Graduate Program

Degree Offered

Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (M.S.)

The Physician Assistant Studies program's mission is to educate Physician Assistants to be competent providers of primary care medicine with a special focus on the medically underserved and/or rural populations of New Mexico.

This program is housed in the Department of Family and Community Medicine within the School of Medicine. Instruction is provided by various departments and faculties of the Health Sciences Center. Small group tutorials are actively used in the professional curriculum. The 27-month program consists of didactic and clinical instruction. Students can expect to have several clinical clerkships in rural and underserved areas of New Mexico. Upon successful completion of the curriculum, a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree is awarded.

Program Accreditation Status

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the University of New Mexico Physician Assistant Program sponsored by the University of New Mexico. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2024. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

Specific questions regarding the program and its plans should be directed to the program director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).

Pre-Professional Curriculum

Applicants must have a B.A./B.S. degree or higher and the Graduate Record Exam by the August 1 application deadline. They must complete all prerequisites prior to the application deadline and receive a grade of C or higher. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is calculated based on the most recent 60 college credit hours. Also, a required science/math grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is calculated using the science prerequisites and statistics course grade. Course numbers listed below refer to the University of New Mexico courses.

		Credit Hours
	Science
BIOL 123/124L	Biology for Health Related Sciences and Non-Majors / Lab	4
BIOL 237/247L	Human Anatomy and Physiology I for the Health Sciences / Lab	4
BIOL 238/248L	Human Anatomy and Physiology II for the Health Sciences / Lab	4
CHEM 121/123L -and- CHEM 122/124L	General Chemistry I / Lab General Chemistry II / Lab	8
-or- CHEM 131/123L -and- CHEM 132/124L	Principles of Chemistry / Lab Principles of Chemistry / Lab	8
PSY	Psychology	3
	Mathematics
PSY 200 -or- STAT 145	Statistical Principles Introduction to Statistics	3
	Communication Skills
ENGL	English - writing or literature. All English courses must be taken in the U.S.	6

Highly Recommended for All:

(Additional points can be earned by completing these courses with a grade of B- or higher)

Regional language (Spanish, Native Language, Vietnamese and/or Sign)
Biochemistry
Organic Chemistry
Integrated Organic and Biochemistry
Nutrition
Microbiology
Genetics
Molecular Genetics
Molecular and Cell Biology
Virology
Immunology
Biological Chemistry

Clinical/Community Experience

The program requires a minimum of 500 contact hours of direct patient care experience in either a patient care setting or a significant community care environment, either as a paid position or as a volunteer. Hands-on patient care experience is preferred.

Application for admission is made through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) Web site. The University of New Mexico Physician Assistant Program adheres to the CASPA Green Deadline which states that applications must be verified by 11:59 pm ET on August 1 of the application year. Applications can only be verified once all payments, transcripts, and letters of reference have been received. Completed applications must be submitted at least 4 weeks before the deadline to ensure the application is verified by the August 1 deadline. Applicants are encouraged to check the status of their CASPA application on a weekly basis.

For questions or technical assistance call CASPA at (617) 612-2080, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time, or email to caspainfo@caspaonline.org. The University of New Mexico Physician Assistant Program sends a supplemental application to qualified applicants after the CASPA application is submitted if all requirements are met. A separate application to The University of New Mexico is required upon acceptance into the program, if not currently enrolled. Admission to the Physician Assistant Program is based on evaluation of those applicant qualities and experiences which advance the program’s mission. For this reason, residents of New Mexico are given primary consideration for admission. The criteria for evaluation also include academic and personal record, letters of recommendation and, if selected, a personal interview.

Professional Curriculum

		Credit Hours
	Summer
PAST 501	FMS I Population Health	1
PAST 502	FMS I Foundations of Research Methodology	1
PAST 535	Clinical Seminar I	1
PAST 540	ICM I Dermatology	2
PAST 541	ICM I Orthopedics	2
	Subtotal	7
	Fall
PAST 510	FMS I Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine I	2
PAST 515	FMS I Adult and Geriatric Medicine I	2
PAST 520	FMS I Pharmacology I	2
PAST 530	FMS I Clinical Skills I	2
PAST 536	Clinical Seminar II	1
PAST 542	Musculoskeletal Connective Tissue (MSCT)	4
PAST 570	Foundations of Medical Science	4
	Subtotal	17
	Spring
PAST 513	FMS II Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine II	1
PAST 514	FMS III Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine III	1
PAST 518	FMS II Adult and Geriatric Medicine II	1
PAST 519	FMS III Adult and Geriatric Medicine III	1
PAST 523	FMS II Pharmacology II	1
PAST 524	FMS III Pharmacology III	1
PAST 531	FMS II Clinical Skills II	1
PAST 537	Clinical Seminar III	1
PAST 545	ICM II Neurosciences	4
PAST 547	ICM II CV-Pulmonary-Renal	4
	Subtotal	16
	Summer
PAST 560	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Family Medicine	3
PAST 562	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Pediatrics	3
	Subtotal	6
	Fall
PAST 525	FMS IV Emergency Medicine	3
PAST 527	FMS IV Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine IV	1
PAST 529	FMS IV Adult and Geriatric Medicine IV	1
PAST 532	FMS III Clinical Skills III	1
PAST 533	FMS IV Pharmacology IV	1
PAST 548	ICM III Infectious Disease	4
PAST 549	ICM III Sexuality and Reproduction	2
PAST 550	GI-Nutrition-Metabolism-Endocrinology (GINME)	4
	Subtotal	17
	Spring
PAST 561	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Women's Health and Prenatal Care	3
PAST 563	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Behavioral Medicine - Psychiatry	3
PAST 564	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Emergency Medicine	3
PAST 565	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience General Internal Medicine	3
PAST 566	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Elective	1
PAST 600	Program to Practice	2
	Subtotal	15
	Summer
PAST 568	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience General Surgery	3
PAST 575	Supervised Clinical Practice Experience Primary Care	5
	Subtotal	8
PAST 610	Independent Study	1-14
	Clerkship and preceptorship total	27
	Professional curriculum total	59
	Total credit hours	86