Endicott College's Cummings School of Nursing & Health Sciences announces the planned launch of the new Master of Science in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program, a 24-month curriculum that will prepare the next generation of healthcare providers to deliver compassionate, wellness-focused, and community-centered care.
Developed for students eager to make a tangible impact on patients, communities, and the broader healthcare system, the new program will blend rigorous academic foundations with immersive, real-world training. With small cohorts of just 24 students, Endicott’s approach will ensure personalized mentorship, immersive learning, close faculty engagement, and an inclusive learning community dedicated to student success.
“Healthcare is evolving rapidly, and the world needs PAs who can do more than diagnose and treat; it needs practitioners who can lead, innovate, and meet patients where they are,” said Amy Smith, Dean of the Cummings School of Nursing & Health Sciences. “This program is built around that vision. Our graduates will enter the field with the clinical expertise, the wellness-centered perspective, and the hands-on experience to make a real difference in people’s lives from day one.”
Located just 30 minutes from Boston, Endicott will place PA students at the center of one of the country’s most dynamic healthcare corridors. Clinical placements across the North Shore and Greater Boston, home to world-renowned academic medical centers, community hospitals, and specialty practices, will expose students to diverse patient populations and a breadth of clinical environments few programs can match. This access translates directly into graduates who will be practiced, adaptable, and prepared for the full complexity of modern healthcare.
Immersive, experiential learning is central to Endicott’s identity. This focus will be a cornerstone of the developing PA program. Through the Endicott Experiential Edge, the College’s signature internship and career development model, PA students will gain structured, supervised clinical experience that goes beyond the classroom. A foundation of this hands-on training is Endicott Hospital, an on-campus simulation and clinical training facility where students will practice patient assessment, procedures, and critical decision-making in a real-world environment before ever stepping into a clinical placement. Taught by experienced clinicians who bring current practice insights directly into the curriculum, students will graduate with the clinical judgement, confidence, and career readiness to thrive in today’s demanding medical settings.
What sets Endicott’s PA curriculum apart is its integration of lifestyle medicine as a through-line across the entire program and a lens applied to every stage of training. This forward-thinking emphasis is woven alongside a rigorous foundation in anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology, producing graduates who will be skilled at both preventing treating illness.
Applications for the inaugural class open in April 2026, with students beginning the program in Fall 2027. Learn more and apply.
Endicott College is committed to transparent communication with applicants and prospective students regarding the program's accreditation status. The college has applied for Accreditation - Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). If Accreditation - Provisional is not granted during the April 2027 ARC-PA meeting, the program will not proceed as planned. In this event, all accepted and waitlisted candidates will be notified within one week of Endicott’s notification of the ARC-PA's decision, and seat deposits will be refunded. Any CASPA fees associated with applying to the Endicott College PA Program will not be reimbursed by the College, regardless of Accreditation Status. The program has been approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.