Become a Vital Part of a health Care Team
Fill out the form below for an info sheet on UNE's M.S.P.A.
What Makes the UNE M.S.P.A. Special
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Your M.S.P.A. training is enriched by our state-of-the-art facilities and educational resources. You’ll receive instruction not only in our medical college’s gross anatomy lab but also in our Interprofessional Simulation and Innovation Center, which is equipped with the latest media and medical instruction technology, including high fidelity patient simulators.
Exposure to Underserved Populations
Your education in UNE’s P.A. master’s program will emphasize work with underserved communities, where you can really make a difference. From participation in our nationally recognized InterProfessional Geriatric Education Program, to clinical rotations in rural areas, you'll gain expertise in bringing quality health care and building relationships with those who need it most.
Team-Based Education
As a comprehensive health sciences university, including programs in medicine, dental, nursing, pharmacy, and an array of other allied health professions, UNE is a national leader in interprofessional education. You'll graduate with the skills to thrive in today's collaborative care, prepared to work as a team with other health care professionals.
Collaborative Learning Environment
Not only are faculty and staff highly collaborative and encouraging, but it won’t take long before you notice how supportive your fellow PA students are as well. The friendly and cooperative, rather than competitive, spirit among classmates enhances everyone’s ability to learn and is a hallmark of UNE’s Physician Assistant master’s degree program.
What Our PA Students Say
Gregory Blackman '20
Why UNE
[UNE’s Physician Assistant program is] on this uphill progression of being built and built even though it's been around for a long time. It's had really great numbers. The board pass rate is above the national average, which speaks to the reliability of the program and the quality of education. That’s important to me.
UNE is unique in many inspiring ways. The Portland campus is a great place. The idea that you are here with other graduate students but also other health professionals on a campus of your own has a special way of fostering interprofessional work and development. There's a heavy reliability. Everyone works very hard. As a student, you have daily opportunities for interactions with other professions, which I love a lot. It's being able to go to those other professions and ask them for their opinion to get that angle of expertise. It gives you a broader view on things and a better connection.
Interprofessional Education
Other students in my program worked in the ER, or were paramedics, military medics, or respiratory therapists. I was an athletic trainer in the ER. All of these people come together here in the PA program, bringing along their various different backgrounds of medicine. Then we all have the opportunity to combine our knowledge and help each other. I have my areas of strength, but there are a lot of other areas that I have just barely even learned about. This collaborative feel fosters our classes.
It’s unique to have all these different views and be able to learn from your classmates while also learning from the faculty. It's almost like it's interprofessional within your profession, which is very cool.
The idea that you are here with other graduate students but also other health professionals on a campus of your own has a special way of fostering interprofessional work and development.
Physician Assistant program by the numbers
Hours each student spends in clinical rotations
(second year)
Average cumulative GPA of most recent incoming class
Average first-time pass rate on national certification exam
(PANCE)
Pance Pass rates
M.S.P.A. graduates are eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Learn more about the PANCE exam and see UNE pass rates (PDF).
The UNE Portland Campus for the Health Sciences
For decades, UNE’s Portland Campus has been home to many of the University’s health professions programs including PA, PT, OT, pharmacy, nursing, dental medicine, and more. In 2025, UNE’s College of Osteopathic Medicine will move from the Biddeford Campus into the new Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences in Portland. By bringing our health professions programs together into one interprofessional learning community, we will establish UNE’s Portland Campus for the Health Sciences as the center of health care education in Northern New England.
Learn about exciting changes on UNE’s Portland Campus for the Health Sciences
Maine’s Leading University for the Health Professions and Sciences
Quality Academics, Respected Degrees
UNE is proud of the recognition we’ve received, which echoes the success of our M.S.P.A. students: 92% of our graduates typically pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam on the first try.
Live and Study in Portland, Maine
UNE offers the only Physician Assistant master’s degree program in Maine. Our M.S.P.A. degree students study on our Portland, Maine campus, a classic New England quad with brick buildings and tall trees that's about 100 miles from downtown Boston. Portland, named “America’s Most Livable City” by Forbes and “Foodiest Small Town in America” by Bon Appetit, is the city on every list. A rustic port hosts a cool cultural scene — with outdoor adventure all around. UNE’s campus is just 10 minutes from downtown. Take a Virtual Tour of our Portland Campus
Accreditation
UNE is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Physician Assistant degree Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The PA Program received provisional accreditation in 1996 and continuing accreditation in 1998. The program last received continuing accreditation in September 2018. Its review for continuing accreditation is next scheduled for 2026. The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website. Click on the “document” to access the program’s Accreditation Actions.
