The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s collaborative Master of Physician Assistant Studies program officially launched this week with an inaugural cohort of 10 students. The UW-Madison wisPACT@UW-Platteville program allows UW-Platteville students to earn a degree through UW-Madison’s nationally-recognized Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, while remaining on the UW-Platteville campus to complete the coursework.
The students will be learning in the newly renovated space on the first floor of Ullrich Hall, which includes a neuroscience lab, clinical exam room suite and dedicated lecture room with streaming video capabilities.
This new program, which is classified as a distant campus of the UW-Madison program, has plans to incrementally grow to 14 students. Provisional, priority acceptance is given to students earning a Bachelor of Science from UW-Platteville. While students are not required to major in biology, biology majors have the option of participating in the accelerated 3+2 option, completing their education one year sooner, saving time and money.
“With the first cohort of students coming this week, along with the faculty and staff from the UW-Madison PA program, it is just an incredibly exciting and tangible realization of the actual launch of the collaborative wisPACT@UW-Platteville Physician Assistant program,” said Dr. Wayne Weber, interim provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at UW-Platteville. “Further, with students training here, this program will help meet the significant health care professional need in the rural and other areas in Southwest Wisconsin and the tri-state area.”
The Master of Physician Assistant Studies is a two-year program with one year of classroom learning and one of clinical rotations. All of the classes are held in-person on the Platteville campus or live-streamed from Madison. With a focus on training the future rural health care workforce, clinical rotations will be predominantly in the hospitals and clinics in Southwest Wisconsin.
For more information about the wisPACT@UW-Platteville program, visit www.uwplatt.edu/uw-madison-physician-assistant-program-uw-platteville.