The Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MMS-PAS)* program at Frostburg State University (FSU) at USMH is a professional degree program intended to prepare students academically and professionally for responsibilities, services, and leadership as a Physician Assistant. This graduate education program consists of two phases spanning 24 months to include intersessions and summers with a total of 117 credits. Phase I (didactic phase) represents the pre-clinical year and spans the first 12 months, representing 74 program credits. Phase II (clinical field education phase) represents 43 program credits including ten diverse supervised clinical field experiences (Supervised Clinical Practice Experience or SCPEs) over a period of 39 consecutive weeks. Categorical learning domains include human anatomy, basic medical sciences, clinical medicine, clinical assessment and diagnostics, clinical patient care skills and interventions, professional development, research, and multiple field practice experiences.
Frostburg State University is the program's sponsoring institution and will operate the program at the University System of Maryland Higher Education Center campus located in Hagerstown, Maryland. The program will operate out of the USMH Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Health Sciences Center. with over 8,000 square feet of newly renovated space with state-of-the-art teaching and learning space and equipment.
For more information, visit Frostburg's Master of Medical Science (MMS) Physician Assistant Studies.
*Programs that educate PAs are accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA), which serves as the only accrediting body for PA programs in the country. Seven national medical organizations cooperate with the ARC-PA to establish, maintain and promote appropriate standards of quality for entry level education of PAs. A PA graduate is not eligible to take the national certifying exam unless the PA graduated from a program that is accredited by the ARC-PA. A Physician Assistant graduate must pass the national certifying exam in order to practice in all states, the District of Columbia and all American territories.
The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Frostburg State University Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies Program sponsored by Frostburg State University.
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.
Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.
More information on ARC-PA accreditation can be found at http://www.arc-pa.org/.