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The MSPAS program is not accepting applications at this time.
Mission Statement
The mission of the USAHS Physician Assistant (PA) program is to train physician assistants who serve their communities by delivering high quality, value-based healthcare with empathy, compassion, and cultural humility as part of a collaborative healthcare team.
Goals
- Support students to achieve first-time board passing rates consistently above the national average.
- Prepare competent entry level PAs through foundational knowledge and professional skills.
- Prepare students to work within a patient-centered interprofessional healthcare team.
- Promote professionalism, leadership, and service of students and faculty within their communities.
- Recruit and retain a diverse population of faculty and students.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MSPAS program, graduates will demonstrate the ability to:
- Apply medical knowledge in the clinical care of patients.
- Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills appropriate to the situation and individuals.
- Demonstrate clinical and technical skills in the care of patients.
- Exhibit professional behaviors consistently and adhere to ethical standards.
- Demonstrate clinical reasoning and problem-solving to make evidence-informed patient care decisions.
- Apply interprofessional collaboration competencies.
Admissions Requirements
Applications for Admissions, MSPAS details the application, prerequisites, and admission requirements for the MSPAS program; however, the MSPAS program is not accepting applications at this time.
Academic Requirements
To remain in the PA program, the student must meet the following criteria:
- Maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.
- Successfully complete all didactic and clinical courses.
- Demonstrate professional behavior.
Program Overview
The MSPAS program curriculum prepares students to offer person-centered, evidence-based care within an interprofessional team environment. It provides core knowledge about established and evolving biomedical and clinical sciences in a breadth and depth to prepare students for the clinical practice of medicine.
Students complete 115 required credits over seven trimesters (28 months). Students complete the didactic courses during the first four trimesters (72 credit hours), followed by three trimesters of clinical courses (43 credit hours).
The first trimester builds a strong base in medical sciences and sets the stage for clinical practice. The next three didactic trimesters begin to mix foundational science material with clinical science to move students toward applying their knowledge and problem-solving in clinical scenarios. Supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs), where students fully integrate and apply the knowledge they acquired during the didactic phase of their studies, occur in the final three trimesters.
Delivery of Coursework
The MSPAS program includes a core didactic curriculum, clinical preceptorships, and lab sessions delivered over seven trimesters. Didactic coursework is provided in a traditional, face-to-face format on the Austin, TX campus. Lab classes are taught in a hands-on setting and interprofessional education courses are available online with instruction from on-campus faculty. Supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) occur in a clinical setting with one-on-one instruction from a clinical preceptor (36 credits).
Time Limit
It is required that MSPAS students complete all program requirements within 28 months (i.e., seven terms). An extension of up to 16 months may be requested (i.e., a total of three years and eight months).
Clinical Rotations
SCPEs are composed of the following rotations: family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, emergency medicine, community behavioral and mental health, surgery, and two electives. The order of the SCPE rotations will vary for each student during the experiential year; most rotations are four weeks.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and Cost of Attendance details the costs associated with the MSPAS program.
Tuition Refund Policy for MSPAS Program
Cancellation and Tuition Refund Policy
USAHS’ institutional refund policy has been established in accordance with current state and federal regulations and applicable accrediting standards. A refund to the student or fund source may result from the application of the University’s institutional refund policy.
Deposit Refund Policy for MSPAS Program
When notification of withdrawal from the University is submitted, the University retains a seat deposit.
Notice Of Cancellation for MSPAS Program
Students must notify the University in writing of the cancellation. All monies paid by an applicant other than deposit/matriculation fees, books, supplies, materials, and kits that are not returnable from use are refunded if cancellation occurs within the first seven days of instruction.
Tuition Refund Policy for MSPAS Program
USAHS has an established add/drop period that is the first week (7 days) of each trimester. All tuition, fees (other than deposit/matriculation fees), and cost of attendance are refunded to students or to student loans if the student withdraws from a program or a course within the add/drop period.
If a student withdraws from the program or a course after the add/drop period but prior to completion, the student may be eligible for a tuition refund in accordance with the refund policy.
Withdrawing From a Program—Refund of Tuition After the Start of Trimester Courses
For students who withdraw from all classes during days 1–7 of the trimester (add/drop period), 100% of tuition (minus the deposit/matriculation fee) is refunded to the student and/or to the loan provider. For students who withdraw from all classes after day seven but before more than 60% of the term has elapsed, the University calculates the refund using a percentage formula and returns the refund to the student and/or to the loan provider. If more than 60% of the term has elapsed, there is no refund.
Withdrawing from a Course
Students withdrawing from one or more course(s), but not the program, have their refund calculated under the same percentage formula as those withdrawing from a program.
Step 1: Determine the percentage of the enrollment period the student attended before withdrawing (days attended divided by total days in the period). If more than 60%, then no refund is due.
Step 2: Determine the amount of tuition earned by the school by multiplying the total tuition/fee charged by the percentage of time enrolled.
Step 3: Compare the amount of tuition earned by the school to the amount received by the school. If more funds were received by the school than tuition earned by the school, determine the amount of funds that must be returned by subtracting the tuition earned by the school amount from the amount received by the school.
Step 4: Distribute this calculated amount as a refund to the student or the student loan provider.
Refunds are made within 30 days of the date the University determines that the student has withdrawn.
For students who receive federal financial aid who withdraw (including transfers and leaves of absence) from all classes before more than 60% of the term has elapsed, a portion of their tuition is returned to the lender. Please see the University’s R2T4 policy for further information.
Program Policies and Procedures
In addition to the policies and procedures set forth in the USAHS Catalog/Handbook, students in the MSPAS program are also required to adhere to the policies and procedures specific to the PA program as outlined in the PA Student Handbook. Each student should carefully read the current PA Student Handbook.
https://www.usa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/USAHS-PA-Student-handbook-2023_2024v2.pdf
Note on Accreditation and Licensure
Programmatic Accreditation
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences’ (USAHS) Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) is not currently accredited by ARC-PA at this time and is not accepting applications.
State Approvals
The MSPAS program is a campus-based program approved to operate on the USAHS Austin, Texas campus. USAHS meets the requirements to offer on-the-ground clinical activities in Texas. USAHS has not made a determination that the program meets the requirements to offer on-the-ground clinical activities in states other than Texas at this time.
Current and admitted students are advised to monitor this page for any updates prior to relocating to another state, as this can have an impact on continued enrollment in the program and the ability to be placed for clinical experiences.
It remains the student’s responsibility to understand, evaluate and comply with all requirements relating to field education experiences, licensing or certification, authorization or endorsement for the state in which she or he resides.
Post-Graduation Licensure
The USAHS curriculum meets the educational degree completion requirements for graduates to seek licensure in Texas. The various licensure boards of each state are responsible for setting requirements for licensure/certification in their state, and students who intend on moving or returning to a state other than Texas should be aware of the unique requirements for that state. USAHS has not made a determination that its curriculum meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification in states other than Texas at this time.
Standard Occupational Classification codes for which program is intended to prepare graduates: To Be Determined
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