Bachelor of Science in Natural Science – Health Sciences/Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies

Core Curriculum

All undergraduate degree programs require completion of the Core Curriculum. A complete description of the core and its requirements is available in the Core Curriculum section of the Daemen catalog. Courses which satisfy a portion or complete a core requirement will have such designation indicated after the course title.

BS Natural Science – Health Science/MS Physician Assistant Studies

BS Natural Science – Health Science

  1. MAJOR : 79 CREDITS

    • BCH317/L Bio-Organic Chemistry (3/1)
    • BIO109/L General Biology I (3/1) – CT
    • BIO110/L General Biology II (3/1) – CT
    • BIO315/L General Microbiology (3/1)
    • BIO330/L General Anatomy (4/0)
    • BIO340/L General Physiology (4/0)
    • CHE110/L Chemistry I (4/0)
    • CHE111/L Chemistry II (4/0)
    • PAS510/L Advanced Human Anatomy I (2/0)
    • PAS513 Clinical Laboratory Medicine (2)
    • PAS514 Pathophysiology (3)
    • PAS515 Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine I (5)
    • PAS516/L Advanced Human Anatomy II (2/0)
    • PAS517/L Physical Diagnosis I (3/1)
    • PAS518 Pharmacology I (3)
    • PAS519 Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine II (5)
    • PAS520/L Physical Diagnosis II (2/1)
    • PAS521 Pharmacology II (3)
    • PAS522 Cultural and Psychosocial Dynamics of Medicine (3)
    • PAS525 Clinical Problem Solving (3)
    • PAS529 Research Methodology (3) — ILIT;RP;WI
    • PAS531 Preventive Medicine (2)
    • PAS535-536 Medical Professional Issues I-II (1/2)
    • PAS538/L Orthopedic Medicine (1/0)
  2. CORE: 45 CREDITS

    • CMP101 English Composition (3) – CS; ILIT; WI
    • CMP315 Advanced Composition for Health Professionals (3) – CS; ILIT; RP; UD; WI
    • IND101 Sustainable & Critical Relationships (3)
    • MTH144 Calculus & Analytic Geometry I (3) – CT; QL
    • PHI321 Medical Ethics (3) – ME; UD
    • PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY:

      9 credit: A minimum of 3 credits must be taken in Psychology and a minimum of 3 credits must be taken in Sociology. PSY333 Statistics for Psychology & Social Sciences cannot be used to fulfill both the Statistics and the Psychology requirement.

    • STATISTICS: 3 CREDITS-SELECT ONE:

      NSC310 Biostatistics — CT; UD; PSY333 Statistics for Psychology and Social Sciences — CT; QL; UD

    • CORE ELECTIVES: 18 CREDITS

Total BS Requirements = 124 Credits

MS Physician Assistant Studies: 51 Credits

  • PAS511 Clinical Microbiology/Immunology (3)
  • PAS524 Clinical Pediatrics (2)
  • PAS526 Surgery (3)
  • PAS527 Geriatrics (2)
  • PAS528 Emergency Medicine (3)
  • CLERKSHIPS: 30 credits: PAS601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 610 Clerkship I – X (3 credits each)
  • PAS612/613 Research I-II (1/1) — ILIT; WI
  • PAS614/615/616 Clinical Seminar I-II-III (2/2/2)

Total MS Requirements = 51 Credits

BS/MS: TOTAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS = 175 CREDITS

BS/MS Degree Structure

The BS in Natural Sciences will be conferred prior to the MS Physician Assistant degree.  Degrees are conferred upon successful completion of the respective requirements for each degree.

Math Requirement

Depending on mathematics preparation, a student may be required to complete lower level mathematics courses as prerequisite to the required MTH144 Calculus & Analytic Geometry I.

Science Course Work

Science course work completed more than ten years prior to the first term of enrollment in this BS/MS program is tentatively accepted pending Registrar’s receipt of documentation verifying appropriate clinical or science-related experience. Consult the Registrar for details.

Residency Requirement for Physician Assistant Majors

Once a student is enrolled at Daemen, all outstanding prerequisite mathematics and science courses must be completed at Daemen College. The student must successfully complete a full time course load (minimum 12 credits) in the spring semester prior to the onset of studies in the three-year program (BS/MS only).

Requirements for Matriculation into the Three-Year Program (BS/MS only)

All core curriculum course work, with the exception of NSC 310 Biostatistics and PHI 321 Medical Ethics, must be completed. Minimum grades of C must be earned in all courses and a minimum GPA of 3.00 earned. No more than three course repeats are allowed and no individual course may be repeated more than once.

A minimum GPA of 3.00 is required in the 19 credits of 300 level coursework: BIO 330/330L, BIO 315/315L, BIO 340/340L, BCH 317/317L, and CMP 315.  No more than two repeats of these 300-level courses are allowed to meet this GPA requirement. The courses used to calculate this GPA must be completed at Daemen College and may not be transferred or substituted.

A student is immediately disqualified for the PA Program if the above requirements are not met.

If a course that must be repeated is not offered in a term (e.g. summer), a student may need to decelerate and enter the following class.

One hundred twenty (120) hours of direct patient contact experience is required before entering the PA program. Consult the department’s FAQ webpage for more detailed information.

Graduation Requirements

Satisfactory completion of all requirements as per the terms set forth by the Natural Sciences and Physician Assistant Departments.

Suggested Course Sequence

Access the suggested course sequence for the BS/MS, Health Sciences/Physician Assistant Studies, from the Physician Assistant Department web page or the Program Plans site on the Registrar’s web page.