International Applicants

UT Southwestern is a dynamic and diverse learning community. We welcome hundreds of students from around the world each year. As you prepare to apply to our Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program, here are some important tips to remember.

Academic Prerequisites

All candidates are required to complete all of the admission requirements, including the GRE, even if you have earned a medical degree in another country.

Foreign Coursework

According to 19 Texas Administrative Code § 5.7, academic work taken at foreign colleges, universities, or preparatory schools shall be excluded from the calculation of the GPA for students seeking admission to graduate or post-baccalaureate professional school.

Undergraduate foreign coursework that appears as transfer credit on the transcript of a regionally accredited U.S. college will count. Each individual transfer course credit granted by the U.S. school must be listed on the transcript. Lump sum credit with no specific course and hour identification will not be accepted. Foreign coursework will not count toward satisfying any of the required courses listed in the requirements section.

Required Courses and Prerequisites

• Required courses must be taken at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university. Transfer credit from a school outside the U.S. or Canada will not apply to the required courses and a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian institution is required.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to complete all prerequisites prior to matriculating into the physician assistant program.

Language Proficiency Exams 

International applicants whose native language is not English must submit Language Proficiency Exam scores. We accept the following test scores – TOEFL iBT, TOEFL Essentials, IELTS, and DuoLingo. Applicants whose education medium of instruction is English but in a non-English-speaking country must still submit Language Proficiency Exam scores.  

While there are no minimum score requirements, competitive scores are typically equivalent to a TOEFL iBT score of 100 or above.   

Our Institutional code is 6686.  No departmental code is needed.   

Visas and Immigration

UT Southwestern’s International Affairs Office has a host of resources for international students and can provide additional information about visas and immigration.

Licensure

International students also may need to meet special requirements before they can be licensed as physician assistants in the State of Texas. Check with the Texas Medical Board for more details.