CURRICULUM OVERVIEW AND COMPONENTS
Your journey to becoming a compassionate, competent, and confident Physician Assistant begins here. Our 24-month program is designed to challenge, inspire, and prepare you for real-world practice through a carefully structured sequence of learning experiences.
- Didactic Phase (12 months) – 67 credit hours of foundational medical science and clinical skills
- Clinical Phase (12 months) – 48 credit hours of immersive, hands-on patient care
Each January, a cohort of 100 students begins this transformative journey, graduating in December two years later. The program is full-time and year-round, and all students move through the curriculum together in lockstep, building lifelong professional relationships and teamwork skills along the way.
Didactic instruction is delivered at the LMU–Chattanooga campus, except for donor-based (human) dissection, which will occur at the LMU–West Knoxville campus. Transportation will be provided by the program. Clinical phase instruction will occur at sites across the nation.
The clinical year takes you from the classroom to the clinic—where knowledge becomes experience. You’ll complete eleven four-week clinical rotations across a variety of specialties, gaining exposure to diverse patient populations and healthcare settings.
Clinical sites are located across the nation, and students should expect to travel more than 50 miles from campus for some experiences. These rotations are a vital step in preparing you to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care anywhere your career takes you.