MPAS Frequently Asked Questions

The CASPA application process for the Trine MPAS admissions cycle opens in March/April and closes March/April of the next year. Please check the CASPA portal for exact dates. Applications may close before the cycle closes. One should apply early so all materials are entered by the application deadline. Rolling Admissions means that competitive, completed and verified applications will be considered as they are received.

Trine University will accept both the new SAT and the old SAT. We will use a concordance table to determine your highest scores on the new SAT to convert it to the old SAT for an appropriate admission decision and merit scholarship. Sending your scores each time you take the SAT can benefit you by allowing Trine to consider you for all available merit scholarships and enrollment opportunities.

Yes, taken within the past five years. See competitive guidelines for target for the strongest applications.
The CASPA GRE Designated Institution Code for Trine University is 7343.

Competitive applicants have:

  • The following GPA
    • 3.5 or above cumulative
    • 3.5 or above hard science
  • Relevant and rigorous science coursework earning a B or better
  • The following scores on the GRE General Test
    • 305 or above overall
    • 153 or above quantitative reasoning
    • 152 or above verbal reasoning
    • 4.0 or above analytical writing
  • Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills during the invited interview

   See FAQ 10 for a list of subjects calculated in the hard science GPA and defined as other relevant coursework

Competitive applicants demonstrate the qualities essential to successful completion of the program and entry into the profession:

  • Well-qualified, exceeding standard requirements for admission
    See Admission Requirements and Competitive Guidelines
  • Well-prepared, academically equipped to successfully handle the demands of the program’s curriculum
    See Admission Requirements and Competitive Guidelines
  • Well-versed, demonstrating strong performance in coursework relevant to the program
    See Relevant Coursework (FAQ 7)
  • Well-matched, with academic and career goals aligned with program curriculum, teaching and learning goals and other “FIT” factors
    Assessing Program Fit (FAQ 22)
  • Well-suited, demonstrating an interest in and affinity for the planned field of study
    See Professional Discernment (FAQ 21)
While the Program’s holistic evaluation of applicants considers a number of criteria in making admission decisions (see Admission Requirements and Competitive Guidelines), a program-defined hard sciences GPA factors significantly in determining competitiveness and preparedness for entry into a Master of Physician Assistant Studies academically demanding program of study.

The didactic phase includes a one-credit hour genetics course and three one-credit hour pharmacology courses. The curriculum connects clinical relevance to basic medical science content as part of the skill and knowledge built through additional coursework and clinical experiences. Thus, a strong foundation in hard sciences coursework would best prepare you for a graduate-level curriculum in physician assistant studies.

   For additional recommended coursework, see FAQ 10.

Rigorous courses are those designed for science majors as opposed to lower-level survey courses. Coursework specifically designated for healthcare providers or premedical classes are preferable (when available) as these will better prepare you for the level of study in the MPAS Program.

If you have completed a course designed for non-science majors or designated as 100 level or survey, we require you upload a copy of the syllabi to the Documents section of CASPA for Admissions Committee review. We will contact you with a determination and recommendation, if deemed non-rigorous, to take a different course that meets requirements.

You may apply but the Program will not accept prerequisite course grades lower than C. You must successfully repeat prerequisite courses at the same or higher level and credit hours. 

The GPA's include lecture and, where applicable, lab section grades for the following subjects:

  • Human Anatomy
  • Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Human Physiology
  • Bacteriology
  • Biochemistry
  • Cellular Biology
  • Cellular & Molecular Biology
  • Cellular Physiology
  • Embryology
  • Endocrinology
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetics
  • Genomics
  • Hematology
  • Histology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Parasitology
  • Pathophysiology
  • Pharmaceutical Chemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Toxicology
  • Virology
Our program only requires a lab for anatomy. We do not require a lab for biochemistry, organic chemistry or microbiology.
We recommend that all science courses with a required lab be taken in a physical, in person environment, rather than a virtual lab, although a virtual lab could meet our criteria as reviewed and determined by our Admissions Committee.
We accept Advanced Placement or dual credit courses toward the undergraduate degree and for statistics and psychology but not for the hard science prerequisites.
Our Program has no preference. Both options would meet the requirement as long as you have met the number of credit hours (6 or equivalent quarter hours), GPA minimum (C or better) and rigor.
Upload the supporting syllabi into the CASPA portal in the Documents section for our Admissions Committee to determine suitability to support your matching of these courses with our prerequisites.
You may apply prior to completion of admission requirements. You must update outstanding requirements in CASPA as you fulfill them. The Committee may not consider an applicant for an interview until you have fulfilled 6 of 7 prerequisite courses. You must successfully complete all requirements before matriculation into the program in August. The GRE is not required for an interview but must be done before matriculation. Any acceptance offers are contingent upon this.
No, we do not allow substitutions for prerequisites or relevant courses.
If your transcript lists labs separately, then list these separately on your application. Please record the lab as it appears on your transcript, with the title, prefix/number, amount of credits, and grade given. If your transcript combines lab/lecture courses into one class on a transcript, report these as one entry on your application noting in the course title this is combined lab and lecture course.
No.
Our Program has no preference.
Consider what makes you a fit for the PA profession. Give specific examples such as health care experiences (personal or on the job), direct patient care, interactions with patients, job shadowing, etc.

The Program considers relevant information included in the application and shared in the interview sessions that answer the above question.

   Reference the Program Mission and Vision Statements

Applicants can assess “fit with the program” by considering what they expect and want from a graduate education in their discipline of choice in terms of skills and knowledge, connections (building a professional network), hand-on experience, diversity, professional and community service opportunities, and so on.

Additionally, applicants should prioritize what matters most about graduate school. Consider cost, length of study, curriculum alignment with learning goals, location, atmosphere, learning environment, variety and geographic distribution of clinical placements, and other important factors.

Infractions will be evaluated by the Admissions Committee on a case-by-case basis. Serious infractions may require additional documentation before a decision can be made.
These positions have value for our required discernment into the PA profession, however we consider the related duties more as an observational experience. For any other experiences not listed above, think about your role with patient care. Do you interact with patients on a regular basis? What types of interactions occur (e.g. is it beyond observational)?
Trine University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status or age in the administration of any of its education programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school-administered programs or in employment.
Currently we do not accept international students except citizens or legal residents of Canada. 
No, we require a bachelor's degree from a US accredited institution. Individual courses may be taken abroad but will be subject to review by the Admissions Committee. 
You must submit complete official transcripts to Trine University, including foreign transcripts. The Admissions Committee will evaluate individual prerequisite courses taken from a non-US institution (i.e. a semester abroad). This may also require submission of reports from a foreign credential evaluation agency with the transcript/s.
For those who have met other prerequisite course requirements, we require the IELTS (6.5) or TOEFL (79) with minimum scores indicated in parentheses. Trine’s TOEFL institution code is 1811.
You may contact pa@trine.edu to set up a tour. You will also have the opportunity to visit our facilities during admissions information sessions. Those seeking admission into Trine’s undergraduate direct entry pathway should work through the undergraduate admissions office for all admissions related questions, including visits to the facility. 
Yes. We hold interview sessions and applicants will be notified if they will be in-person or virtual. We offer seats in the program on a rolling basis with each interview session until the class is filled. Once we fill the class and wait list, interviews may end for the admission cycle.
Expect to spend about half of a day with us for an in-person interview or two hours for a virtual interview. You will receive an agenda on the day of the interview.
All reapplicants will be evaluated with the current applicant pool.
Strengthen your application, if you have areas for improvement, then reapply as early as feasible. For those who did not receive an interview offer due to submitting your application late in the rolling admissions process, please reapply early.
No.
There are no additional application fees specific to the Trine University MPAS Program.
Trine University MPAS Program requires a two-part non-refundable tuition deposit of $1,000 with the first installment of $500 due at 2 weeks and the second installment of $500 due at 4 weeks from the official offer. The second deposit confirms your ongoing commitment to start the program. Should an applicant be offered a seat close to the program’s start date, the deposits will be due sooner. Requests for additional time for depositing can be directed to the Program Director for consideration.
Given such a high volume of applicants each cycle, we do not evaluate data prior to submission of your CASPA application and its verification. We would instead direct you to FAQ on competitive guidelines (#4), improving your application (#39), and recommendations for self-reflection to determine the strength of your application (#40).
The MPAS Program Admissions Committee recommends a personal reflection process to identify areas of strength and areas of weakness while applying. An example could be retaking the GRE to earn a more competitive score, obtaining more healthcare experience/shadowing hours, and retaking courses to improve grades and GPAs.

Do I meet all the requirements? (Refer to Admission Requirements.)

  • Do I exceed where possible?
  • Do I have the plus of direct patient care experience?
  • Am I prepared with rigorous science courses over survey courses?
  • Is my written communication top-notch?
  • Have I practiced general interview skills?
We recommend updating courses taken more than 7-10 years ago that include evolving medical sciences such as physiology, biochemistry, immunology or genetics as this foundation would better prepare you for success in the MPAS curriculum. Alternatively, if one applies these disciplines in their day to day jobs, work experience may suffice as a means of maintaining currency.
Trine University follows a holistic admissions process, considering all components of the application and interview. Our Admissions Committee evaluates skills, experiences and attributes along with academic metrics. Applicants must meet all admission requirements and are evaluated on multiple data points including overall GPA, hard science GPA (see FAQ #10), last 55-60 credit hour GPA, overall GRE General Test score, and interview scores.
Label any file to include your last name, first name, and a description of the content such as: StudentSallyIvyLeague-Transcript.pdf
You will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your verified application within 5 days and a follow-up email to inform you of your review status within a week. With rolling admissions, we will evaluate your application as long as we have seats and interview spots remaining. Please be aware that we cannot give updates on numbers of seats remaining at any time since the number changes constantly.
No. We would consider you a new student required to complete the full MPAS curriculum of our Program.
We have 36 seats to fill. The Program will reserve, of the 36 available seats, up to 10 seats for students in the Trine University direct entry pathway and two seats for each institution with an articulation agreement with our program. 
Applicants invited to join the class will receive enrollment/registration information in late spring prior to the start of the fall semester.
The MPAS student start date matches the Trine University’s undergraduate fall schedule for the 4-semester didactic phase with the exception of a fall break. A didactic phase orientation will precede the start date. The Program’s 3-semester clinical phase will be continuous weeks beginning in January until graduation in December. The exact dates will be determined by the Program and given in advance of the clinical year.
Classes will take place at the Fort Wayne College of Health Professions - 1819 Carew Street, Fort Wayne, IN between the campuses of Parkview Randallia hospital and the VA hospital. Some of the inter-professional education events will be hosted at partnering institutions in Fort Wayne.
The Trine University MPAS Program participates in the Fort Wayne Area Inter-professional Education Consortium (FWAIPEC) for Graduate Health Care, a consortium of graduate level medical education institutions representing programs with family medicine residents, medical students, physician assistant students, graduate level nursing students (nurse practitioners and Master of Science in Nursing), physical therapy students, occupational therapy students and pharmacy students.
 
The consortium gathers 3 times a year as a collaborative effort to:
  • Introduce the students to the team concept of health care, strengthen patient outcomes and add value to the community
  • The opportunity for a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care and problem solving
  • The foundation to develop a healthy team approach to patient care
  • The opportunity for faculty from different institutions to collaborate
Collaborations beyond the basic FWAIPEC offerings round out IPE offerings. This curricular element occurs in the MPAS Program’s Clinical Application and Reflection Experience (CARE) course series.
The Trine MPAS Program values the cadaver experience as part of anatomy instruction. The students will primarily use prosected cadavers.
The Program has designed a team-based learning (TBL) teaching strategy in the Clinical Application and Reflection Experience (CARE) courses in which small groups of students will work together on clinical cases to apply material learned in other areas of the curriculum. This strategy fosters critical clinical thinking skills.
The MPAS Program has created local (Fort Wayne area) and distant partnerships for the clinical rotations and continues to expand its clinical affiliates.
We do not offer international clinical rotations at this time. We may consider offering these in the future and are also open to the concept of a mission trip.
The Program has a process for student initiated clinical experiences but we do not require students to furnish their own clinical rotation sites. The Program must investigate the site to ensure it meets our educational objectives and to secure the proper clinical affiliation agreement paperwork, etc. The Program cannot guarantee granting clinical wishes but will explore feasibility with the student.
Due to the time intensive nature of the Program, we highly discourage employment.
No. The MPAS Program is a full-time program.
The MPAS curriculum serves as your foundation for NCCPA Board Examination preparation. The Program administers mock boards twice during the curriculum, near the end of the didactic and clinical phases, so you can monitor your progress and identify areas of strengths and areas to improve.
Your degree enables you to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) to earn your certification. You will also need to obtain your licensure. Completion of an accredited PA Program does not automatically guarantee that the individual can practice as a physician assistant.
See Cost and Investment
No. We do not currently offer PA scholarships.
Not at this time. Students will need to secure their own housing from one of the many options in the Fort Wayne area. During a clinical rotation outside of the area, plan for housing cost.

See Financial Aid section. Direct all Financial Aid questions to the Office of Financial Aid located at the Trine campus in Angola, Indiana. Contact information:

Call: 260-665-4158 or 800-347-4878
Fax: 260-665-4511
Email: finaid@trine.edu
Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8 am – 5 pm

One must complete the FAFSA to apply for federal aid

  • We do not require students to have completed a FAFSA at the time admitted into any program
  • You have a large window to apply for aid as the FAFSA application period runs from October 1 through June 30 each year
  • You cannot use financial aid to pay seat deposits
  • You may add schools to the FAFSA after submitting it
You can apply for direct and Grad PLUS loans. See the links for further information including the maximum amount you can borrow. Though Trine University does not currently offer scholarships, you can find plenty of scholarship opportunities online that can help you pay for PA school.

At its 2023M meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the Trine University Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program sponsored by Trine University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in 2025M.

Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance. Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA, when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation - Provisional or Accreditation - Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened.

Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.

Specific questions regarding the Program and its plans should be directed to the Program Director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-trine-university/.