The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies is a 25-month, 111 credit full-time course of study. The curriculum is divided into a 12-month didactic phase, a 12-month clinical phase, and a 1-month capstone phase.  The program begins a new cohort of students in January each year.

Didactic Phase

The 12-month didactic phase of the PA program contains the preclinical curriculum that will prepare the student to succeed during the clinical phase. The program begins in January each year with an orientation and a 4-week intensive semester that will give the foundation for subsequent clinical courses. The remainder of the didactic phase will work sequentially through clinical body systems one at a time integrating the clinical course with the Applied Patient Care and Systems Pharmacology courses. Altogether, each body system module will contain the anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, history and physical exam, diagnostic techniques, evidence-based medicine, and treatment specific to that system.

In addition to the clinical medicine, students will work through all other aspects of PA practice including interprofessional practice, ethics and social issues, diversity and cultural competency, life-long learning, evidence-based medicine, and research methods.

Semester	Class #	Class Name	Cr Hours
Intensive	MSPA 500	Principles of PA Practice I	1
4 wk	MSPA 505	Foundations of Clinical Anatomy	2
	MSPA 510	Intro to Pathophysiology	2
	MSPA 515	Intro to Clinical Pharmacology	1
	MSPA 520	Applied Patient Care I	2
		Total Credit Hours (8)	8
Spring	MSPA 501	Principles of PA Practice II	1
14 wk	MSPA 521	Applied Patient Care II	2
	MSPA 530	Intro to Evidence-Based Practice	1
	MSPA 550	Systems Pharmacology I	2
	MSPA 560	Clinical Hematology and infectious disease	4
	MSPA 561	Clinical HEENT	2.5
	MSPA 562	Clinical Dermatology	1.5
	MSPA 563	Clinical Pulmonology	4
		Total Credit Hours (18)	18
Summer	MSPA 502	Principles of PA Practice III	1
12 wk	MSPA 522	Applied Patient Care III	2
	MSPA 551	Systems Pharmacology II	2
	MSPA 570	Clinical Cardiology	5
	MSPA 571	Clinical Nephrology and Urology	3
	MSPA 572	Clinical Orthopedics and Rheumatology	4
		Total Credit Hours (17)	17
Fall	MSPA 503	Principles of PA Practice IV	1
16 wk	MSPA 523	Applied Patient Care IV	3
	MSPA 552	Systems Pharmacology III	2
	MSPA 580	Clinical Gastroenterology	3
	MSPA 581	Clinical Endocrinology	2
	MSPA 582	Clinical Behavioral Medicine and Neurology	4
	MSPA 583	Clinical Gynecology and Obstetrics	3
	MSPA 584	Clinical Pediatrics	3
	MSPA 590	Research Methods	2
		Total Credit Hours (23)	23
		Total Didactic Year (66)

Clinical Phase

The clinical phase of the program consists of structured clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). Students will complete 7 required rotations (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, general surgery, emergency medicine, behavioral health) and have 2 elective rotations of the students choosing from a robust list of options. Following each clinical experience, students will return to campus for end-of-rotation exams and the Bridge to Clinical Practice courses. In addition, students will work on their capstone community engagement projects.

Semester	Class #	Class Name	Cr Hours
Spring 2	MSPA 650	Surgery	4
	MSPA 651	Internal medicine	4
	MSPA 652	Emergency medicine	4
	MSPA 653	Family medicine	4
	MSPA 630	Bridge to Clinical Practice I	1
		Total semester	17
Summer 2	MSPA 654	Women’s Health	4
	MSPA 655	Pediatrics	4
	MSPA 631	Bridge to Clinical Practice II	1
	MSPA 665	Community Engagement	NC
		Total semester	9
Fall 2	MSPA 656	Behavioral Medicine	4
	MSPA 657	Elective I	4
	MSPA 658	Elective II	4
	MSPA 632	Bridge to Clinical Practice III	1
		Total semester	13

Note: Rotation sequence will be different for each student

Capstone Phase

The final capstone phase of the PA program lasting 1 month includes program summative testing, completion and presentation of the community engagement projects, Bridge to Clinical Practice IV, and structured board exam review.

Capstone	MSPA 633	Bridge to Clinical Practice IV	4
	MSPA 665	Community Engagement	2
		Total semester	6