The structure and order of the programme as well as the areas covered during the eight semesters of the PA study programme are detailed below:
• Foundations of medicine
• Clinical medicine
• Foundations of natural sciences
• Foundations of medical technology
• Structures and processes in healthcare
• Consolidation and specialisation in the following focus areas: surgical treatment, conservative treatment, emergency management, hygiene and medical technology
• Practical applications in laboratories and medical facilities
• Advanced topic areas and critical interdisciplinary qualifications.
Forging tomorrow's physician assistants
In their Physician Assistant (PA) studies at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, students specifically receive their training at the interfaces between people, medicine, technology and the healthcare industry, thus qualifying them to the best extent possible for the special requirements of the field and equipping them with the necessary skills to provide practical support to doctors in clinics and medical practices.
Why choose this programme
Closely meshed theory and practical application
In two complete professional practice semesters of at least twenty weeks, the theoretical knowledge and skills acquired up to that point in the programme are applied directly in the professional field working for local medical partner institutions. The work placement partners for these phases of knowledge and skills transfer are clinics and outpatient facilities, but other medical institutions may also be included.
Your future as a physician assistant
Activities, research and professional profile
Potential places of employment for physician assistants in professional practice include:
• polyclinics and hospitals
• rehabilitation clinics
• day-care clinics
• allied health centres
• medical centres and doctors' surgeries and
• general medical and specialist outpatient facilities.
Possible areas of employment for physician assistants exist primarily in clinical areas:
• surgery
• internal medicine
• anaesthesia and intensive care
• accident and emergency departments and ambulatory emergency care and
• functional diagnostics and therapy.
Facts about the study programme
Degree of Studies
Bachelor of ScienceStudy Form
Full-time studyTerm of Admission
admission-restrictedTerm of Admission
Winter semesterMain Course Language
GermanStandard Period of Study
8 Semester
Unlock your potential
The course content in the attendance phases on campus focuses on reinforcing the scientific basics in physics, chemistry and molecular biology and in core medical subjects such as anatomy, physiology and pathology. Furthermore, the relevant disciplines of clinical medicine are supplemented by topics such as diagnostic and therapeutic treatment methods, hygiene, microbiology and pharmacology, as well as content on topics of communication, medical law, health economics, and health management and medical ethics. Study modules consisting of courses with theoretical content and content in preparation for practical application take place on the premises of the university. The practical application modules flanking the course of studies in semesters 1 to 3 take place in regional clinics and are supervised there by medical mentors. The main purpose of these modules is to give PA students workplace experience of classical therapeutic practices at an earlier stage of their studies. It also allows them to assess their personal suitability for this profession and sensitises them to everyday routine at clinics and medical practices. This allows students to be supervised in small groups at an early stage of their studies. They also become familiar with patients in an everyday medical setting and are introduced in a problem-oriented manner to the tasks that their work as PAs will entail in the future.
Programme overview
With their Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree, Physician Assistants are allowed to take over medical tasks on a delegation basis and support physicians in their treatment of patients. The overall academic goal of the B.Sc. program is to prepare its students to take on delegable medical tasks that were previously reserved for physicians. Even without a required prior professional training, the primary qualifying (and thus undergraduate) eight-semester PA program at HS Bremerhaven provides a high-quality academic education for a profession for which there is a great demand in the healthcare sector.
Semesters 4 and 7 are professional practice semesters. Semesters 1 to 3 each contain modules with considerable practical components.
Admission and application
The Physician Assistant study programme at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences is an undergraduate programme that provides a primary qualification and does not require any preliminary qualification in a medical or other profession. The Physician Assistant study programme is predominantly taught in German but meets the job description of a Physician Assistant that is internationally established in the medical community. To be admitted to this programme at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, applicants must satisfy one of the following criteria:
• General higher education entrance qualification (A-levels)
• Subject-related higher education entrance qualification
• University of applied sciences entrance qualification
• An advanced medical qualification
• University entrance examination for professionally qualified individuals within the scope of existing admission guidelines at state universities with the following prerequisites: Completion of at least three years of vocational training in a recognised skilled medical profession followed by at least two years of professional activity in a recognised medical healthcare profession.
The admission requirement for foreign students is an C1 language level in German.
The Physician Assistant (PA) study programme admits students in the winter semester every year. The application deadline is 15 July. Admission to the bachelor’s degree programme is restricted (NC). Application for this study programme is only possible via the dialogue-oriented service procedure. Application takes place centrally online through the Hochschulstart portal.
If you acquired your university entrance qualification outside the European Union (EU), please also apply through uni-assist. To apply through uni-assist, you need a two-part identification number comprised of the BID (applicant ID) and BAN (applicant authentication number). You receive these numbers after registering in the DoSV applicant portal - www.hochschulstart.de. To ensure adequate processing time, the application for the winter semester should be submitted to UNI-ASSIST by 30 June.
Applicable vocational training and professional experience of applicants is taken into account when awarding places to the Physician Assistant study programme. Places are awarded based on the notional admission grade achieved in the process. The notional admission grade is based on the grade of the university entrance qualification with a weighting of 55% and the grade of the assessment of the vocational training and any professional activity with a weighting of 45%. The following verified vocational training courses or applicable professional experience in one of the recognised healthcare professions listed below are taken into account in the selection process for the Physician Assistant study programme: • Geriatric nurse • Occupational therapist • Dietician • Midwife • Nurse • Paediatric nurse • Speech therapist • Orthoptist • Physiotherapist • Paramedic • Technical medical assistant • Medical-technical assistant for function diagnostics • Medical-technical laboratory assistant • Medical-technical radiology assistant • Medical assistant (MA) • Surgical assistant (SA) • Anaesthesiologist assistant (AA)
You can find further information on the application procedure on the Registration and Examination Office’s website.
Learn more about the study programme
Physician Assistant