We are pleased to know of your interest in our Masters of Health Science Physician Assistant Studies Program within the School of Physician Assistant Studies at South College. We strive for educational excellence, to engage a dedicated, experienced faculty, offer excellent academic facilities, and provide a challenging didactic and clinical educational experience.

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the South College Masters of Health Science Physician Assistant Program sponsored by South College. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2027. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

While accreditation is considered a voluntary process, it is essential for practice in the United States, to be eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and for obtaining a state license.

The Mission of the Masters of Health Science Physician Assistant Studies Program is to educate highly qualified physician assistants, preparing them to become competent, compassionate, and comprehensive health care providers for clinical practice in rural and urban areas, focusing on underserved communities. Our Physician Assistant program emphasizes early “hands on” medical education during the didactic professional year. Core faculty offer a personalized approach and have many years of experience in providing health care as Physician Assistants. Adjunct faculty (local Physicians, Physician Assistants, and other mid-level providers) are committed, professional leaders in the local health care community and have a “people care” approach to health care delivery. You will benefit daily from these health care professionals who will continuously act as mentors during your didactic and clinical medical education.

The program provides a thorough foundation in health care delivery focusing on the values of compassionate, humanistic health care and includes a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to medical education at the professional graduate level. This unique program provides you with the ability to positively affect the lives of your patients, their families, your employers, and the global health care community. We expect you to become lifelong learners, preparing you for the many new challenges of caring for the entire patient, young or old, from the emergency room to the operating room, from rural areas of our country to urban regions of our rapidly growing cities, and even to remote areas of the world. You will be prepared to take an active role in caring for your patients.

We hope that you will carefully consider your future as a Physician Assistant and the medical education needed to put you on that future path. The profession is an exciting, rapidly growing one that offers the flexibility of working in any and all areas of medicine. We provide you with a broad based medical education and clinical skills that will define you as a generalist providing you with the confidence and continued ability to be a life long learner.

Don Yager DHSc, PA-C, MT(ASCP)
Program Director/Associate Dean

The mission of the South College Masters of Health Science in Physician Assistant Studies program is to educate highly qualified physician assistants, preparing them to become competent, compassionate, and comprehensive healthcare providers for clinical practice in rural and urban areas, focusing on underserved communities.

Endeavoring to provide students with a comprehensive evidence-based medical education that focuses on the future delivery of excellent healthcare, the program promotes the importance of health maintenance, health education, the prevention of disease, and the need for a lifelong path dedicated to continuous learning and self assessment. The faculty strive for educational excellence as they prepare physician assistant students to think critically, communicate compassionately, and understand the importance of collaborating in interdisciplinary healthcare teams to meet patient and family needs within an ever changing healthcare delivery system.

Our vision is that our graduates will be leaders in the healthcare community, continuously striving for excellence in their professional endeavors.

The program has six primary goals that are designed to achieve our mission and vision for educating the next generation of highly qualified physician assistants.

The South College Masters of Health Science Physician Assistant Studies Program is committed to excellence in education. As in any learning process, the content and methodology in our program reflect a mixture of objectivity, intuition, and good faith. Our faculty and staff want to provide a creative environment for individual learning and growth, within a curriculum that by necessity is highly structured and intense. Viewing learning as a reciprocal, collaborative interaction between faculty and students, we endeavor to be responsive to perceived needs for change and welcome comments and suggestions from all who participate in the program for its ongoing evaluation and continued growth. Our program continues to strive for educational excellence focusing on preparing our graduates to become lifelong learners.

The South College Physician Assistant Program offers the same student resources and services across the institution, visit Student Resources (Portals and Student Services, headings). Beyond the institutional South College student resources and services, the PA program assigns a PA Faculty member to each PA student as a mentor/advisor upon matriculation, with whom the student meets quarterly throughout the program. The Knoxville and Atlanta campuses also have an Academic Wellness Committee, designed to assist identified or self-referred students who need to improve their academic study skills and habits. The institution does not provide or offer student health insurance; therefore, each student must have their own (see Policies).

Cohort Demographics Knoxville Campus

Prior to graduation, each student must demonstrate the entry-level program competencies required for successful transition into clinical practice. Graduates are expected to achieve an average or higher level of proficiency across 6 core competency areas, ensuring they are comprehensively prepared to enter the physician assistant profession.

Medical Knowledge

Interpersonal Skills

Professional Behavior

Clinical Reasoning and Problem Solving

Clinical (Cl) Skills

Technical (T) Skills