April 24, 2025: CASPA cycle opens.
September 2025: Student applicant interviews begin.
January 15, 2026: Deadline for application to be completed and verified by CASPA. GRE scores (within 5 years) and shadowing experience hours should be submitted at the time of application.
August 31, 2026: Deadline for submission of matriculation materials by PA 2028 student cohort.
September 25, 2026: Classes begin for the PA 2028 student cohort.

Applications for admission are only accepted through CASPA. Only applications verified by CASPA are reviewed. Grade point averages (GPAs) calculated by CASPA are applied. Student applicants are also required to submit GRE scores and a minimum of 24 hours of shadowing a PA, MD, DO, DPM, or NP before consideration for a student applicant interview. Please note that submission of a complete application does not guarantee an invitation for a student applicant interview, and completion of a student applicant interview does not guarantee an offer for admission.

Consistent with the mission of LMU and the vision and mission of the LMU-Knoxville PA Program, preference is given to applicants with permanent residence in the Appalachian region of the following states: TN, KY, VA, NC, OH, WV, PA, AL, and GA. The preference is applied with a 3-tiered system. The greatest preference is given to applicants with permanent residence in the Appalachian region of Tennessee. Applicants with permanent residence in the Appalachian region of KY, VA, NC, and WV are given greater preference than applicants with permanent residence in the Appalachian region of OH, PA, AL, and GA.
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Click HERE to see if your county is in the Appalachian region. 

State of Permanent Residence for PA 2022-2026 Student Cohorts at Matriculation 

*Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Georgia

Sixty students comprised the PA 2022 Cohort. Thirty-five (58.3%) students reported permanent residence in one of the Appalachian states listed in the tables at matriculation.

Eighty students comprised the PA 2023 Cohort. Fifty-nine (73.8%) students reported permanent residence in one of the Appalachian states listed in the tables at matriculation.

One hundred students comprised the PA 2024 Cohort. Sixty-seven (67%) students reported permanent residence in one of the Appalachian states listed in the tables at matriculation.

One hundred students comprised the PA 2025 Cohort. Sixty-seven (67%) students reported permanent residence in one of the Appalachian states listed in the tables at matriculation.

One hundred students comprised the PA 2026 Cohort. Fifty-five (55%)  students reported permanent residence in one of the Appalachian states listed in the tables at matriculation.

LMU Students
LMU students who have completed or are in the process of completing an undergraduate or graduate degree from Lincoln Memorial University who apply to the program through CASPA are guaranteed a student applicant interview if they meet the program’s criteria for application. Students from LMU must complete the same application process as all other student applicants.

LMU’s GPA Program
LMU undergraduate students enrolled in LMU’s GPA Program who apply to the Program through CASPA are guaranteed a student applicant interview if they meet the Program’s criteria for application.  Students enrolled in LMU’s GPA Program must complete the same application process as all other student applicants. 

Articulation Agreements
The LMU-SMS-Knoxville PA Program holds articulation agreements with Tusculum University (Greeneville, TN), Hampton University (Hampton, VA), and Union Commonwealth University (Barbourville, KY). Up to six student applicants from each of these universities who have completed or are in the process of completing their undergraduate degree from these universities are guaranteed a student applicant interview if they meet the Program’s criteria for application. Students from these universities must complete the same application process as all other student applicants.

Military Service
Student applicants with military service, including honorably discharged veterans, active duty, guard, and reserve members, are given preference. 

Student applicants must be a United States Citizen or a permanent resident of the United States. All prerequisite course requirements must be completed in the United States at a regionally accredited college or university.

Student applicants who completed courses and/or degree outside of the United States must submit a transcript evaluation from World Education Services (www.wes.org), Educational Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org/ECE), or Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. (www.jsilny.com) to CASPA.

Student applicants whose native language is not English must submit scores from the combined Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Test of Spoken English (TSE) examination (https://www.ets.org/toefl) unless that applicant is a graduate of a regionally or nationally accredited college or university in the United States. The minimum accepted score is 79 for Internet-Based Testing (iBT) and 26 for the speaking component. 

Grade Point Averages (GPAs)
Cumulative and science GPAs are calculated by CASPA.  A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 and a minimum science GPA of 2.8 are required for application.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores
The date of the GRE scores must be within five years of the date of application to the Program. There is no minimum GRE score required for the application.

Academic Profiles for PA 2022-2026 Student Cohorts at Matriculation

Grade Point Averages (GPA)

*BCP = Biology, Chemistry, Physics. The Program tracks the BCP GPA, however this GPA is not utilized in decisions to invite student applicants for interviews or offer admission.

Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Percentile Scores

Prior to matriculation, all prerequisite courses must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States with a course grade of “C” or higher. Course grades of Pass (P), Satisfactory (S), or equivalent for prerequisite courses completed during the spring and summer 2020 semesters are acceptable.

Prerequisite Course Requirements

Student applicants with greater than 16 credit hours of prerequisite courses to complete prior to their student applicant interview are not considered for admission. 

Student applicants must self-report course information on the CASPA application prior to submission to the Program.  Official transcripts, from all institutions attended, confirming course grades must be submitted directly from the degree-granting institution to CASPA. 

Survey science courses are not considered. Student applicants are advised to complete a thorough review of course material for any science course completed greater than four years prior to matriculation. 

The program does not provide a waiver of required coursework (in whole or in part) included in the curriculum based on prior academic or professional experience. Transfer academic credits are not accepted. All students must complete all components of the curriculum in whole to be eligible for graduation.

The program does not grant transfer credits, credit for experiential learning or advanced placement.  The program will not accept students from other PA programs.  All students matriculating into the program are required to take all courses in the curriculum.

Prior to matriculation, student applicants must earn a minimum of a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Student applicants must self-report degree information on the CASPA application prior to submission to the Program. Official transcripts confirming degree completion must be submitted directly from the degree-granting institution to CASPA. Student applicants who complete their degree after submission of their CASPA application must have their official transcripts confirming degree completion submitted directly from the degree-granting institution to the Program (PAKnox@lmunet.edu).

Prior to matriculation, students must have a licensed health care provider verify the student’s immunization, tuberculosis screening, and urine drug screening status relative to the requirements listed below.  Clinical sites may have additional requirements.  Students are responsible for all costs associated with obtaining the Program’s immunization and screening requirements and any additional requirements of clinical sites providing supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) for the student.  Students must submit their immunization records, tuberculosis screening results, and urine drug screen results to the online central screening service by the Program’s submission due dates. 

The program follows the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for healthcare workers. Click the link below and scroll down to healthcare workers.
Recommended Vaccines for Adults | CDC 

Click the following link to learn about the TB guidelines.
TB Screening and Testing of Health Care Personnel | TB | CDC

The meningococcal vaccination will not be required for students entering the program unless required by a rotation site. Updated 3.26.2024

Students may request a religious or medical exemption to the immunization/vaccination requirements by contacting the Program Director; however, clinical sites that provide supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) may not allow for exemptions to the above requirements and may have additional requirements.

Arrest/Criminal Background Check

To ensure the safety of students, faculty, colleagues, and most importantly, patients; the PA profession requires that both students and licensed health care professionals be able to pass criminal background checks. Therefore, prior to matriculation and prior to beginning supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs), students must submit to a criminal background check. Students may be required to submit additional criminal background checks, which may include fingerprinting, based on clinical affiliation agreements with the program’s clinical sites or at the Program Director’s discretion. Students are responsible for all costs associated with criminal background checks. Further information is published in the LMU-SMS-Knoxville PA Program Student Handbook.

Drug/Alcohol Screen 

Safe and competent delivery of patient care requires all providers to be free of impairment from drugs and alcohol. Prior to matriculation and prior to beginning SCPEs, students must submit the results of a urine drug screen to the online central screening service by the program’s submission due dates. At times students may be required to submit additional drug and/or alcohol screens. Students are responsible for all costs associated with drug and alcohol screenings. Further information is published in the LMU-SMS-Knoxville PA Program Student Handbook.

The program has identified minimum technical standards all students must meet and maintain for enrollment and progression in the program to ensure successful completion of the program and the delivery of safe and effective patient care during SCPEs and following graduation. These technical standards, listed below, are necessary for achievement of the program’s Graduate Competencies (found in the LMU-SMS-Knoxville PA Program Student Catalog), competencies stipulated by accreditation agencies, and the standards of PA practice.

All students enrolled in the program must be able to independently, or with reasonable accommodation, demonstrate these health standards, cognitive and motor skills, and professional behaviors for program matriculation, progression, and graduation. Students are responsible for contacting the Office of Accessible Education Services (www.LMUnet.edu) to request accommodation(s) if desired. The program attempts, to the best of its ability, to develop mechanisms by which otherwise qualified applicants for admission and enrolled students can be accommodated; however, the program’s Minimum Technical Standards for Enrollment and Progression must be maintained to ensure that all parts of the program’s curriculum are delivered to all students and that students provide safe and effective patient care. Clinical affiliates that provide SCPEs expect students to have met the program’s Minimum Technical Standards for Enrollment and Progression and to perform assigned duties in a timely manner as such ability is critical and essential to safe and effective patient care. Therefore, extra time is not granted to students during assessments of physical examination and clinical procedure skills, simulated patient encounters, and completion of patient care duties during SCPEs. Similarly, the use of trained intermediaries is not approved in the assessments listed above and in SCPEs. The LMU-SMS-Knoxville PA Program Student Catalog contains additional information regarding accessible education services. 

Students must submit a Medical Clearance Form, completed, and signed by a licensed health care provider, confirming whether they meet the Minimum Technical Standards for Enrollment and Progression and are medically cleared to participate fully in the program’s curriculum prior to matriculation. Students must notify the Program Director as soon as possible if there is any change in their ability to meet these technical standards.