Curriculum Overview

All courses in the PA Program are required.  Below lists the sequence of the curriculum.  For additional information, including full course descriptions, please visit the PA Program section of the JMU Graduate Catalog.

Read more about the Capstone Project

Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) Curriculum

Program curriculum by semester

Fall Semester Year 1
BIO 513 Human Gross Anatomy with Clinical Applications	9
BIO 516 Pathophysiology I	6
PA 510 Physical Diagnosis I	4
PA 540 The Physician Assistant Profession	1
Semester Total	20 credits
Spring Semester Year 1
BIO 517 Pathophysiology II	6
PA 520 Clinical Medicine I	6
PA 532 Pharmacology I	4
PA 551. Medical Biostatistics	2
Semester Total	18 credits
Summer Session Year 1
PA 659 Health Care Environment	3
PA 511 Physical Diagnosis II	3
PA 621 Clinical Medicine II	5
PA 622 Obstetrics & Gynecology	2
PA 624 Behavioral Medicine	2
PA 630 Diagnostic Methods I	2
Semester Total	17 credits
Fall Semester Year 2
PA 623 Pediatric Medicine	3
PA 626 Clinical Medicine III	5
PA 631 Diagnostic Methods II	3
PA 633 Pharmacology II	4
PA 652. Clinical Problem Solving	3
PA 653. Research Design and Implementation	1
Semester Total	19 credits
Spring Semester Year 2
PA 625 Health Promotion & Disease Prevention	1
PA 654 Capstone Project	2
Rotation Period 1	2
Rotation Period 2	2
Rotation Period 3	2
Rotation Period 4	2
Session Total	11 credits
Summer Session Year 2
PA 643 Values and Ethics in Medicine	3
Rotation Period 5	2
Rotation Period 6	2
Rotation Period 7	2
Semester Total	9 credits
Fall Semester Year 3
PA 642 Transition to Practice	1
Rotation Period 8	2
Rotation Period 9	2
Rotation Period 10	2
Rotation Period 11	2
Semester Total	9 credits
Total Master of PA Credits	103 credits

Rotating Courses

These courses rotate during the ten rotation periods. The sequencing of these courses will vary with each student.

Courses that vary by semester

Course	Credit Hours	Duration
PA 670 Elective Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 671 Family Medicine Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 672 Primary Care Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 673 Internal Medicine Clinical Rotation I	2	4 weeks
PA 674 Internal Medicine Clinical Rotation II	2	4 weeks
PA 675 Pediatrics Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 676 Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 677 General Surgery Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 678 Emergency Medicine Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 679 Behavioral Medicine Clinical Rotation	2	4 weeks
PA 680 Elective Rotation II	2	4 weeks

During the final three semesters (the clinical phase) of the PA Program, there are three traditional classroom type courses in addition to the 11 required supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPE).  Each SCPE is 4-weeks long.  The classroom courses only meet when students return to campus for 1-week following every two SCPEs.  Two of the eleven SCPEs is an elective – students will work with the Director of Clinical Education to decide on what works best for them and their interests.  The sequence in which the SCPEs are completed varies with each student.