Healthcare Services and Sciences Physician Assistant Preparation (BS)

If you want to be on the path to work as a physician assistant, the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Services and Sciences Physician Assistant Preparation program may be ideal for you. We will prepare you with the necessary biomedical background, plus we’ll help build your professionalism, communication skills, skills using research to make decisions, and we’ll help you develop an understanding of our changing health care systems and policies.

This major will prepare you to apply to the WMU Physician Assistant Graduate program. However, completion of this major does not guarantee admission to the Physician Assistant Graduate Program. Other Physician Assistant Graduate programs have similar but not necessarily identical prerequisites, you should check the requirements of your preferred graduate programs while pursuing your undergraduate degree and other graduate programs.

Therapy with older woman in Unified Clinics

Capstone experience

Test your skills while you're still learning through a capstone experience. You'll complete an internship, professional project or research project that you can add to your resume.

Core major requirements

HSV 1000: Introduction to Professions in Health  and Human Services
HSV 2250: Lifespan Development
HSV 3000: Research in Health Services
HSV 3700: Health System and Its Environment
HSV 3900: Core Competencies and   Contemporary Issues in Healthcare
HSV 4100: Legal Issues in Healthcare Services
HSV 4400: Diversity and Inclusion in Health and Human Services
HSV 4780: U.S. Health Policy
HSV 4800: Healthcare Management
HSV 4860: Health Literacy Practices
HSV 4880: Psychosocial Aspects of Health and Healthcare

HSS core cognate courses

BIOS 2110: Human Anatomy or
BIOS 1980: Human Form and Function
MDSC 2010: Medical Terminology
PHIL 2010: Contemporary Problems in Ethics or
PHIL 3340: Biomedical Ethics or 
NUR 3220: Health Care Ethics 
HOL 4700: Relationship-Centered Skills

Physician assistant preparation concentration cognate courses

BIOS 1600: Biological Form and Function
BIOS 1610: Molecular and Cellular Biology 
BIOS 1620: Ecology and Evolution 
BIOS 2320: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases or
BIOS 3120: Microbiology
BIOS 2500: Genetics
BIOS 3500: Human Physiology for Majors
CHEM 1100: General Chemistry I
CHEM 1110: General Chemistry Laboratory I 
CHEM 1120: General Chemistry II 
CHEM 1130: General Chemistry Laboratory II
CHEM 3550: Introductory Biochemistry 
CHEM 3560: Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory 
CHEM 3700: Introduction to Organic Chemistry
CHEM 3710: Introduction to Organic Chemistry Lab 
MDSC 4390: Pharmacology for Health Professionals 
MDSC 4450: Pathophysiology for the Health Professional 
STAT 2160: Introductory Statistics

Capstone coursework

One of the following:
HSV 4890: Health and Human Services Independent Research
HSV 4895: Capstone Project
HSV 4900: Internship in Healthcare Services

Full curriculum details can be found in the WMU Course Catalog.