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Our programs
Athletic Training
Occupational Therapy 
Physical Therapy 
Physician Assistant Studies 
About the Phoenix Bioscience Core
Collaborative healthcare for NAU students earning advanced healthcare degrees
The Phoenix Bioscience Core (PBC) spans 30 acres in downtown Phoenix and boasts more than six million square feet of research, academic, and clinical facilities for students earning advanced degrees in medical professions.
The PBC is an interdisciplinary facility where students in all medical fields train side-by-side in healthcare programs.
Northern Arizona University invested in the Phoenix Bioscience Core in order to:
- help the state of Arizona fill critical shortages of health care professionals in the workplace
- strengthen the partnership between Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University.
- provide valuable resources to our students in the master of athletic training program, the master of physician assistant studies program, the doctor of occupational therapy program, and the doctor of physical therapy program
- contribute to the vibrant resurgence of downtown Phoenix Arizona’s leading urban center
Development of the Phoenix Bioscience Core
Addressing healthcare shortages
Physical therapists, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals are in high demand, but there is a critical labor shortage. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for physical therapists will increase by about 30 percent in the next five years, and the demand for physician assistants will increase 39 percent.
Northern Arizona University recognizes that it has a responsibility to address the public need for healthcare. As a result, NAU and the University of Arizona ultimately worked together for much of the past decade to leverage the Phoenix Bioscience Core (PBC) in service of the citizens of Arizona and the wider world.
The goal is to develop collaborative healthcare and science programs that mimic real-world practice in hospitals, clinics, and labs.
A new foundation
In 2010, the Arizona Board of Regents approved construction of the $136 million Health Sciences Education Building at the PBC. This provided Northern Arizona University the opportunity to expand its allied health programs.
In the fall of 2012, Northern Arizona University opened the Physician Assistant and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs at the PBC. The inaugural Occupational Therapy doctoral class began in fall 2014, the first of its kind in the state. Athletic Training is the most recent graduate program to be added to the PBC, with its first cohort having begun in fall 2016.
An ideal setting
The Phoenix Bioscience Core provides great opportunities for Northern Arizona University students earning degrees in healthcare professions to work with leading researchers, doctors, and faculty in a rapidly growing city where change and innovation is constant.
Our students have the opportunity to work with students from the University of Arizona, and this integrative approach will produce a collaborative environment that promotes professional growth and cutting-edge research.
World-class facilities
Situated across 30 acres in downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Bioscience Core provides students with access to conduct research and clinical rotations in first-rate facilities, including:
- °Õ³ó±ðÌý, one of the top cardiovascular hospitals in the United States
- , named one of the top ten hospitals by U.S. News and World Report
- °Õ³ó±ðÌý (TGen) and the  (IGC) headquarters, a six-story, 170,000 square foot laboratory and research facility that focuses on genetic investigation
- °Õ³ó±ðÌý
- The , which allows students to complete their training in Phoenix-based hospitals
- °Õ³ó±ðÌý, which offers MS, PhD, pre-pharmacy, and PharmD degrees
- , which is committed to the early detection of lung cancer and will establish and operate a research lab within the TGen and IGC facility
- a national leader in developing knowledge communities has partnered with ASU to bring 226,000 SF of lab enabled space for research and collaboration