Program History

To meet the needs of the underserved healthcare communities in California, Stanford University partnered with Foothill Community College in 1971 to form the Primary Care Associate Program, which provided an Associate Degree from Foothill Community College and a Certificate of Clinical Competency from Stanford University School of Medicine.  More than 1,500 PAs were educated under this model; the majority of students had extensive healthcare experience prior to matriculation, which was required to adapt to the concentrated, high-intensity style of PA education.  Stanford University is proud of this program, its graduates, and its previous leaders.  Virginia Fowkes, Ron Garcia, Daniel Furtado, Sherry Stolberg, and Lucinda Hirahoka were the pioneering leaders of this program, and they will have a lasting legacy in PA education at Stanford.

Today, PAs practice in all areas of medicine and are leading community health centers. They are front stage in the health care policy arena, are changing healthcare delivery through innovatcenter stage in the healthcare policy arena, playing a key role in changing healthcare delivery through innovation and research, and are leaders in the classroom.  Given this, in 2016 Stanford University set out to build upon its strong tradition of educating PAs with the development of the Master of Science in PA Studies program within the School of Medicine.

The novel approach to curriculum delivery, expanded clinical opportunities, interprofessional education with other School of Medicine students in the classroom and clinical settings, and the ability to harness all that Stanford University has to offer makes for a truly unique educational experience. The Stanford School of Medicine is proud to offer a Master of Science Degree in PA Studies, which will accept students from throughout the U.S. who have a desire to impact our future healthcare system.