Curriculum

Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (DScPAS)

The DScPAS curriculum is new and innovative; designed by an interprofessional team to better meet the demands of interprofessional and collaborative practice. Students may choose concentrations from a variety of MCPHS offerings to better meet their personal and professional goals.

COURSE TITLE SEMESTER HOURS

FIRST SEMESTER

HSC 801 Introduction to Doctoral Studies 3
HSC 815 Healthcare Research Methods 3
Total
6

SECOND SEMESTER

HSC 852 EBHC Capstone I: Question Development and Search for Evidence 3

Concentration Course I 3
Total 6

THIRD SEMESTER

HSC 854 EBHC Capstone II: Appraisal of the Evidence
3
Concentration Course II 3
Total 6

FOURTH SEMESTER

HSC 856 Capstone III: Dissemination of Findings 3
  Concentration Course III 3
Total 6

Total credits to complete degree requirements

24

DScPAS Concentrations


Health System Administration –
Students learn the complexities of the healthcare system from three perspectives: the challenges and needs of leadership, the cyclical nature of reform and the impacts of policy changes, and from the perspectives of managing financial and human resources in the process of healthcare delivery. This concentration helps to provide a grounding in leadership and management at the systems level.

  • HSC 781 - Transformative Leadership
  • HSC 785 - Health Policy and Reform
  • HSC 787 - Financial and Human Resource Management

Educational Leadership – Students are quickly introduced to the challenges of delivering health professions education by considering the relationships between educational theory, course and curricular design approaches, and strategies that support effective and efficient assessments of teaching and learning. Students will appreciate the challenges of delivering educational material to adult learners across the health professions spectrum.

  • HSC 782 - Principles & Theories of Teaching and Learning
  • HSC 784 - Designing Curriculum
  • HSC 786 - Assessment & Evaluation


Global Health 
Students explore the healthcare system from a global view, analyzing the implications of natural disasters, infectious diseases, and medical resource shortages on the care available to communities worldwide. Through this concentration, students are challenged to broaden their perspectives and develop innovative, top-down solutions to modern health crises—solutions that can one day influence the delivery of compassionate healthcare on a global scale.

  • HSC 771 - Critical Global Health Issues
  • HSC 773 - International Relations and Politics
  • HSC 777 - Disaster Management