PA Curriculum

The Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies (M.M.Sc.) degree at Cedarville University is a practice-focused, professional degree program taught from a distinctly Christian and biblical worldview that prepares you for entry-level practice upon graduation and subsequent national certification and state licensure. The curriculum is sequenced and structured to build upon your prior education and healthcare experience, preparing you to competently practice patient-centered, evidence-based care on multi-disciplinary teams in diverse healthcare environments. 

The program is a 24-month, residential, full-time, year-round graduate program consisting of 110 semester credits hours completed over six consecutive semesters. The program is rigorous, and we encourage you to limit outside distractions (including employment) to be able to commit yourself to the program requirements.

In effort to provide you with support through the rigors of the program, you will be assigned a faculty advisor and mentor to meet with one-on-one and group contexts.

You will be admitted and enrolled as part of a cohort, completing each semester sequentially. You must successfully complete each course for a given semester to be eligible to enroll in the subsequent semester. Per program policy, advanced placement is not granted under any circumstances and all program requirements must be satisfactorily fulfilled to be eligible for degree conferral.

The program is divided into two phases: a didactic year and a clinical year.

Didactic Year Curriculum - 59 Credits

The didactic year is completed on campus face to face in a residential classroom format. The courses have been intentionally aligned to promote learning across the courses, to build on prior knowledge as you progress through the curriculum, and paired with cases to help coalesce and solidify the learning. You can expect to attend class Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some Saturday or evening instruction may also be required.

The curriculum is organized to cover each major organ system and taught from a variety of methods to accommodate various learning styles.

Semester 1 | Didactic 1 | Summer 1 (May to August - 15 weeks) | 19 credits

Semester 2 | Didactic 2 | Fall 1 (August to December - 16 weeks) | 20 credits

Semester 3 | Didactic 3 | Spring 1 (January to April - 16 weeks) | 20 credits

Clinical Year Curriculum - 51 Credits

During the clinical year, you will be placed in supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) for four weeks to work directly with a clinical preceptor to learn to care for patients within that discipline. Accreditation requires that students have clinical experiences in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Surgery, and Behavioral Health. You will also complete two additional rotations in your specific areas of interest.

SCPEs are located in southwest Ohio but also extend into the Midwest region and across the nation. You should expect to be placed in rotations outside of the local area; you will be responsible for expenses related to such assignments. Per program policy, you are not required to find your own rotation sites,  but you may recommend preceptors to the program to establish new clinical sites. It is the Program’s responsibility to evaluate and assign each SCPE rotations; there is no guarantee you will be placed at your suggested or requested sites.

Students will complete both sequential and non-sequential courses throughout the clinical year curriculum. Although the sequence of the clinical rotation courses varies from student to student, a student must satisfactorily complete all clinical rotation courses in the clinical year to complete their training and be eligible for graduation.

Semester 4-5-6 | Summer - Fall - Spring (May to April - 52 weeks) | 51 credits

Sequential Courses: the following courses are taken sequentially in the clinical year:

Non-sequential Courses: the following courses must be completed to satisfy the clinical year curriculum but may be sequenced differently for each student depending on site/preceptor availability and program preference: