Physician Assistant Program

Physician Assistant Program

Master of Science-Physician Assistant

The M.S. in Physician Assistant is a three-year, full-time, ninety-five-credit program that begins each fall. One class is admitted per year. The program is cohort-based, meaning that students have a predetermined course schedule each semester and move along in the program with the same group of peers. As a result, students are able to support each other and work and study in a community-like atmosphere. Classes are held at the Monmouth University Graduate Center in Monmouth Park Corporate Center.

At its September 2023 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the Monmouth University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Monmouth University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in September 2025.

Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance. Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA, when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation – Provisional or Accreditation – Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened.

Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.

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

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-monmouth-university/.

The mission of the Monmouth University physician assistant program is to educate physician assistants to provide compassionate, patient-centered, quality healthcare in a variety of settings. Program graduates will possess clinical skills to serve a diverse patient population and have the ability to advance the profession through leadership and research.

Our goals are to prepare physician assistants who:

  • Function as high-quality physician assistants providing primary care in a variety of medical or surgical specialties.
  • Learn how to integrate critical thinking and clinical reasoning into an evidence-based approach to patient management.
  • Understand the importance of delivering high-value, cost-conscious care while adding quality improvement to a practice setting.
  • Develop professional skills in order to work as collaborative members of the healthcare team.
  • Understand and respect diversity with interpersonal skills that allow effective communication with patients, their families, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
  • Develop an intellectual curiosity by engaging in critical evaluation of the practice of medicine through research and publishing.

The program consists of two phases: the didactic phase and the clinical phase. The didactic phase is forty-two weeks consisting of classroom and clinical skills laboratory instruction, with hospital and clinic experiences. The clinical phase consists of sixty weeks of clinical clerkships, in which students are assigned to preceptors at various hospitals and physician offices. Course descriptions are located in the course description section of this catalog. Please refer to the Admission section of this catalog for the admission requirements. Students must successfully complete all courses and clinical clerkships in order to be eligible to graduate from the program.

Upon acceptance to this program, students will be required to meet health and immunization requirements and complete a background check. More information can be found in the Physician Assistant Student Handbook, posted on our Web site.