Program Description
The Pre-Physician Assistant pathway in Health Sciences is designed for highly qualified students who, due to seat limits, are not accepted into the accelerated BS/MS in Physician Assistant Studies program. Students can complete the four-year BS in Health Sciences degree following the same curriculum as the Pre-PA pathway and, after completing either Year 3 or Year 4, apply for admission into the graduate Physician Assistant (PA) program at Jefferson East Falls or New Jersey campuses. Students from Jefferson who meet progression criteria are guaranteed an admissions interview for selected reserved seats at the East Falls or New Jersey campus graduate program. All PA prerequisite courses are completed during the undergraduate program. Since this pathway is not completed in an accelerated format, it provides students with more opportunities to incorporate experiences like study away, intercollegiate athletics, and leadership roles in student life into their undergraduate education program.
Progression Criteria
Progression criteria for priority interview consideration includes the following: minimum cumulative and science GPAs of 3.5; minimum 200 hours of direct patient contact, completed CASPA online application (requires personal essay, letters of recommendation).
Curriculum: 4 Years, Minimum 120 Credits
| First Year | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| FYS 100 | Pathways Seminar | 1 |
| WRIT 101 | Writing Sem I: Written Comm. | 3 |
| HSCI 100 | Intro to Health Professions | 1 |
| AVIS 101 | American Visions | 3 |
| MATH 102 | Pre-Calculus (or higher) | 3 |
| CHEM 103 & 103L |
Chemistry I and Chemistry I Lab |
4 |
| CHEM 104 & 104L |
Chemistry II and Chemistry II Lab |
4 |
| BIOL 103 & 103L |
Biology I and Biology I Lab |
4 |
| BIOL 104 & 104L |
Biology II and Biology II Lab |
4 |
| WRIT 201 | Writing Seminar II:Multi Comm | 3 |
| Credits | 30 | |
| Second Year | ||
| HSCI 230 | Intro to Healthcare | 2 |
| PSYC 101 | Intro to Psychology | 3 |
| GDIV 2XX | Global Diversity | 3 |
| ADIV 2XX | American Diversity | 3 |
| ETHC 2XX | Ethics | 3 |
| PSYC 201 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sciences Electives | 6 |
| 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 |
| Credits | 31 | |
| Third Year | ||
| PSYC 213 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| ISEM 3XX | Integrative Seminar | 3 |
| BIOL 221 & 221L |
Microbiology and Microbiology Lab |
4 |
| GCIT 2XX | Global Citizenship | 3 |
| HSCI 225 | Applied Statistics | 3 |
| HSCI 320 | Clinical Interactions | 3 |
| HSCI 3XX | Health Sciences Elective | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 1 | 4 | |
| Principles of Genetics and Principles of Genetics Lab |
||
| Molecular Genetics and Molecular Genetics Lab |
||
| Science Elective | 4 | |
| Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab (Recom) 2 |
||
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 33 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| CGIS 300 | Contemporary Global Issues | 3 |
| PHIL 499 | Philosophies of the Good Life | 3 |
| PSYC 2XX | Psychology Electives | 6 |
| HSCI 330 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| General Elective | consider 4-course minor | 15 |
| Credits | 30 | |
| Total Credits | 124 | |
- 1
Genetics Lecture/Lab (recom)
- 2
Science Elective CHEM 201 Organic Chemistry I (recom)