The 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings are out and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Master of Science Physician Assistant (PA) Program rose 34 places to tie for 26^th among all PA programs in the country.

The program began enrolling students in April 2014 with its first class graduating in 2016. Since then 240 students have graduated. The seven-semester program was created to help address a critical shortage of physicians in the U.S.

BU was first ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2023.

“The movement up the ranking from 50 to 26 is an amazing accomplishment and our faculty and staff is understandably very proud. It highlights our team of dedicated and accomplished PA educators who are working hard to create an excellent education for our students,” said Program Director Susan White, MD.

According to Aliza Stern MMSc, PA-C, associate program director, what sets BU’s program apart from the others is its attention to caring for vulnerable populations. “Our affiliation with the MD Program as well as BMC emphasizes this focus. We also have a dedicated health equity course that prepares our students to care for vulnerable populations and to understand social determinants of health.”

At BU, PA students and medical students take their basic science and preclinical science classes together as one class for 18 months. The material in these courses are the cornerstone of medical knowledge and the foundation of both the PA and MD professions. The educators believe joint learning builds strong professional trust and understanding, something that is important when working in today’s medical environment with its emphasis on team-based approaches.

Rankings for the PA program were based on a peer assessment score, demonstrating the strong national reputation the University’s program has among other PA educators.