PA Program
Course Timeline
In This Section
You’ll need 101 credits total to complete our program: 55 credits in the pre-clinical year and 46 credits in the clinical year, as described below.
All courses in the curriculum are graded on a letter grade basis with the exception of the Evidence-Based Medicine Course in the didactic year and the Summative Experience in the clinical year. These are both Pass/Fail courses. Course descriptions can be found in the Penn State Graduate Bulletin.
PAS 701: Applied Human Structure and Function I (3 credits)
PAS 700: Professional Practice (1 credit)
PAS 783: Inclusive Healthcare Practices (1 credit)
PAS 736: Introductory Concepts in Medicine (2 credits)
PAS 763: Principles of Immunology, Hematology, and Oncology (3 credits)
PAS 784: Principles of Dermatology (2 credits)
PAS 785: Principles of Infectious Disease (3 credits)
PAS 786: Principles of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (2 credits)
Total credits: 17
PAS 702: Applied Human Structure and Function II (3 credits)
PAS 721: Professional Practice II (1 credit)
PAS 787: Principles of Endocrinology (2 credits)
PAS 789: Principles of Pulmonology (3 credits)
PAS 788: Principles of Nephrology and Genitourinary Disease (2 credits)
PAS 790: Principles of Cardiology (4 credits)
PAS 791: Principles of Gastroenterology (3 credits)
Total credits: 19
PAS 719: Professional Practice III (1 credit)
PAS 725: Professional Practice (1 credit)
PAS 723: Principles of Behavioral Medicine (2 credits)
PAS 792: Principles of Neurology (3 credits)
PAS 793: Principles of Rheumatology and Orthopaedics (4 credits)
PAS 722: Principles of Human Sexuality and Reproductive Health (3 credits)
PAS 729: Principles of Emergency Medicine (3 credits)
PAS 794: Principles of Surgery (2 credits)
Total credits: 19
During the clinical year, students will complete three mandatory primary-care rotations. Each rotation is 5 weeks.
Mandatory Transition Block Requirements
BLS, ACLS, PALS Certification Completion
Child Abuse Training
MAT Waiver Training
NIH Stroke Scale A Certification
Clinical Year Orientation/Transition Week
Mandatory Clinical Year Courses (1 credit)
PAS 756: Summative Experience (1 credit)
Mandatory Clinical Rotations (40 credits)
PAS 741: Behavioral Health I (5 credits)
PAS 732: Emergency Medicine I (5 credits)
PAS 734: Family Medicine I (5 credits)
PAS 739: Internal Medicine I (5 credits)
PAS 735: Ambulatory Care (5 credits)
PAS 737: General Surgery I (5 credits)
PAS 743: Pediatrics I (5 credits)
PAS 745: Reproductive Health I (5 credits)
Elective Clinical Rotations (select 1 for 5 credits)
PAS 742: Behavioral Medicine II (5 credits)
PAS 765: Burn (5 credits)
PAS 758: Cardiology (5 credits)
PAS 760: Cardiothoracic Surgery (5 credits)
PAS 762: Critical Care/ICU (5 credits)
PAS 755: Dermatology (5 credits)
PAS 733: Emergency Medicine II (5 credits)
PAS 749: Endocrinology (5 credits)
PAS 751: ENT (5 credits)
PAS 748: Family Medicine III (5 credits)
PAS 750: Gastroenterology (5 credits)
PAS 738: General Surgery II (5 credits)
PAS 752: Hematology/Oncology (5 credits)
PAS 768: Infectious Disease (5 credits)
PAS 740: Internal Medicine II (5 credits)
PAS 757: Interventional Radiology (5 credits)
PAS 770: Nephrology (5 credits)
PAS 761: Neurology (5 credits)
PAS 769: Neurosurgery (5 credits)
PAS 775: Ophthalmology (5 credits)
PAS 753: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine (5 credits)
PAS 764: Palliative Care (5 credits)
PAS 744: Pediatrics II (5 credits)
PAS 759: Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (5 credits)
PAS 754: Trauma (5 credits)
PAS 746: Reproductive Health II (5 credits)
Upon completion of the clinical training, students will participate in a one-credit Summative Experience. In addition to taking the PACKRAT examination (which does not impact student placement in the PA Program), students will be evaluated on their professionalism and participate in assessments for knowledge, technical skills, interpretation, and performance of diagnostic evaluations. The Summative Experience must be successfully completed as one of the final requirements for program completion.
COVID-19 changes: To ensure compliance with local, state and federal guidelines as well as those within the academic health center and college of medicine, the PA program may need to make changes and modifications to clinical rotation schedules as positivity rates for COVID-19 fluctuate. All changes made due to COVID-19 will be communicated with students, updated in the student handbook, and reported to the ARC-PA per accreditation standards.
Total credits: 46