Located in beautiful downtown Chattanooga, this 115-credit-hour curriculum leads to a Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree. Our Physician Assistant (PA) program is built for the next generation of medical professionals, those who thrive in dynamic, hands-on environments and learn best through active engagement with real-world challenges—rooted in evidence-based educational practices, our curriculum moves beyond traditional lecture-heavy models to offer an innovative, learner-centered approach designed to prepare students for the complexity of modern healthcare.
In this program, students will spend less time passively absorbing information and more time actively applying it. Foundational medical knowledge—such as clinical medicine and pharmacology—will be delivered through structured materials and lectures. In addition to lectures, students will prepare through reading and guided learning tools. This is the first step in a deeply interactive process designed to foster mastery through application.
Core to our educational philosophy is the belief that application leads to retention. That’s why our curriculum includes a robust series of Application Labs, where students will:
In recognition of the growing importance of whole-person care, our curriculum thoughtfully integrates principles of holistic medicine and wellness throughout. Students will explore topics such as lifestyle medicine, mental and emotional health, nutrition, and prevention-oriented care. This approach empowers future clinicians to care for patients not just as cases, but as complete individuals with interconnected physical, emotional, and social needs.
Our commitment to service-learning reinforces our belief that providing healthcare is a privilege rooted in compassion and community connection. Each semester, students will participate in structured community service events, applying their developing skills to serve local populations. These experiences deepen students’ understanding of social determinants of health and help instill a lifelong commitment to equity and outreach.
While students are expected to take responsibility for acquiring foundational knowledge, they are never alone in their learning journey.
Our program provides:
Why This Approach Works:
This curriculum reflects how today’s learners best absorb and retain information—through relevance, application, and interaction. It transforms memorization into clinical readiness and prepares students not only to pass exams but to practice medicine with confidence, empathy, and competence.
Join us to experience a PA education that doesn’t just teach medicine, it teaches you how to think like a clinician and care like a healer from day one.
The Lincoln Memorial University Chattanooga PA Program has applied for Accreditation - Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The Lincoln Memorial University Chattanooga PA Program anticipates matriculating its first class in January 2027, pending achieving Accreditation - Provisional status at the October 2026 ARC-PA meeting.
* Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students. Accreditation – Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class. Accreditation-provisional remains in effect until the program achieves accreditation-continued after its third review, closes or withdraws from the accreditation process, or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards.
In the event the Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Physician Assistant Program – Chattanooga is not granted Accreditation-Provisional status from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the Program will not commence and will not matriculate a student cohort in January 2027 as planned. If the Program is not granted Accreditation-Provisional status, applicants will be notified in writing and receive a full refund for any tuition and fees paid to the Program within 30 days of the Program receiving notification of the ARC-PA decision. Fees paid by applicants to the program will be reimbursed. Other expenses associated with the admissions process, such as interview travel, are not included in the LMU refund policy.
