Master of Medical Science, M.M.S.

Department Contact:

Chair: Dr. Theresa Horner, thorner@francis.edu, 814-472-3357

Program Description:

Saint Francis University offers a Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree through a collaborative agreement with various academic institutions. This degree is offered to physician assistant students completing their clinical experience and/or those who have recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree.

The MMS program consists of four online courses (13 credits) and the acceptance of 20 transfer credits from the affiliated physician assistant program including the clinical specialties of emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery. Transfer of such credits will be based upon a review of student’s level of academic achievement.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Graduates of the program will be able to:

• Use research to develop evidence-based clinical regimes/programs to address unmet needs especially those of the poor and needy;
• Critically analyze current pharmacotherapeutics and apply to disease processes in clinical practice.  

Estimated Completion Time:

Typically 18 months, one course per semester for 4 semesters

Admission Requirements:

• A full-time Physician Assistant student in good standing, preparing to begin clinical clerkships at an affiliated institution;
• Completed online application: http://francis.edu/master-of-medical-science/
• Non-refundable application fee of $55.00
• Completion of, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. An official transcript must be sent directly from the granting institution to the Francis Worldwide.
  • For students with degrees from universities outside of the United States, a degree assessment must be completed, at the student’s expense, by a NACES (www.naces.org) approved independent credentialing agency, such as the World Education Service (www.wes.org). An original report from this agency must be submitted as part of the admission application.
  • For any prospective MMS student anticipating the use of Title IV (federal financial aid), all post-secondary transcripts must be submitted.
• Non-duplicated email address;
• Access to a computer and reliable Internet service;
• Knowledge and understanding of the Internet and computer programs to complete the course requirements;
• Transcript from Physician Assistant (PA) program to verify active status in or graduation from program and GPA in PA program. Ideally, MMS candidates should have a minimum 3.0 GPA in their PA program. For those that do not, a recommendation from their PA program director is required.
• Acceptance to the MMS program, if not completed concurrently with the PA program, must be within 2 years of PA program graduation;
• Applications received after the published deadline will be considered for admission for the next semester. Application and enrollment deadlines are firm.

Admission Deadline:

Rolling Admissions coordinated with affiliate Physician Assistant Program

Capstone Requirement:

Students in the Master of Medical Science program are required to successfully complete a master’s capstone course, MMS 513 Clinical Residency Project  (4 credits).

Graduation Requirements

A candidate for graduation must satisfy the following requirements:

• Complete all required coursework and program requirements for the MMS degree;
• Maintain good academic standing in the student’s affiliated Physician Assistant (PA) program, obtaining a grade of “C” or better in clinical rotations;
• Receive a minimum “C” grade in each clinical accepted as a SFU clinical rotation course with overall GPA of 2.8;
• Successfully complete Physician Assistant training at the affiliated institution;
• Repeat any SFU course in which a final grade of “D” or “F” was obtained;
• Achieve an overall minimum GPA of 2.8 in the MMS program;
• Submit official transcript with degree conferred from PA school;
• File for degree by completing an Application for Degree (Diploma Card) and submitting directly to Department of Public Health and Graduate Health Sciences;
• Complete all above requirements within three (3) years from enrollment date.
  • Please note that all required documents must be submitted to the Department of Public Health and Graduate Health Sciences within one semester from the completion of the degree requirements for degrees to be posted at the nearest University graduation date. 
  • After one semester, but within one year from the completion of the degree requirements, the conferral date will be the nearest university graduation date (May, August, and December).  
  • If the Application for Degree (Diploma Card) and/or official physician assistant program transcript are received after one year from the MMS program completion date, the MMS degree will be conferred at the next University graduation date with the actual MMS program completion date noted on the official SFU transcript.
• Settle all unpaid accounts with the SFU Business office in order to receive diploma.

Total Credits Required:

33 credits