Short answer: yes, they exist — but there are far fewer than the internet will tell you, and “part-time” does not mean what most people hope it means. Here is what I could actually verify this week, from the programs’ own pages.
I first wrote this post in 2014. For years it was one of the most-read things on this site, and somewhere along the way it quietly went out of date — which is the worst way for a post to go out of date, because nothing about it looks wrong. So I went back and re-checked every accredited program in the country. Here is the honest picture as of August 2026.
What “part-time” can and cannot mean in PA school
The didactic year — classroom, lab, the wall of medical science — is the part that can stretch. A handful of programs will spread that coursework across three years instead of two, so you can keep working or keep a household running while you get through it.
The clinical year cannot stretch. Rotations are full-time by their nature: you are in a clinic or a hospital on their schedule, frequently 50-plus hours a week, sometimes overnight, sometimes an hour’s drive away. Every part-time pathway I could verify converts you to a full-time student for the clinical phase.
So read “part-time PA program” as a longer, gentler front half — not as PA school around your job. Plan your finances for a full-time final year no matter which program you choose.
The programs I could verify
Rutgers University (New Jersey) — the program states it is “one of few PA Programs to offer both full-time and part-time options,” and its admissions FAQ spells out the structure: “Students can attend the program on a part-time basis for the first two years, and then they must become full-time students for the following two years.” Worth adding, since people ask: classes run during normal working hours and the schedule shifts from term to term, so part-time is not the same as evenings.
University of Detroit Mercy (Michigan) — runs a traditional two-year full-time track alongside a “three-year program (part-time) … designed for working professionals.”
That is the verified list. Two. I would love it to be longer.
Programs that tell you plainly there is no part-time option
This is worth knowing too, because it saves you an email. Each of these says so on its own site, in as many words: Barry University (Miami and St. Petersburg), Northeastern University, Widener University, A.T. Still University – Central Coast, Mercy College of Ohio, and UT Southwestern. Widener’s wording is the clearest explanation of the whole phenomenon: “due to lock-step design of the curriculum.”
Why the list is so short
PA curricula are built lock-step on purpose. Your pharmacology is timed to your pathophysiology, which is timed to your clinical medicine, which is timed to the rotation you start in month thirteen. Pull one student out of that sequence and the program has to run a parallel version of itself for them. Very few programs have the faculty to do that, and the ones that used to have quietly stopped.
How to check for yourself — and the one question to ask
Program formats change without announcement, so before you build a plan around one, email the program directly and keep the reply:
“Do you currently admit students to a part-time or extended course of study? If so, how many semesters is the didactic phase, and at what point do students become full-time?”
Ask it exactly like that. The second half is the part that matters, and it is the part the brochures leave out.
A correction I owe you
The 2014 version of this post listed Drexel University as a third option. Drexel’s current materials describe a full-time program only, and I could not verify a part-time admission pathway there today. I would rather tell you I removed it than leave it up because it has been there for a decade. If you are a Drexel student or faculty member and I have this wrong, please say so in the comments and I will correct it again.
An always-current list
Rather than ask you to trust a blog post to stay accurate, I check this against every accredited program in our directory and publish it live: PA programs with part-time options on PA School Finder. If a program adds one, it shows up there before it shows up here.
One caveat I want to be straight about: a program missing from that list has not necessarily said no. Some school sites cannot be read by our tools at all, and plenty simply never address the question. Absence of a listing is a gap in what we have read, not a statement about the school. When it matters to your plan, send the email.
If you are looking at part-time because full-time genuinely will not work for your life right now, do not read this post as a closed door. Two programs is not zero, in-state public tuition plus a longer runway beats a rushed decision, and the profession will still be here next cycle.
You can do this. I’m glad you’re here. 🙂
Stephen Pasquini PA-C
Verified August 2026 from each program’s own published pages. Programs change formats; always confirm with the school before you commit.
View all posts in this series
- PA School Finder – The Ultimate Physician Assistant School and Program Directory
- Physician Assistant Programs Offering Part-Time Options
- Which State Has the Largest Number of Physician Assistant Programs?
- Physician Assistant School and Program Directory eBook
- 2017 Physician Assistant Program Tuition and Cost Comparison Table
- Made by PA: The Applicant’s Manual of Physician Assistant Programs
- The Perfect PA Program Picker: PA School Search, Sort, Match, and Apply
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I attended the Drexel part time PA school option and graduated in 96. at the time there were 7 part time option programs. So happy I did the part time option. it allowed me to work 20-30 hrs/week year 1 and 2. year 3 was the regular full time clinical year. I took 3 classes at a time while my colleagues took 6 and graduated at the top of my class along with several other part time option folks.
Can you tell me more information about this Drexel part-time program?
Hi Chloe! I would recommend contacting the Drexel PA program administration directly as I cannot confirm that they still are offering this part-time option. I no longer see this on their website, but that doesn’t mean they have discontinued the part-time option: https://drexel.edu/cnhp/academics/graduate/MHS-Physician-Assistant/
If you find out more information I would love it if you returned and gave us an update. Thanks!!!
Thanks!
Stephen Pasquini PA-C
I’m writing a paper on this topic for PA School now. I agree with your premise, especially that Part-time options could offer a chance for students who need to work for financial reasons while they are in school. Especially as we move forward and begin to saturate the PA market… Not that we want to do that now with our current healthcare shortage for Primary Care. But I wonder if part-time programs could slow the PA entry into the workforce, raise the graduation rate, lessen the attrition rate (which is way higher for AA students according to ARC-PA’s 2016 data), possibly increase racial diversity in our field. Thanks for your info. PA School finder has certainly added a lot in the last few years since I looked at it last! 🙂
Hello Stephen-
What is your take on Miami Dade College’s PA program. They offer PA as an associates and you can transfer to take some online classes to finish a Masters in Science. Its affordable but just as difficult I hear… Does having an Associates in PA effect getting a job?
Surprisingly there’s only 3 PA part time programs… Nurse practitioner’s program offers part time option basically anywhere. Fingers crossed to see more PA part time programs for those who can’t stop working and are in the healthcare field with the goal of move up in their careers.
Is there a website that will provide exactly what “part time” consists of; such as, duration, options, etc.
Thank you for the post.
Currently looking into any online/hybrid PA schools. Have an assoc in rad technology with 10 years experience and a Bach in healthcare admin.
I realize the clinical setting (last year) would be assigned to medical settings.
Any help you could give would be really appreciated!!
Hi Ginger, I am not sure I understand your question, could you be a bit more specific?
– Stephen
Looking into a part-time program as I cannot be out of work for 2 years at this time. I would love to find an online hybrid program that accepts Ohio residents.
Do you know of any??
Stephen,
Thanks for the info; very exciting. By any chance do you know of any part time PA programs in Texas? What about any part time nursing programs in Texas? Thanks in advance for your help!
-David
Hi David, If you check the PAEA program directory website and put in your search criteria for Texas this is what you come up with. Feel free to play around with the search categories on the PAEA program directory website and maybe you will find some more options that will suit your needs. I am not sure about nursing programs, but do some Googling, or call the Texas Nursing Association – they should be able to help.
– Stephen
Thanks very much for creating a very informative website.
Thanks Rico, I appreciate your thoughtful comment!
– Stephen
Stephen,
Do you know if there is any Online PA program, full time or part time?
Sami
Hi Sami,
The only one I am aware of is the Yale PA program, although I believe they have hit some roadblocks along the way to accreditation and I am not sure if they are accepting students. It is worth looking into! I am sure over the next few years there will be many more popping up, it will be a wonderful development.
Stephen
Thank you for this post!
Your Welcome Cassandre, thank you for your kind comment!
– Stephen