Curriculum

The MPAS degree program is a full-time graduate-level program with an integrated curriculum that contains both didactic and clinical educational experiences. The program is 27 months (7 academic semesters) and has a cohort-based curriculum, starting with didactic instruction followed by clinical application educational experiences and summative evaluation. The clinical phase of the program consists of 10 supervised clinical practical (SCPE) experiences. The curriculum includes an elective course, which consists of clinical or non-clinical experiences. Didactic courses must be taken sequentially. The order of clinical experiences varies.  Students are NOT REQUIRED to develop, arrange, or solicit “cold call” clinical sites or preceptors (A3.03). Students do have the opportunity to request rotation assignments and recommend potential preceptor sites. Placement at the requested or recommended site is not guaranteed. The Program evaluates all potential preceptors in alignment with program policy. 

Students have the option to choose a specialty pathway for electives. This specialty pathway allows students to spend up to three additional rotations in a specialty. Currently, developed specialty pathways include:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Family Medicine
  • General Surgery and Surgical specialties
  • Medicine Subspecialties

Curriculum Charts

Interprofessional Education (IPE) Curriculum

The PA program contains a comprehensive interprofessional education curriculum that includes multiple interactions with various health professions. University of the Pacific’s curriculum includes various educational modalities to prepare students for interprofessional practice. Curriculum developed by faculty published in the area of interprofessional education.

  • IPE Curriculum Snapshot
  • Patient safety and communication focused events that include all SHS programs, School of Pharmacy and School of Dentistry.
  • Longitudinal IPE curriculum with the School of Pharmacy: PA and pharmacy students are groups for various educational events throughout the curriculum.IPE Curriculum involves multiple educational modalities including cross teaching and community outreach.
  • Integrated courses

Overview of the Graduation Requirements

To earn a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) Degree from University of the Pacific, the School of Health Sciences, students must satisfactorily complete the following graduation requirements:

RequirementDescription
Units114 units minimum
Required Courses

Clinical Medicine I – Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology
Clinical Medicine I – Pathophysiology
Pharmacology and Therapeutics I
Behavioral and Health Sciences
Professional Practice and the Health System I
Clinical Skills I
Clinical Medicine II
Clinical Medicine III
Pharmacology and Therapeutics II
Population-based Care
Professional Practice and the Health System II
Clinical Skills II
Clinical Medicine IV
Clinical Medicine V
Pharmacology and Therapeutics III
Behavioral and Mental Health
Professional Practice and the Health System III
Clinical Skills III
Preparation for Clinical Practice
Professional Aspects of Healthcare
Advanced Clinical Skills I
Advanced Clinical Skills II
Advanced Clinical Skills III
Supervised Clinical Experience Rotations*
Primary Care I*
Primary Care II*
Primary Care – Pediatrics*
Primary Care – Women’s Health*
Primary Care – Behavioral and Mental Health*
Internal Medicine*
Surgery*
Emergency Medicine*
General Elective I*
General Elective II*
General Elective III


Periodic and Summative Evaluations/Capstone Project

Writing RequirementMPAS 218 students satisfy this requirement by completing the Capstone Project, which consists of a critical review of medical literature for a given clinical topic culminating in a paper suitable for publication.
Experiential CurriculumStudents will complete 8 core clinical experience rotations and 3 elective rotations.
Good Academic StandingAll students must make satisfactory progress toward curriculum completion within the PA program. Students must meet the minimum standards and requirements set by the Program and University of the Pacific in order to remain in good academic standing. The University and Program have minimum criteria for academic progress, as it relates to grade point average. The Program has additional criteria that define academic progress. Failure to meet any defined criteria may result in disciplinary action and the changing of a student’s academic standing. See Student Handbook for specific criteria.
Period of StudyAll students are expected to complete degree requirements after having attempted not more than 150% of the number of credit hours of course work required for the degree program, rounded down to the nearest credit.
Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)A MPAS candidate may not sit for the PANCE before completion of all degree requirements.
Application for GraduationFile an Application for Graduation Form with the Office of the Registrar no later than the Add/Drop Deadline before your final term.

 

This webpage is a summary of the degree requirements set forth in the University Catalog and explained in the Student Handbook. All students are responsible for reading those documents, and for ensuring that they comply with all graduation requirements. Any student who anticipates that he or she will graduate later than expected is advised to seek academic advising from the Department Chair and must notify the Office of the Registrar of any changes to your expected graduation date.