Yale University Physician Associate Program PA Program: Requirements, Tuition & Stats

Who This Program May Be A Good Fit For

  • GPA-competitive — The average accepted overall GPA here (3.83) sits in the top quarter of PA programs nationally. If your GPA is below about 3.66, you will want the rest of your application — hours, letters, upward trend — to do real work.

  • The minimum is not the target — The stated minimum GPA is 3, but the average accepted is 3.83 — a gap of 0.83. Meeting the floor gets you screened in, not admitted.

  • Apply early — Admissions are rolling, so seats come off the board as the cycle goes. An application submitted in the first few weeks is worth more than the same application submitted in month four.

  • Stricter prerequisite grades — A minimum of B in prerequisites is tougher than the typical C. Recheck your transcript before you invest in the application.

Program Details

Yale University Physician Associate Program is located in Connecticut. The details below come straight from the program and are re-checked on a rolling basis.

At a glance

  • Location: Connecticut

  • Institution type: Private

  • Program length: 28 months

  • Class size: 39 students

  • Start month: August

  • Application deadline: September

  • Rolling admissions: Yes

  • In-state tuition: $115,000

  • Average overall GPA: 3.83

  • Average science GPA: 3.78

  • Minimum overall GPA: 3

  • Minimum science GPA: 3

  • Minimum PCE hours: 500 hours

  • Letters of recommendation: 3

  • First-time PANCE pass rate: 95%

  • Accreditation status: Continued

Admission requirements

  • GRE: Yes (minimum 50th percentile or above on each section)

  • PA-CAT: No

  • TOEFL (international applicants): Yes

  • Supplemental application: Yes (fee $50)

  • Shadowing: No

  • Letters of recommendation: 3 — At least one recommendation must be submitted by a health care professional who has observed the applicant in either a volunteer or employment capacity

  • Patient care experience: 500 hours minimum

  • Interview format: traditional onsite interview

Prerequisites

  • Minimum prerequisite grade: B

  • Prerequisite expiration: No expiration

  • In-progress prerequisites accepted: Yes

  • Online coursework accepted: Yes

Required coursework

  • Statistics or Calculus — one semester or 3-5 credits

  • Human Anatomy — one semester or 3-5 credits (or combined Anatomy & Physiology I & II — 6-10 credits)

  • Human or Animal Physiology — one semester or 3-5 credits (or combined Anatomy & Physiology I & II — 6-10 credits)

  • Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry — one semester or 3-5 credits (or combined organic/biochemistry semester course — 3-5 credits)

  • Microbiology — one semester or 3-5 credits

Cost

  • In-state tuition: $115,000

  • Supplemental application fee: $50

  • Seat deposit: $1,000

Want to compare your stats to this program? Pre-PA Bestie is a free, always-updated PA program database where you can save schools and see how your numbers line up. Check out Pre-PA Bestie.

Listen: Inside Yale's Online PA Program with Jim Van Rhee and Jane McDaniel

PA school without moving. Let's talk about how that works.

Episode show notes & key takeaways

PA school without moving. Let's talk about how that works.

I got both the program director and the admissions director of Yale's online PA program on at the same time, so this is about as direct a source as you can get. Jim Van Rhee and Jane McDaniel walk through how the program is built and who it's designed for.

The premise is that you stay in your own community for a big chunk of your education instead of relocating your whole life. They explain how the didactic side works online, how clinical placements happen, and what the tradeoffs are compared to a traditional in-person program.

We also spent real time on admissions. What they look for, what the process involves, and the expectations they have for applicants coming in.

What we cover

  • How Yale's online PA program is structured
  • Staying in your home community while in school
  • How the online didactic portion actually works
  • Clinical placements in an online model
  • What the admissions committee is looking for
  • Expectations for applicants considering this format

Resources

Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes

Listen: Navy Corpsman to Yale Online PA Student: An Interview with Emily

Navy corpsman. Military spouse. Mom. Now a PA student.

Episode show notes & key takeaways

Navy corpsman. Military spouse. Mom. Now a PA student.

Emily served in the Navy, and she's now an active duty spouse with kids, starting the Yale Online PA program. If you've ever told yourself your life is too complicated for this, she's the counterargument.

Military families move. That's the whole problem with a traditional program, and it's a big part of why the online format worked for her. We talk about how she made that decision and what she had to line up to make any of it possible.

Her corpsman background also gave her a clinical foundation most applicants don't have, and she explains how that experience carried into her application and her thinking about medicine.

What we cover

  • Serving as a Navy corpsman and moving into medicine
  • Applying to PA school as a military spouse
  • Why an online program fit her life
  • Managing school alongside motherhood and frequent moves
  • How military medical experience shaped her application
  • Advice for other military-connected applicants

Resources

Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes

Listen: Yale Online PA Student - 1st Year - Sara

Online PA school is real, and people have a lot of opinions about it.

Episode show notes & key takeaways

Online PA school is real, and people have a lot of opinions about it.

Sara is a first-year in the Yale Online PA program, and she came on to tell you what it's actually like. She was a child life specialist before this, which is one of the best backgrounds I can think of for understanding patients and families under stress.

Her main warning about online: you have to be able to teach yourself. Nobody is walking you to the next assignment. The content is just as hard, and the structure is looser. Some people thrive in that and some people drown.

We also talk about Yale's early decision option and why submitting on time matters more than people think.

And yes, we address the program's probation status head on. Sara explains why she's still confident in it. If you're considering any program, look up its current accreditation status with ARC-PA yourself before you apply - this episode is from 2023 and those statuses change.

What we cover

  • Going from child life specialist to PA student
  • What online PA school actually requires of you
  • Yale's early decision option and application timing
  • Clinical rotations when your didactic year is remote
  • Talking honestly about a program's accreditation status
  • Who online works well for, and who it doesn't

Resources

Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes

Program Contact

Program information last verified July 7, 2026. Requirements change — always confirm directly with the program before applying.

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