The physician assistant (PA) profession began as an experiment in medical education. Initial research on the PA profession was performed primarily by health service researchers and medical educators who sought to measure the impact of the introduction of early PAs into practice. The introduction of PAs, health care providers who shared the practice of medicine with physicians, was a revolutionary step in health workforce policy, and its impact became a relevant topic of investigation. Research has not been a high priority in many PA programs, and the amount of research on PA education has been limited. This article traces periods of activity and contributions in PA educational research over the past 50 years and discusses prospects for the future of research in PA education.