Program Description
The 4+2 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 six-year dual degree program are assured a seat in the graduate MS Physician Assistant Studies program, provided they meet the 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 will matriculate into the professional phase of study in the Physician Assistant program in the summer after earning the BS in Health Sciences. The six-year Health Sciences BS/Physician Assistant Studies MS Dual Degree program 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: 6 years
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4+2 program
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| FYS 100 | Pathways Seminar | 1 |
| WRIT 101 | Writing Sem I: Written Comm. | 3 |
| MATH 102 | Pre-Calculus | 3 |
| CHEM 103 | Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 103L | Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| BIOL 103 | Biology I | 3 |
| BIOL 103L | Biology I Lab | 1 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| HSCI 100 | Intro to Health Professions | 1 |
| WRIT 201 | Writing Seminar II:Multi Comm | 3 |
| AVIS 101 | American Visions | 3 |
| CHEM 104 | Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 104L | Chemistry II Lab | 1 |
| BIOL 104 | Biology II | 3 |
| BIOL 104L | Biology II Lab | 1 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| PSYC 101 | Intro to Psychology | 3 |
| ADIV 2XX | American Diversity Placeholder | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sci Elective | 3 |
| BIOL 201 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 3 |
| BIOL 201L | Human Anat & Physiology I Lab | 1 |
| GDIV 2XX | Global Diversity Placeholder | 3 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| PSYC 213 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| HSCI 230 | Intro to Healthcare | 2 |
| ETHC 2XX | Ethics Course Placeholder | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sci Elective | 3 |
| BIOL 202 | Human Anatomy & Physiology II | 3 |
| BIOL 202L | Human Anat & Physiology II Lab | 1 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| CHEM 201 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 201L | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| ISEM 3XX | Integrative Sem Placeholder | 3 |
| HSCI 225 | Applied Statistics | 3 |
| GCIT 2XX | Global Citizenship Placeholder | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 207 | Principles of Genetics | 3 |
| BIOL 207L | Principles of Genetics Lab | 1 |
| BIOL 221 | Microbiology | 3 |
| BIOL 221L | Microbiology Lab | 1 |
| PSYC 201 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| HSCI 320 | Clinical Interactions | 3 |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| CGIS 300 | Contemporary Global Issues | 3 |
| HSCI 330 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sci Elective | 3 |
| SCI ELECTIVE | Select from list | 3-4 |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15-16 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHIL 499 | Philosophies of the Good Life | 3 |
| PSYC 2XX | Psych Designated Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 6-9 | |
| Credits | 12-15 | |
| Total Credits | 121-125 | |