miss to my supervisor. Since that day, I require patients to state their full name and birth date while I point to each line on the label."
• At the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center, students learn how social, cultural and economic factors affect health. Describe a patient you encountered who faced a financial or social barrier to care. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "At our primary care clinic, a middle-aged woman came in with uncontrolled hypertension despite having been prescribed blood pressure medications earlier in the year. When I took her history, she admitted she was skipping doses to stretch the bottles because her retail job had cut her shifts. I thanked her for telling me, documented the cost barrier, and flagged it for the PA before he walked in. Together, we switched her to a low-cost generic regimen at a pharmacy on her bus route. An evidence-based prescription only works if the patient can afford to pick it up."
• Describe a piece of critical feedback you received from a supervisor, physician, PA or professor, and what you changed afterward. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "Early in my job as a medical assistant, my supervising PA told me that while my vital signs and rooming were fast, my oral presentations outside the exam room door were too long and buried the chief complaint. I asked her to show me the exact brief format she preferred. For the next few weeks, I wrote down bullet points on my notepad before knocking on her door: age and chief complaint, relevant vitals, and the main change since the last visit. At my next review, she noted that my handoffs kept our afternoon schedule on time."
• How do you understand the relationship between a physician assistant and a supervising physician? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "A physician assistant practices medicine within the medical model under the supervision of a licensed physician, not as an independent clinician. In the orthopedic clinic where I worked, the PA conducted histories, performed physical exams, ordered imaging, formulated management plans, and assisted in surgery. At the same time, she knew when a presentation fell outside routine parameters and brought the supervising surgeon into the room immediately. Trust in that relationship comes from clinical judgment, self-awareness and clear communication."
• You are in our weekly small-group case-based course, and two classmates disagree sharply on the most likely diagnosis while a quieter student gets talked over. What do you do? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "In a small-group case course, the goal is sharpening clinical reasoning together, not winning an argument. I would let the classmates finish their current point, then step in calmly and summarize the clinical findings each of them is anchoring on. Next, I would turn to the quieter classmate, note that they started to speak earlier, and ask what differential they were considering. Once all possibilities are on the table, I would suggest checking the patient's history and lab data against the diagnostic criteria for each option."
• Tell us about a time a plan fell apart and you had to adapt under pressure. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "Last fall, our clinic's electronic health record system went down for the morning when we had a full schedule of patients, including post-operative follow-ups. My supervisor asked me to help keep patient flow moving. I printed paper intake templates from our backup binder, set up a clipboard tracking sheet with the charge nurse so we knew which rooms were occupied, and walked out to the waiting room regularly to update patients on wait times. We saw every urgent and post-op patient safely, and I stayed late to help scan the paper vitals once the system returned."

A preparation checklist for Little Rock

Use this plan (written by our team) to get ready for an on-campus UAMS PA interview:

• Step 1: Re-read your 3 submitted narratives (1 in CASPA plus 2 UAMS program-specific narratives) and your CASPA experience descriptions.
• Step 2: If you have outstanding prerequisites or pending direct patient care hours, write down the exact completion dates so you can give a clear update.
• Step 3: Map a real story to each of UAMS's holistic personal attributes: professionalism, maturity, cultural humility, self-direction, teamwork, communication, resilience and service.
• Step 4: Practice the questions above out loud with a timer and an unscripted follow-up question on each.
• Step 5: Prepare questions for the faculty about week-5 patient encounters, the 3-semester case-based course, or the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center.
• Step 6: Confirm your travel route, parking and check-in instructions for 4301 West Markham Street in Little Rock, and lay out your interview attire.

UAMS PA program statistics, prerequisites and deadlines

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The UAMS PA program holds Accreditation-Continued status from ARC-PA, with its next validation review scheduled for October 2036. For the 2023-2025 cohorts, the program achieved a three-cohort average first-time PANCE pass rate of 97.0%, exceeding the 91.7% national average by 5.3 percentage points, per the Goals and Competencies page. In March 2024, ARC-PA noted that the 2022 cohort PANCE pass rate was 85% or less and accepted UAMS's report with no further information requested.

For the summer 2027 cycle, applications open on or around April 30, 2026 and close November 1, 2026 (by 4:30 p.m. Central time for the $40 UAMS Workday application, using matching email addresses for CASPA and Workday, with submission strongly suggested by September 15 for CASPA verification). Applicants need a U.S. accredited bachelor's degree (international transcripts are not accepted), a minimum 3.0 cumulative and 3.0 science GPA in CASPA, 3 letters of recommendation (1 PA or physician, 1 supervisor, and 1 professor or second PA/physician), and 3 personal narratives. Before matriculation, you must complete 41 semester credits of prerequisites with a grade of C or better and 500 direct patient care hours. Compare these rules in our guide to PA school requirements.

• Biology and Chemistry: Biology I and II with labs (8 credits. General Zoology or Cell Biology with lab may substitute for Biology II), General Chemistry I and II with labs (8 credits), and Organic Chemistry I with lab (4 credits).
• Anatomy, Physiology and Microbiology (7-year recency rule): Human Anatomy with lab (4 credits), Human Physiology with lab (4 credits, or combined full-year Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs), and Microbiology with lab (4 credits), all completed within 7 years of matriculation.
• Genetics, Psychology and Statistics: Genetics or Medical Genetics (3 credits), General Psychology (3 credits), and Biostatistics or Statistics (3 credits).
• Coursework rules: 41 total credits with a grade of C or better. Online labs are accepted, though face-to-face labs are recommended, while survey courses, pass/fail grades and AP/IB/CLEP credits are not.
• Direct patient care and enrollment requirements: 500 hours (paid or volunteer. Shadowing and student/intern hours do not count. Up to 250 hours can come from scribing or pharmacy technician work), plus required immunizations, health insurance, a background check, a drug screen and Basic Life Support certification before enrolling.

UAMS PA statistical admission data on matriculated students (Program Statistics page)

Class	Avg. Age	Gender M/F	GPA	Sci. GPA	Direct Patient Care Hours	Biology, Chemistry and Physics Hours	Biology, Chemistry and Physics GPA
2028	24	22.5%/77.5%	3.69	3.62	3823	59	3.56
2027	25	28%/72%	3.69	3.62	5173	56	3.53
2026	23	15%/85%	3.71	3.64	2766	61	3.56
2025	24	28%/72%	3.7	3.64	3286	58	3.58

UAMS PA cohort size, attrition and graduation rates (Program Statistics page)

Metric	Class of 2023	Class of 2024	Class of 2025
Maximum entering class size (ARC-PA approved)	40	40	40
Entering class size	40	40	40
Graduates	37	37	39
Attrition rate	7.5%	7.5%	2.5%
Graduation rate	92.5%	92.5%	97.5%

Practice your UAMS PA interview out loud

Confetto's AI mock interviewer lets you rehearse PA interview questions out loud with follow-up prompts on your clinical experience, teamwork and motivation, and gives you rubric-based feedback after every session. Start your free week.

Practice question

UAMS's mission calls for graduates who practice transformative patient- and family-centered care and collaborate effectively with all members of a healthcare team. Tell us about a time you worked with a team to support both a patient and their family.

See an example answer

Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "While working as a certified nursing assistant on a geriatric unit, I helped care for an older woman recovering from a hip fracture whose daughter visited every evening and questioned every medication and physical therapy session. During afternoon rounds, I asked the daughter what worried her most about her mother going home. She admitted she worked full time, lived across town, and was terrified her mother would fall again while alone. With her permission, I shared that concern with our physical therapist, charge nurse and supervising PA. Together, we scheduled her mother's next therapy session for the late afternoon so the daughter could practice safe transfer techniques alongside the physical therapist, and the PA arranged a social work consult for home health support. Once the daughter felt included in the care plan, the tension disappeared."

It names a concrete clinical role and setting in the first sentence, addresses the family's underlying fear, brings in multiple team members (physical therapist, charge nurse, PA and social work) while staying within a CNA's scope, and ties directly to UAMS's geriatric rotation and patient- and family-centered mission.

Frequently asked questions

When does the UAMS PA program interview, and are interviews in person?

UAMS conducts PA admission interviews in person on its Little Rock campus on a rolling basis from September through December for the cohort that enrolls in mid-May. The Admission Committee sends interview notifications to selected candidates beginning in the fall.

Can I interview at UAMS if I still have prerequisite courses or patient care hours in progress?

Yes. Candidates may be interviewed with outstanding prerequisite courses or direct patient care hours and can be contingently accepted with up to 2 outstanding prerequisites, but all 41 prerequisite credits and 500 direct patient care hours must be completed before official acceptance.

What are the minimum GPA and patient care hours required for the UAMS PA program?

You need a minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA and a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate science GPA on a 4.0 scale as calculated by CASPA, along with at least 500 hours of direct patient care experience completed before the program starts. Paid, part-time and volunteer hours count toward the 500-hour minimum.

Do scribing or shadowing hours count toward UAMS's 500 direct patient care hours?

Shadowing a PA or physician is recommended, but it does not count toward direct patient care, and neither do hours completed as a student or intern. UAMS accepts up to 250 hours of medical scribing or working as a pharmacy technician, and the remaining 250 hours must come from another form of direct patient care.

How many seats are in the UAMS PA class, and does UAMS prefer Arkansas residents?

Each UAMS PA cohort has a capacity of 40 students, with a 1-to-4 faculty-to-student ratio. First consideration is given to Arkansas residents during admission reviews, though highly qualified out-of-state applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

What is the UAMS PA program's PANCE pass rate?

According to the UAMS Goals and Competencies page, the program's three-cohort average (2023-2025) first-time PANCE pass rate is 97.0%, compared to the 91.7% national average for the same period.

Sources

• UAMS PA Program: How to Apply
• UAMS PA Program: Admission Requirements
• UAMS PA Program: About the Program
• UAMS PA Program: Frequently Asked Questions
• UAMS PA Program: Goals and Competencies
• UAMS PA Program: Program Statistics
• UAMS PA Program: Policies
• UAMS College of Health Professions: Application Deadlines
• ARC-PA: University of Arkansas Accreditation History