Coursework and Related Requirements
Completion of an individual program of study, agreed to by the student and the graduate supervisory committee, is required. Students are evaluated by the faculty yearly until admitted to official candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. Admission to candidacy requires satisfactory completion of the core pharmaceutics courses, and passage of a written and oral qualifying examination. The department does not require a fixed number of credit hours for the Ph.D. degree. Instead, students must complete a core of four pharmaceutics courses and four elective courses (8 or more total hours) from an approved list. No foreign language is required. A dissertation based on original research must be prepared and defended.
Pharmaceutics Graduate Curriculum
1. Prerequisites
Organic chemistry with laboratories – one year
Physical chemistry – one year
Calculus – one year
Biochemistry – one semester
2. Required Coursework (didactic: 28 hours)
Core Pharmaceutics sequence (PHCEU 7011, 7020, 7030, 7040) – 13 cr
Electives – at least 4 elective courses that total to a minimum of 8 credit hours
Journal Club (PHCEU 7975) – 1 cr per semester for 4 semesters
Seminar PHCEU 7890 – 1 cr in semesters when presenting a full research seminar
MBIOL 7570 “Case Studies and Research Ethics” (1 cr)
3. Department Seminar
All graduate students are expected to attend department seminar each week of the Fall and Spring Semesters. In addition, they are required to present at least two seminars prior to their Ph.D. defense. These should be presented in their 2nd and 4th years after joining the Department. They should also enroll in PHCEU 7890 (Research Seminar – Ph.D.) during the semesters in which they present. Students are highly encouraged to present podium or poster presentations at local, regional, or national meetings.
4. Highly Recommended Electives
Biocompatibility (PHCEU 7210, 2 cr)
Biomaterials (PHCEU 6020, 3 cr)
Biostatistics (MDCRC 6050, 2 cr; BIOL 6500, 3 cr)
Introduction to Regulatory Affairs (BME 5110, 3 cr)
Nanomedicine (PHCEU 7230, 3 cr)
Therapeutics Discovery, Development, and Evaluation (PHARM 6500, 2 cr)
Cell Biology (BME 6900, 2 cr)
5. Recommended Class Schedules for Entering Students
First Semester (Fall): PHCEU 7030 (3 cr) Macromolecular Therapeutics and Drug Delivery, PHCEU 7040 (3 cr) Biotechnology, PHCEU 7975 (1 cr) Journal Club, MBIOL 7570 (1 cr), Electives and/or Ph.D. Thesis Research (PHCEU 7970) (2-5cr)
Second Semester (Spring): PHCEU 7011 (3 cr) Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), PHCEU 7020 (4 cr) Advanced Physical Pharmacy & Dosage Forms, PHCEU 7975 (1 cr) Journal Club, Electives and/or Ph.D. Thesis Research (PHCEU 7970) (1-4 cr)
6. Additional Recommended Elective Courses
Biomolecular Engineering (BME 6308, 3 cr)
Essentials of Pharmacology and Drug Development (PH TX 7113, 2 cr)
Intro to Polymers & Biopolymers (BME 6304, 3 cr)
Medical Imaging Systems (BME 6401, 3 cr)
Molecular Biophysics (BME 6002, 3 cr)
Physical Nature of Surfaces (BME 7160, 3 cr)
Principles in Pharmacology (PH TX 7211, 4 cr)
Proposal Writing and Presentation I (BME 7070, 2 cr)
Regulatory Affairs II (BME 5120, 3 cr)
[1] Core sequence (PHCEU 7010 - 7040) is taught annually. Comprehensive exam must be taken within six months of completing the core sequence.
[2] Students must take 4 journal club courses starting their first semester after matriculation. The sequence should be taken without interruption.