Goshen College, Chatham University partner to prepare future physician assistants

A new partnership between Goshen College and Chatham University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) will provide a smooth path for Goshen College graduates who want to become physician assistants and to earn a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree.

“Preparing to apply for graduate programs in healthcare is inevitably a stressful experience,” said Neil Detweiler, assistant professor of biology and director of pre-health programs. “We hope that this agreement takes a little of the uncertainty out of the process for our students who are interested in becoming physician assistants. We’ve had great students go through Chatham’s MPAS program in the past and we look forward to maintaining this relationship.”

Learn more about GC’s pre-health programs

Alyssa Abebe, a 2003 Goshen College graduate and assistant program director at Chatham University, was instrumental in facilitating this partnership due to her connection with and understanding of the academic preparedness of Goshen College graduates.

Goshen College students who declare intent to complete the MPAS at Chatham University will be co-advised by members of the faculty from both institutions during their time at Goshen  College. Each year up to two students who meet the admissions requirements are guaranteed acceptance into this program.

Graduates of the program have achieved a 98 percent average first-time pass rate over the past five years on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE).

Goshen College’s other graduate program matriculation agreement provides a path for students to enter St. Mary’s University (Notre Dame, Indiana) Master of Science degree program in data science.

Goshen also has undergraduate degree agreements for engineering that allow GC students to earn a second bachelor’s degree after completing coursework at the University of Notre Dame or Case Western Reserve University through the college’s engineering physics program.