The University of New Mexico

Graduate Program

Degree Offered

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

The program's mission is to educate physician assistant students to become exemplary 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remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards.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 by the August 1 application deadline. They must complete prerequisites prior to the application deadline and receive a grade of C or higher, with the exception of one outstanding prerequisite course which applicants may have in progress at the time of application. This one outstanding prerequisite course must be completed by December of the application year with a grade of B or above. All prerequisites must be taken in the United States for a letter grade. Science prerequisites must be taken within the last 10 years. 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 all science and math course grades from the past 10 years. For a complete list of all requirements please visit our web page. Course numbers listed below refer to the University of New Mexico courses.

Credit
Hours
Science
BIOL 2110C Principles of Biology: Cellular and Molecular Lecture and Laboratory 4
BIOL 2210 Human Anatomy and Physiology I  3
BIOL 2210L Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory 1
BIOL 2225 Human Anatomy and Physiology II 3
BIOL 2225L Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory 1
(CHEM 1215
and
CHEM 1225)
or
(CHEM 1217
and
CHEM 1227)		 General Chemistry I for STEM Majors

General Chemistry II for STEM Majors

Principles of Chemistry I
and
Principles of Chemistry II		 6
CHEM 1215L General Chemistry I for STEM Majors Laboratory 1
CHEM 1225L General Chemistry II for STEM Majors Laboratory 1
PSY or PSYC Psychology  3 
Communication Skills
ENGL Any 2 writing, literature, public speaking or linguistics courses 6


Applicants should contact the PA Program for guidance on additional courses that are highly recommended for admission.

Clinical/Community Experience

The program requires a minimum of 1,000 contact hours of direct patient care experience at the time of application 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 535 Clinical Seminar I 3
Subtotal 3
Fall  
PAST 502 PA Foundations of Research Methodology 1
PAST 510 PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine I 1
PAST 512 PA Human Anatomy 4
PAST 515 PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine I 1
PAST 520 PA Pharmacology I 1
PAST 530 PA Clinical Skills I 1
PAST 540 PA Dermatology 2
PAST 570 Foundations of Medical Science 3
   Subtotal 14
Spring
PAST 513 PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine II 1
PAST 516 PA Hematology 2
PAST 517 PA Microbiology and Immunology 2
PAST 518 PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine II 1
PAST 521 PA Emergency Medicine I 1
PAST 523 PA Pharmacology II 1
PAST 531 PA Clinical Skills II 1
PAST 541 PA Orthopedics 2
PAST 547 PA CV-Pulmonary-Renal 4
Subtotal 15
Summer
PAST 514 PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine III 1
PAST 519 PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine III 1
PAST 524  PA Pharmacology III 1
PAST 522 PA Emergency Medicine II 1
PAST 532 PA Clinical Skills III 1
PAST 550 PA GI, Nutrition, Metabolism (GINM) 3
  Subtotal 8
Fall  
PAST 526 PA Emergency Medicine III 1
PAST 527 PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine IV 2
PAST 529 PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine IV 2
PAST 533 PA Pharmacology IV 2
PAST 534 PA Clinical Skills IV 1
PAST 545 PA Neurosciences 4
PAST 548 PA Infectious Disease 3
PAST 552 PA Sexuality, Reproduction and Endocrinology 3
  Subtotal 18
Spring
PAST 560 PA Clerkship Family Medicine 3
PAST 561 PA Clerkship Women's Health and Prenatal Care 3
PAST 562 PA Clerkship Pediatrics 3
PAST 563 PA Clerkship Behavioral Medicine - Psychiatry 3
PAST 564 PA Clerkship Emergency Medicine 3
  Subtotal 15
Summer
PAST 565 PA Clerkship General Internal Medicine 3
PAST 566 PA Clerkship Elective 3
Subtotal 6
Fall
PAST 568 PA Clerkship Surgery 3
PAST 575 PA Clerkship Primary Care 3
PAST 600 PA Program to Practice 1
Subtotal 7
  Total 86

Courses

PAST 502. PA Foundations of Research Methodology. (1)


PAST 510. PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine I. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 512. PA Human Anatomy. (4)


PAST 513. PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine II. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 514. PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine III. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 515. PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine I. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 516. PA Hematology. (2)


PAST 517. PA Microbiology and Immunology. (2)


PAST 518. PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine II . (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 519. PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine III. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 520. PA Pharmacology I. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 521. PA Emergency Medicine I. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 522. PA Emergency Medicine II. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 523. PA Pharmacology II. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 524. PA Pharmacology III . (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 526. PA Emergency Medicine III. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 527. PA Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine IV. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 529. PA Adult and Geriatric Medicine IV. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 530. PA Clinical Skills I. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 531. PA Clinical Skills II. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 532. PA Clinical Skills III. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 533. PA Pharmacology IV. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 534. PA Clinical Skills IV. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 535. PA Clinical Seminar. (3)


PAST 540. PA Dermatology. (2)


PAST 541. PA Orthopedics. (2)


PAST 542. Musculoskeletal Connective Tissue (MSCT). (4)


PAST 545. PA Neurosciences. (4)


PAST 547. PA CV-Pulmonary-Renal. (4)


PAST 548. PA Infectious Disease. (3)


PAST 549. Introduction to Clinical Medicine III Human Sexuality and Reproduction. (2)


PAST 550. PA GI, Nutrition, Metabolism (GINM). (3)


PAST 552. PA Sexuality, Reproduction and Endocrine. (3)


PAST 560. PA Clerkship Family Medicine. (3)


PAST 561. PA Clerkship Women's Health & Prenatal Care. (3)


PAST 562. PA Clerkship Pediatrics. (3)


PAST 563. PA Clerkship Behavioral Medicine - Psychiatry. (3)


PAST 564. PA Clerkship Emergency Medicine. (3)


PAST 565. PA Clerkship General Internal Medicine. (3)


PAST 566. PA Clerkship Elective. (3, may be repeated one time Δ)


PAST 568. PA Clerkship Surgery . (3)


PAST 570. PA Foundations of Medical Science. (3)


PAST 575. PA Clerkship Primary Care. (3, may be repeated one time Δ)


PAST 600. PA Program to Practice. (1-3, not repeatable)


PAST 610. Independent Study. (1-14, may be repeated once Δ)


PAST 611. Topics. (1-6, may be repeated fourteen times Δ)


Course Search:




Keyword Search:

Office of the Registrar

MSC11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
 Fax: (505) 277-6809