Courses

The PA Program at Charleston Southern University is a full-time, 24-month, year-round graduate program that consists of 99 semester credit hours completed over six semesters. The curriculum is separated into didactic and clinical academic work. The curriculum structure is designed to give students the knowledge, skill and confidence to care for patients in a variety of settings.

Students are assigned a faculty advisor as soon as they begin the program. Time has been worked into the academic schedule each week for advising, which may be done in a group setting or in a one-on-one setting depending on the agenda for the week. 

We recognize that not all students learn in the same way, and we have developed a curriculum structure to include lecture, small group, problem-based learning, high-fidelity simulation and practical hands-on training.

Didactic Year

The didactic year is organized to deliver curriculum by each major organ system. The curriculum will be taught through various platforms such as lectures, small groups, problem-based learning, high fidelity simulation and practical hands-on training.

Spring Semester

Unit	Course Code	Course Name	Credit Hours
1	MPAS 500	Human Anatomy and Lab	4
1	MPAS 590	Diagnostic Sciences	1
2	MPAS 510	The Path to Becoming a PA I	1
2	MPAS 520	Clinical Medicine I	6
2	MPAS 530	Basic Sciences I	3
2	MPAS 540	Patient Assessment and Diagnostic Methods I	2
2	MPAS 550	Pharmacology I	2
2	MPAS 560	Problem-Based Learning I	1

Total Semester Hours: 20

---

Summer Semester

Unit	Course Code	Course Name	Credit Hours
3	MPAS 511	The Path to Becoming a PA II	1
3	MPAS 521	Clinical Medicine II	6
3	MPAS 531	Basic Sciences II	3
3	MPAS 541	Patient Assessment and Diagnostic Methods II	2
3	MPAS 551	Pharmacology II	2
3	MPAS 56I	Problem-Based Learning II	1

Total Semester Hours: 15

---

Fall Semester

Unit	Course Code	Course Name	Credit Hours
4	MPAS 512	The Path to Becoming a PA III	1
4	MPAS 522	Clinical Medicine III	6
4	MPAS 532	Basic Sciences III	3
4	MPAS 542	Patient Assessment and Diagnostic Methods III	2
4	MPAS 552	Pharmacology III	2
4	MPAS 562	Problem-Based Learning III	1
4	MPAS 570	Fundamental of Pediatrics	1
5	MPAS 580	Clinical Year Prep*	1
5	MPAS 600	Graduate Year Project I	1

Total Semester Hours: 18*

*Credit hours for MPAS 580 Clinical Year Prep will increase from 1 credit hour to 4 credit hours contingent upon Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) approval and with no impact on tuition.

---

Clinical Year

The clinical year curriculum is primarily delivered through supervised clinical practice experiences or clinical rotations. Students will be required to complete 9 five-week clinical rotations as outlined below. 

The majority of our clinical sites will be located in and around the Charleston area. However, students may be required to attend rotations at a site outside of the Charleston area and will be responsible for all expenses related to such assignments. If a student wishes to establish a new clinical site for the program, he or she can request up to two new clinical sites. However, the student is not guaranteed to be placed at the requested sites. 

Clinical Rotations

Course Code	Course Name	Credit Hours
MPAS 610	Family Medicine Rotation	5
MPAS 620	Internal Medicine Rotation	5
MPAS 630	Emergency Medicine Rotation	5
MPAS 640	Surgery Rotation	5
MPAS 650	Pediatrics Rotation	5
MPAS 660	Psychiatry Rotation	5
MPAS 670	Women’s Health Rotation	5
MPAS 680	Elective I Rotation	5
MPAS 690	Elective II Rotation	5
MPAS 601	Graduate Year Project II	1

Total Clinical Year Hours: 46

---

In order for students to successfully graduate and be awarded a Master of Medical Science in physician assistant studies, students must successfully complete all coursework, achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and successfully pass all components of the Summative Evaluation demonstrating all program Student Learning Outcomes have been achieved. In addition, students must be in good professional standing with the program and complete all university requirements.