Program Information

Physician Assistants (PAs) are trained in the medical model, similar to how physicians are trained in medical school.  Students attending the Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program at GVSU enter with diverse educational and health-related experiences.  The curriculum at GVSU enables all students to build on their prior knowledge and become highly competent physician assistants upon graduation.

The PAS program at GVSU is fully accredited and includes four semesters of didactic coursework followed by three semesters of clinical training.  The didactic courses include human anatomy, medical physiology, statistics, clinical applications, clinical medicine, pathophysiology, clinical problem-solving, practical therapeutics, PA professional issues, and evidence-based medicine.

Course Schedule

PAs receive 16 months of didactic training followed by 12 months of clinical training (clinical rotations) at Grand Valley State University.

First Year

   Fall—Semester One Credits: 17

• BMS 561 - Prosected Regional Anatomy Credits: 4
• STA 610 - Applied Statistics for Health Professions Credits: 3
• PAS 501 - Clinical Applications I Credits: 2
• PAS 511 - Foundations of Clinical Medicine Credits: 4
• PAS 521 - Medical Physiology Credits: 3
• PAS 561 - Clinical Applications Lab I Credits: 1

  Winter—Semester Two Credits: 17

• PAS 502 - Clinical Applications II Credits: 1
• PAS 512 - Clinical Medicine I Credits: 6
• PAS 522 - Clinical Pathophysiology I Credits: 1
• PAS 532 - Practical Therapeutics I Credits: 2
• PAS 542 - Clinical Problem Solving Sessions I Credits: 1
• PAS 551 - Physician Assistant Prof Issues I: Credits: 1
• PAS 562 - Clinical Applications Lab II Credits: 1
• PAS 572 - Hospital Community Experience I Credits: 1
• PAS 582 - Evidence-Based Medicine I Credits: 3

  Spring/Summer—Semester Three Credits: 15

• PAS 503 - Clinical Applications III Credits: 1
• PAS 513 - Clinical Medicine II Credits: 6
• PAS 523 - Clinical Pathophysiology II Credits: 1
• PAS 533 - Practical Therapeutics II Credits: 2
• PAS 543 - Clinical Problem Solving Sessions II Credits: 1
• PAS 563 - Clinical Applications Lab III Credits: 1
• PAS 573 - Hospital Community Experience II Credits: 1
• PAS 583 - Evidence-Based Medicine II Credits 2

Second Year

  Fall—Semester Four Credits: 18

• PAS 504 - Clinical Applications IV Credits: 1
• PAS 514 - Clinical Medicine III Credits: 6
• PAS 524 - Clinical Pathophysiology III Credits: 3
• PAS 534 - Practical Therapeutics III Credits: 2
• PAS 544 - Clinical Problem Solving Sessions III Credits: 1
• PAS 554 - Physician Assistant Profession Issues II Credits: 1
• PAS 564 - Clinical Applications Lab IV Credits: 1
• PAS 574 - Hospital Community Experience III Credits: 1
• PAS 584 - Evidence-Based Medicine III Credits: 2

  Winter—Semester Five Credits: 12

• PAS 610^1,2 - Clinical Rotations I Credits: 12

  Spring/Summer—Semester Six Credits: 12

• PAS 620^1,2  - Clinical Rotations II Credits: 12

Third Year

Fall—Semester Seven Credits: 12

• PAS 630^1,2  - Clinical Rotations III Credits: 12

103 Credits Total

¹ GVSU PAS core rotations include:  Behavioral Health, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Rural/Underserved Medicine, General Surgery, and Women's Health

² Prospective and enrolled students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors.  GVSU will ensure all enrolled students will be placed in clinical rotations to meet all educational requirements.

Course Information

Course Catalog

Program Requirements

1. A minimum grade of 80 percent is required for passing all PAS courses 
2. A minimum grade of 75 percent is required for passing all "non-PAS" courses
3. The student's GPA must never drop below the 3.0 or "B" minimum in any semester or the student may be dismissed from the PAS program