Course Comparison

Course
MSc Physician Associate Studies (Top-Up) MSc Physician Associate Studies
Award
Master of Science - MSc Master of Science - MSc
Duration
1 year 2 years
Assessment breakdown
- -
Course type
Part-time Full-time
Placement
- (with placements)
Location
Plymouth Distance UK Plymouth
Provider
Peninsula Medical School Peninsula Medical School
Entry requirements
Applicants must have either a Post-graduate Diploma Physician Associate Studies awarded by a UK or Irish university, a pass in the RCP Faculty of Physician Associates National Certification Examination for Physician Associates and a BA/BSc degree with minimum lower second-class honours.
Applicants must have GCSE (or equivalent) Grade C or above in Maths and English and will normally be employed as a Physician Associate (PA-R).
International
Please view the country guides for further information regarding the equivalency of your degree. International applicants will be required to provide evidence of their English language ability, for example by achieving an IELTS score of 6.5 overall (with a minimum of 5.5 in each element) or equivalent, see our English language requirements
Pre-sessional English language courses are available if you do not meet these requirements.
A recognised first degree (2:1 or above) in a life science, biomedical science, or healthcare subject (from the list below); or current healthcare professionals educated to honours degree level (2:1 or above). To be accompanied by a minimum period of 2 weeks consecutive clinical setting exposure. Relevant ‘on course’ placement experience would count towards this exposure target. Alternatively, experience of working in a setting with customer contact, and 10 days clinical attachment experience in a hospital or general practice setting would also be considered.
A recognised first degree (2:2 or above) in a life science, biomedical science, or healthcare subject (from the list below); or current healthcare professionals educated to honours degree level (2:2 or above). To be accompanied by a minimum period of 12 consecutive months clinical setting exposure. Relevant 'on course' placement experience could count towards this exposure target. If the award is >5years old then we would expect evidence of recent academic study or completion of an academic qualifying essay.
Courses and professions considered include:
  • Chiropractic Studies
  • Dietetics and Nutrition
  • Optometry
  • Osteopathy
  • Paramedic Medicine
  • Podiatry
  • Physiotherapy.
  • Anatomy
  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Human Biosciences
  • Combined or Integrated Science
  • Diagnostic Imaging, Diagnostic Radiography, Radiography
  • Genetics
  • Medical Science
  • Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Science
  • Physiology
  • Psychology
  • Nursing
  • Midwifery
Applications from non-standard applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the programme team. If you wish to be considered for admission, and have a significant level of healthcare experience, but do not fulfil the criteria above, please contact the admissions team to discuss this further. 
If your first language is not English you will be required to provide evidence of competence in English language:
We welcome applicants with international qualifications. To view other accepted qualifications please refer to our tariff glossary.