The University of Iowa is a state university located in Iowa City. The PA program is unique in that its curriculum is designed to ensure PA students complete at least 60 percent of their coursework with sophomore medical students.
Duke University's PA program originated in the early 1960s. Today Duke, located in Durham, N.C., offers an expansive curriculum, including courses in medical science, clinical medicine and administration and research.
The PA program at Emory University, located in Atlanta, Ga., emphasizes evidence-based primary care, preventative medicine and the provision of health care to the medically underserved.
George Washington University, located in Washington, D.C., offers students the opportunity to enroll in the traditional two-year program to obtain a Master of Science in Health Science (MSHS) or a three-year joint degree program to obtain a MSHS and a Master of Public Health (MPH).
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is located in Dallas and boasts more Nobel Prize-winning faculty than any other medical school in the world. Moreover, the first-time pass rate for students taking the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination has averaged 99 percent since 2005.
The University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City, focuses on providing first-year students with significant clinical exposure, something that is not usually available until the second year.
The University of Washington, in Seattle, offers students in the PA program the opportunity to earn a bachelor's or a master's degree.
University of Colorado, located in Denver, offers an unusual track within its PA program. The rural track prepares students who want to serve the rural areas of Colorado.
The PA program at Baylor College of Medicine, located in Houston, Texas, consists of a 13-month didactic phase and a 17-month phase of experiential learning. The institution lists as one of its goals, to "engender advocacy for the needs of the under-served populations among future non-physician providers of medical care through early clinical exposure to patients and community partnerships designed to facilitate service learning."
The PA program at Oregon Health and Sciences University, located in Portland, lasts 26 months and is broken up into a didactic phase and a clinical phase.