Physician assistant · Master's

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley PA program: PANCE pass rate, cost and admission

At The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 97% of the PA class of 2025 passed the PANCE on the first attempt, against 91% nationally. The program reports a class size of 95. IPEDS counts 93 PA degrees conferred by the institution in 2024-25.

Edinburg, TX ARC-PA: Accreditation-Continued, next review October 2033 Checked Oct 2026

Listed by ARC-PA as: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

PANCE score report, first-time takers

Source: NCCPA report posted by the program
Class of 2025
97%
Above national 1 of 5
First-time takers
87
National, class of 2025
91%
Classes shown
5
This programNational first-time rate
70%80%90%100%Class of 2021: 90%, national 93%, 84 takers90%2021Class of 2022: 82%, national 92%, 85 takers82%2022Class of 2023: 89%, national 92%, 79 takers89%2023Class of 2024: 79%, national 92%, 92 takers79%2024Class of 2025: 97%, national 91%, 87 takers97%2025
Table view
ClassProgramNationalTakers
202190%93%84
202282%92%85
202389%92%79
202479%92%92
202597%91%87

Cost, size and outcomes

  • Cost of attendance, whole programProgram page, Total cost of enrollment, Texas residents, date not stated$120,765
  • Class sizeProgram page, Class of 2025 (entering class size)95
  • PA degrees conferred by the institutionIPEDS completions, 2024-25 (provisional), CIP 51.091293
  • Median earnings, 1 year after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2020-21 and 2021-22$118,041
  • Median earnings, 4 years after completionCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degree, graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19$134,068
  • Median federal loan debtCollege Scorecard, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, master's degreeNot published
  • Physician assistants, median wage, TexasBLS OEWS, May 2025, context only$134,550

What it asks of applicants

  • Application service and deadlineAs the program states itCASPA
  • Minimum overall GPA3.0
  • Patient care hoursNot published
  • Program lengthNot published
  • Program startsNot published
  • Prerequisite coursesAs the program states it, Date not statedGeneral Biology I and II; Genetics; Microbiology; Anatomy and Physiology I and II; General Chemistry I and II; Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry; Statistics; Introductory or Abnormal Psychology

Accreditation

  • StatusARC-PA list, fetched 2026-10-28Accreditation-Continued
  • First accreditedOctober 1999
  • Next accreditation reviewOctober 2033
  • Program websiteVisit

Nearby PA programs

Attrition by class, as the program posts it

ARC-PA attrition table from the program's own page, with the entering and graduating counts it prints. A table that prints attrition as a fraction (0.20) shows here as a percent (20%).
ClassEnteredGraduatedAttrition
2023887910%
2024100928%
202595878%

What the numbers say

The class of 2025 at UTRGV recorded a 97% first-time PANCE rate across 87 takers, 6 points above the 91% national rate. That 97% is the window's high, and 2025 is the only class of the 5 to finish above the national rate. A year earlier the class of 2024 hit the low point, 79% across 92 takers, 13 points under the national 92%, so the rate climbed 18 points in a single year. In 2021, 2022 and 2023 the program posted 90%, 82% and 89%, behind the national rate by 3, 10 and 3 points. Measured from 2021, the 2025 result is 7 points higher, within a 5-class range of 79% to 97%. UTRGV enrolled an entering class of 95 for the class of 2025, and ARC-PA's attrition table shows 8% attrition for that class. IPEDS counts 93 PA degrees conferred by the university in 2024-25. The program's total cost of enrollment for Texas residents is $120,765, a whole-program figure with no date given. Applicants apply through CASPA and need an overall GPA of at least 3.0. Prerequisites include general biology, genetics, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, general chemistry, organic chemistry or biochemistry, statistics, and introductory or abnormal psychology. First accredited by ARC-PA in 1999, the program is now Accreditation-Continued and next due for review in October 2033.

Sources

  1. Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA): Entry Level Accredited Programs, fetched 28 Oct 2026
  2. www.utrgv.edu: Admissions | UTRGV, fetched 29 Oct 2026
  3. www.utrgv.edu: The program's own page (PDF), fetched 29 Oct 2026
  4. www.utrgv.edu: Cost of Attending | UTRGV, fetched 29 Oct 2026
  5. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): IPEDS Completions, awards by program and award level, 2024-25 (provisional release), 21 Jul 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026
  6. U.S. Department of Education: College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data, 15 Oct 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026
  7. National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), posted by the program: PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report for University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (program 1160), printed 5/27/2026, fetched 29 Oct 2026
  8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state estimates, May 2025, 15 May 2026, fetched 26 Oct 2026