Best Graduate Programs in Physician Assistant - Updated 2021

A physician assistant (PA) is a medical professional who works as part of a team with a doctor. PA duties include diagnosing and treating illness, performing physical exams and procedures, assisting in surgery, prescribing medications, and providing patient counseling and education. PAs are trained and educated similarly to physicians, and therefore share similar diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning. Physician-PA practice can be described as delegated autonomy. PAs use autonomous decision-making for patient care, under the purview of a physician.

The Yale School of Medicine is proud to offer two pathways to obtain a high quality PA education: The Physician Associate Program and the Physician Assistant Online Program. Students in both programs graduate with a Master of Medical Science degree and both utilize the faculty from the Yale School of Medicine. With unique learning experiences, prospective students can apply for the program that best meets their learning and career objectives.

The Stanford School of Medicine Master of Science in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program seeks to develop highly skilled clinical PAs and inspire PA students to become PA leaders through work in scholarly concentrations, including community health, clinical research, health services and policy research, and medical education. During the 9-quarter program, students will be educated by exceptional Stanford clinical faculty, will immerse themselves in scholarly concentrations to build leadership skills, and will experience clinical practice in a world-class healthcare infrastructure.

The mission of the program is to prepare physician assistants (PAs) to provide compassionate, high-quality, patient-centered care as members of interdisciplinary teams. Graduates from this program are culturally competent, committed to continuous learning and professional development and make significant contributions to communities and the advancement of the PA profession.

The Emory Physician Assistant Program recruits educates and mentors a diverse group of students to become highly regarded physician assistants providing compassionate health care of the highest quality. The university value the highest standards of professionalism and team-based medicine with a commitment to the medically underserved. Graduates are prepared to practice evidence-based primary care and preventive medicine and engage in lifelong learning.

The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has a long and successful history of training and graduating outstanding clinicians who work in a variety of medical care settings with diverse patient populations. Our graduates are trained not only for clinical excellence, but also in the breadth of competencies required to be professional leaders in this exciting career within the rapidly changing, medical environments of the 21st century. Kevin Lohenry,PhD, PA-C, Director, Primary Care Physician Assistant Program. Kevin Lohenry, PhD, PA-CDirector, Primary Care Physician Assistant Program.

The Tufts University School of Medicine Physician Assistant (PA) Program trains the students to practice as a PA in a broad range of clinical settings. Job growth for physician assistants is expected to rise almost 40 percent over the next 10 years, which makes the field an attractive, exciting option for students who are passionate about making a difference by pursuing a career in clinical medicine.

P.A.s are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, P.A.s conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery and write prescriptions. Within the physician-P.A. relationship, the P.A. exercises autonomy in medical-decision making and provides a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A P.A.’s practice may also include education, research and administrative services.

The Boston University Master of Science (MS) degree will be conferred upon those students who successfully complete the 28-month (107 credit-hours) Physician Assistant (PA) Program. This professional degree program, housed in Graduate Medical Sciences, is the first educational program for master’s-prepared medical providers at the BU School of Medicine. The academic program is divided into didactic and clinical phases.

The Northeastern University health informatics and physician assistant combined program allows qualified and interested students to achieve their goal of obtaining a more robust understanding of healthcare technology while also completing robust clinical training in the physician assistant program. This prepares a select group of exceptionally qualified clinicians to become leaders in healthcare technology application and development and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration in order to address problems in the healthcare and health information environments both locally and across the globe.