Coursework and Research Overview

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.

Academic Standards Policy

Students must adhere to a standard of academic excellence.

Read Policy of Academic Standards

Graduate Student Handbook

The Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics Graduate Student Handbook.

To obtain a copy of the Molecular Pharmaceutics Handbook please email hallie.mccarthy@utah.edu

Pharmaceutics Graduate Curriculum

    1. Prerequisites

    • Organic chemistry with laboratories - one year

    • Physical chemistry - one year

    • Calculus - one year

    • Anatomy, cell biology, developmental biology, classical genetics, or physiology - one semester

    2. Required Coursework
    • Core sequence (PHCEU 7020, 7030, 7040) – 13.5 hours
    • Formulation and Dosage Forms (PHCEU 7021) - 2 hours
    • Pharmacokinetics (PHCEU 7011) - 3 hours
    • Lipid-Based Delivery (PHCEU 7031) – 0.5 hours
    • Electives - at least 4 elective courses that total to a minimum of 8 semester hours.
    • Research seminar (PHCEU 7890) - 1 hour per semester; register for 2 semesters.
    • Journal Club (PHCEU 7975) - 1 hour per semester (4 semesters total)
    • Research Ethics (INTMD 7570 or other) – 1 hour
    3. 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)

    4. Recommended Class Schedules

    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 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 or Ph.D. Thesis Research (PHCEU 7970) (1-4 cr)

     

     

    5. Recommended Elective Courses for Students Specializing in the Following Research Areas

    Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry

    PHCEU 7220 Pharmaceutical Applications of Colloid and Interfacial Science - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7310 Biomembrane Transport - 2 hr

    CHEM 7000 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics I - 2 hr

    CHEM 7010 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics II - 2 hr

    CHEM 7020 Introduction to Spectroscopy I - 2 hr

    CHEM 7030 Introduction to Spectroscopy II - 2 hr

    CHEM 7040 Statistical Thermodynamics - 2 hr

    CHEM 7240 Physical Organic Chemistry I - 2 hr

    CHEM 7250 Physical Organic Chemistry II - 2 hr

    CHEM 7260 Physical Organic Chemistry III - 2 hr

    FPMD 6100 Introduction to Biostatistics - 3 hr

    ONCSC 6150 Biostatistics - 2 hr

    Drug Delivery Systems

    PHCEU 6020 Biomaterials - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7210 Biocompatibility - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7220 Pharmaceutical Applications of Colloid and Interfacial Science - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7310 Biomembrane Transport - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7410 Physicochemical Approach to Proteins and Nucleic Acids - 2 hr

    MDCH 6550 Site-Specific Drug Targeting - 2 hr

    BIOEN 6140 Fundamentals of Tissue Engineering - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7110 Biopolymer Characterization - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7140 Advanced Topics in Tissue Engineering - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7150 Introduction to Biomimetic Engineering - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7160 Physical Nature of Surfaces - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7164 Polymer Surface Characterization - 3 hr

    MSE 5473 Polymer Synthesis/Characterization - 3 hr

    MSE 6480 Polymer Science - 3 hr

    BLCHM 6400 Genetic Engineering - 2 hr

    BLCHM 6410 Protein and Nucleic Acid Biochemistry - 3 hr

    BLCHM 6460 Protein Chemistry - 2 hr

    BLCHM 6470 Nucleic Acid Chemistry - 2 hr

    FPMD 6100 Introduction to Biostatistics - 3 hr

    ONCSC 6150 Biostatistics - 2 hr

     

    Biotechnology

    PHCEU 7410 Physicochemical Approach to Proteins and Nucleic Acids - 2 hr

    MDCH 6550 Site-Specific Drug Targeting - 2 hr

    MDCH 6560 Biomedical Applications of Mass Spectrometry - 2 hr

    MDCH 6590 NMR in Biology, Pharmacology and Medicine - 2 hr

    BIOEN 6140 Fundamentals of Tissue Engineering - 2 hr

    BIOEN 6170 Biomolecular Engineering - 3 hr

    BIOEN 7110 Biopolymer Characterization - 2 hr

    BIOEN 7140 Advanced Topics in Tissue Engineering - 2 hr

    BLCHM 6400 Genetic Engineering - 2 hr

    BLCHM 6410 Protein and Nucleic Acid Biochemistry - 3 hr

    BLCHM 6460 Protein Chemistry - 2 hr

    BLCHM 6470 Nucleic Acid Chemistry - 2 hr

    FPMD 6100 Introduction to Biostatistics - 3 hr

    ONCSC 6150 Biostatistics - 2 hr

    Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

    PHCEU 7310 Biomembrane Transport - 2 hr

    PHCEU 7315 Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics - 3 hr

    PHPRC 7325 Applied Clinical Pharmacokinetics - 2 hr

    PHTX 6010 Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics I - 5 hr

    PHTX 6040 Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics II - 3 hr

    PHTX 6650 Enzymology of Xenobiotic Metabolism - 2 hr

    MDCH 6550 Site-Specific Drug Targeting - 2 hr

    MDCH 6560 Biomedical Applications of Mass Spectrometry - 2 hr

    FPMD 6100 Introduction to Biostatistics - 3 hr