Why pursue the Dual-Degree (Master of  Science in Physician Assistant Studies/Doctor of Health Science – MSPAS/DHSc) program?

To meet the challenges of tomorrow, the role of a physician assistant (PA) continues to expand within the fields of healthcare, education, research, pharma and health policy. The dual-degree Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies/Doctor of Health Science – (MSPAS/DHSc) program will prepare you for these leadership positions, including Chief PA, Director of Advanced Practice Providers, Medical Science Liaison, university professor and many more.

The MSPAS/DHSc program is for individuals seeking to enter healthcare practice with greater opportunity to advance into leadership positions. This program is exclusively offered to students in the Physician Assistant program at the Center City, Philadelphia campus.

Dual-degree students will spend Year 1 exclusively on the DHSc component, which will be conducted online over three terms in the first 12 months of studies. Then they will conduct their PA studies in-person at the Center City campus over two years. The MSPAS and DHSc degrees will be conferred concurrently, at the end of the third year. This program is unique among combined MSPAS/doctoral degree programs as students will receive their degrees within three years.

All students will experience in-depth, multi-disciplinary training in a comprehensive range of healthcare leadership, teaching and learning, and research skills that support their development as leaders in a burgeoning health professions career landscape.

Interdisciplinary health professions education and practice is the foundation of the DHSc component of the program. The curriculum is comprised of courses drawn from the various colleges at Jefferson supporting the training of professionals spanning the full gamut of healthcare. This extraordinary breadth of coverage provides students an ideal opportunity for interprofessional study and practice, as well as robust support for a broad range of healthcare research topics.

The MSPAS portion of this program is described on this page about the Physician Assistant Program (Center City).

• Partnerships with Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (JCIPE) and the Rector University Clinical Skills and Simulation Center that create and deliver innovative, transdisciplinary courses in health professions education
• Curriculum presents courses from various Jefferson Colleges to create an interprofessional learning environment