Program Description
The Health Sciences to Physician Assistant program is designed for students who have determined they want to pursue a physician assistant career early. Students in this five-year accelerated dual degree program are assured a seat in the graduate MS Physician Assistant Studies program, provided they meet progression criteria set for their enrollment term.
Prior to enrolling in the professional phase of the program, students must complete an online application through CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) by the stated deadline of the year prior to their desired master’s enrollment date. All applicants who apply to CASPA, have a CASPA-calculated cumulative GPA and science GPA of 3.5,and at least 200 documented direct patient contact hours will receive an admissions interview.
Students matriculating into the professional phase of study in the Physician Assistant program will complete 20-22 graduate PA credits during Year 4 fall. These credits are allocated to the undergraduate BS degree in Health Sciences, with graduation eligibility in December. Year 4 spring and Year 5 courses comprise the MS degree.
The accelerated BS/MS PA is a cohort program that requires uninterrupted enrollment. Once accepted, students may not accelerate (i.e. take additional courses during summer semesters to shorten program length) or decelerate (i.e. take a reduced course load in a semester and add another year to undergraduate study).
The graduate Physician Assistant Program requires a continuous 25 months of study and includes Didactic and Clinical portions. The Didactic year consists of three semesters of medically related classroom and laboratory work, integrating some clinical experiences. Students must successfully complete all Didactic courses before entering the Clinical year. The Clinical year consists of extensive clinical experience through nine 5-week rotations at a variety of medical facilities, including hospitals and medical offices.
Curriculum: 5 years, 215-216 credits
| First Year | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| FYS 100 | Pathways Seminar | 1 |
| WRIT 101 | Writing Sem I: Written Comm. | 3 |
| AVIS 101 | American Visions | 3 |
| WRIT 2XX | Writing Seminar II | 3-4 |
| MATH 1XX | Pre-Calculus/Intro Calculus | 3 |
| BIOL 103 & 103L |
Biology I and Biology I Lab |
4 |
| BIOL 104 & 104L |
Biology II and Biology II Lab |
4 |
| CHEM 103 & 103L |
Chemistry I and Chemistry I Lab |
4 |
| CHEM 104 & 104L |
Chemistry II and Chemistry II Lab |
4 |
| PSYC 101 | Intro to Psychology | 3 |
| HSCI 100 | Intro to Health Professions | 1 |
| Credits | 33-34 | |
| Second Year | ||
| ETHC 2XX | Ethics | 3 |
| GDIV 2XX | Global Diversity | 3 |
| ADIV 2XX | American Diversity | 3 |
| GCIT 2XX | Global Citizenship | 3 |
| PSYC 201 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| HSCI 230 | Intro to Healthcare | 2 |
| CHEM 214 | Fundamentals of Biochemistry | 3 |
| BIOL 221 & 221L |
Microbiology and Microbiology Lab |
4 |
| BIOL 201 & 201L |
Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anat & Physiology I Lab |
4 |
| BIOL 202 & 202L |
Human Anatomy & Physiology II and Human Anat & Physiology II Lab |
4 |
| PSYC 213 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| Credits | 35 | |
| Third Year | ||
| CGIS 300 | Contemporary Global Issues | 3 |
| ISEM 3XX | Integrative Seminar | 3 |
| PHIL 499 | Philosophies of the Good Life | 3 |
| HSCI 225 | Applied Statistics | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sciences Elective | 3 |
| BIOL XXX | Biology Elective | 3 |
| HSCI 320 | Clinical Interactions | 3 |
| HSCI 330 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| BIOL 207 & 207L |
Principles of Genetics and Principles of Genetics Lab |
4 |
| General Elective | 6 | |
| Credits | 34 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Summer & Fall – BS Awarded in December | ||
| PAST 407A | Advanced Anatomy (A) | 2 |
| PAST 407B | Advanced Anatomy (B) | 3 |
| PAST 422 | Medicine I | 7 |
| PAST 424 | Patient Care & Clin Reasonig I | 5 |
| PAST 426 | Principles of PA Practice I | 4 |
| Credits | 21 | |
| Spring | ||
| Credits toward MS | ||
| PAST 615 | Diagnostic Medicine | 2 |
| PAST 628 | Medicine II | 8 |
| PAST 627 | Patient Care &Clin Reasoing II | 5 |
| PAST 626 | Principles of PA Practice II | 3.5 |
| Credits | 18.5 | |
| Fifth Year | ||
| Summer | ||
| PAST 622 | Pharmacotherapeutics Seminar | 1 |
| PAST 629 | Medicine III | 6 |
| PAST 631 | Patient Care & Clin Reason III | 3 |
| PAST 632 | Principles of PA Practice III | 1.5 |
| PAST 762 | Transition to the Clinical Yr. | 6 |
| Clinical Rotations: 5 weeks each | ||
| Internal Medicine | 6 | |
| Primary Care I | 6 | |
| Primary Care II | 6 | |
| Pediatrics | 6 | |
| Women’s Health | 6 | |
| Emergency Medicine | 6 | |
| Psychiatry/Mental Health | 6 | |
| Surgery | 6 | |
| General Elective | 6 | |
| PAST 772 | 2 | |
| Credits | 73.5 | |
| Total Credits | 215-216 | |