Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine PA Medicine Program

As the nation’s pioneer land-grant university, Michigan State University is one of the top research universities of the world. MSU is an inclusive, internationally recognized university with a mission of advancing knowledge and transforming lives.  MSU is ranked 34th among the nation’s public universities in the U.S. News & World Report’s best American colleges. MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is the top ranked Osteopathic medical school in the nation in the 2019 Hospital Careers.com rankings. 

The mission of the Michigan State University PA Medicine Department is to develop an interprofessional educational program that produces clinicians ready to practice in today’s dynamic healthcare environment. To achieve this goal, the PA Medicine Department has partnered with the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology at Michigan State University to design a competency-based curriculum to prepare students to be “Day 1” ready to begin practice as a PA upon graduation. This unique training model will place PA students and DO medical students side by side in the classroom.  At the start of the program 48% of the Didactic curriculum will be taught interprofessionally.

The 27-month curriculum will be a 108 credit Master of Science degree in PA Medicine. Ideal applicants for PA Medicine will be highly skilled communicators, demonstrate leadership capacity and grit, and have a commitment to service in the community. Applicants will be screened to ensure academic preparedness for the rigor of a medical school training program. The holistic admissions methods of the College of Osteopathic Medicine will look to attract diverse student population to address the healthcare needs in the State of Michigan

Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of PA Medicine has applied for Accreditation - Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Michigan State University PA Medicine anticipates matriculating its first class in May 2022, pending achieving Accreditation - Provisional status at the September 2021 ARC-PA meeting. Accreditation Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program's ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Applicants for the inaugural MSUCOM PA Medicine cohort will be notified only after the program receives notification of the September 2021 meeting decision of the ARC-PA Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) regarding the program Accreditation-Provisional application status. If the program is not granted Accreditation-Provisional status, all applicants will be notified, and the program will not accept any applicants for admission. Additionally, any applicants who completed a secondary MSUCOM application will be refunded the secondary application fee.