EDUCATING LEADERS IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SINCE 1886
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Our highly sought-after PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences is the foremost destination for graduate scholars interested in challenging the boundaries of drug discovery, development and evaluation.
You will work and learn alongside internationally renowned faculty as they advance the biotherapies and technologies of the future to improve human health and society.
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About the PhD Program
Program Requirements
- Required Courses: Must be completed with a grade of B- or higher. Courses that do not meet these standards will not count toward the degree and must be repeated.
- Overall GPA: A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required across 72 credits.
| Credit Hours | |
|---|---|
| Minimum total credit hours - courses listed below. | 72 |
| Three departmental research presentations including the Dissertation defense. The other two presentations may be scheduled in PHC 613 or PHC 614. | |
| Satisfactory completion of a research dissertation, including approval of the Dissertation Committee after submission of a written Dissertation Report, presentation of an open seminar and, oral defense |
Students will be enrolled in the following courses as available, based on their scheduled offerings.
| FALL | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Students will be registered for these first semester fall courses and will have a graduate course advisement meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies. | |
| PHC 500 Drug Development (available even years only) | 2 |
| PHC 506 Biometry in PHC* | 3 |
| PHC 508 Drug Delivery (available odd years only) | 3 |
| PHC 538 Introduction to Biologics (available even years only) | 2 |
| PHC 539 Biologics Development (available even years only) | 1 |
| PHC 588 Faculty Research Seminar (waived if PHC 488 within 3 years)** | 1 |
| PHC 607A Intermediate Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PHC 613 Pharmaceutics Seminar | 1 |
| PHC 630 Drug Metabolism and Transport (available odd years only) | 3 |
| Total: | 13-14 |
*PHC 506 Biometry for Pharmaceutical Sciences is the preferred statistics course. This requirement may be substituted with another graduate biostatistics course from the biostatistics or other department. Written approval from the Director of Graduate Studies is required for substitution. Substitution with STA 527 is not recommended and will be allowed only in special cases with prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
**Students who have previously taken PHC 488 or PHC 588 within 3 years of enrollment in the MS or PhD programs are exempt from PHC 588. They are, however, strongly encouraged to attend the lectures provided by new faculty on a non-credit basis.
| SPRING | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 510 Pharmaceutical Analysis | 3 |
| PHC 614 Pharmaceutics Seminar | 1 |
| PHC 616 Research | Varies |
| Electives | Varies |
| Total: | 9+ |
Register for the remaining courses that were not available or completed during your first year, as some courses are not offered every year.
| FALL | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 500 Basic Drug Development (available even years only) | 2 |
| PHC 508 Drug Delivery (available odd years only) | 3 |
| PHC 538 Introduction to Biologics (available even years only) | 2 |
| PHC 539 Biologics Development (available even years only) | 1 |
| PHC 630 Drug Metabolism and Transport (available odd years only) | 3 |
| PHC 615 Research | Varies |
| Electives | Varies |
| Total: | 9+ |
| SPRING | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 614 Pharmaceutics Seminar | 1 |
| PHC 616 Research | Varies |
| Electives | Varies |
| Total: | 9+ |
| FALL | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 511 Research Proposal | 3 |
| PHC 599 Supervised Teaching Typically, students enroll in 2 credits in the fall semester + 2 credits in the spring. The credit number of PHC 599 for each session could be adjusted based on TA duties by the Director of Graduate Studies. | 4 total |
| "Out of department" graduate elective courses (fall or spring) | >=4 |
| Other graduate elective courses | |
| Total: | 9+ |
| SPRING | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 511 Research Proposal (if not already completed) | 3 |
| PHC 599 Supervised Teaching Typically, students enroll in 2 credits in the fall semester + 2 credits in the spring. The credit number of PHC 599 for each session could be adjusted based on TA duties by the Director of Graduate Studies. | 4 total |
| PHC 616 Research. One or more credits after satisfactory completion of PHC 511 Research Proposal | |
| "Out of department" graduate elective courses (fall or spring) | >=4 |
| Other graduate elective courses | |
| Total: | 9+ |
| FALL | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 615 Research | 1+ |
| SPRING | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 616 Research | 1+ |
| FALL | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 502 Selected Topics (also offered in spring)*** | 1-3 |
| PHC 512 Pharmacometric Software (also offered in spring) | 1 |
| PHC 600 Ethics (also offered in spring) | 2 |
***PHC 502 Selected Topics can be used to register Research Group meetings and Journal Clubs. A separate registration code is available for each faculty member. Consult faculty on availability.
| SPRING | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| PHC 502 Selected Topics (also offered in fall)*** | 1-3 |
| PHC 512 Pharmacometric Software (also offered in fall) | 1 |
| PHC 516 Pharmacogenomics | 1 |
| PHC 518VT Nutrigenomics in Cancer (prerequisite: Pharmacogenomics) | 2 |
| PHC 531 Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics I | 4 |
| PHC 600 Ethics (also offered in fall) | 2 |
| PHC 608 Advanced Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PHC 610 Population PK-PD Modeling | 2 |
***PHC 502 Selected Topics can be used to register Research Group meetings and Journal Clubs. A separate registration code is available for each faculty member. Consult faculty on availability.
Ready to take the next step?
Visit our Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD admissions information page to apply!