Program Overview

With a commitment to serve the diverse healthcare needs of Missouri and the Kansas City area, UMKC Physician Assistant (PA) students are trained with the skills necessary to care for these communities. More than half of our program’s graduates have accepted positions in the State of Missouri or Greater Kansas City Area.

Our program’s unique location in Kansas City’s Health Sciences District offers access to community health centers, academic medical affiliates and surrounding rural locations, which provide students experiences in a wide variety of settings that serve diverse patient populations. Students enrolled in our program benefit from the extensive medical education resources offered by the School of Medicine and UMKC’s Health Sciences Campus, such as Interprofessional Education opportunities, Clinical Training Facility, Experiential Learning Center and Health Sciences Library.

Why Choose Our Program?

The UMKC PA program offers:

• Smaller class sizes, prioritizing quality educational experiences and faculty-to-student ratios
• Diverse teaching faculty consisting of PAs and physicians, as well as School of Medicine Biomedical Science faculty who are experts in their fields
• Systems-based didactic curriculum that integrates essential biomedical and applied medical knowledge through traditional and active teaching methods
• Early patient care experiences and interprofessional learning activities that prepare students for clinical rotations
• Robust clinical experiences that provide students exposure to both urban and patient populations, in-demand primary care, and a variety of elective opportunities
• Vibrant and thriving campus community in Kansas City offering culture, sports, activities, and affordable cost of living
• A history of training in-demand graduates who are successful in securing PA employment in geographic locations, practice specialties, and workplace environments that suit their interests and lifestyles

Accreditation Statement

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the University of Missouri Kansas City Physician Assistant Program sponsored by University of Missouri Kansas City. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2027. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

Program accreditation history via ARC-PA..

Graduate Performance on Certification Exam

The Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant program graduates have performed well on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). The average first-time PANCE pass rate for the program (across all cohorts) is 97%.

 NCCPA Pass Rate Summary Report (PDF)

Student Attrition 

 *Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.