School of Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy offers both the Master of Science (MS) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in pharmaceutical sciences for highly motivated, qualified individuals seeking a career in the pharmaceutical sciences. The School also offers a Master of Science (MS) degree in Pharmacy Administration.

PhD or MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences

The School of Pharmacy offers training at the doctoral level to unique, highly motivated individuals. Our mission is to train the next generation of leaders and decision makers seeking to improve the health of the community through outstanding basic and clinical research. Major strengths include highly accomplished, well funded research faculty, multidisciplinary training opportunities, and cutting edge technologies.

Training consists of a sequence of required core courses, elective courses, journal clubs, faculty-directed research, and an original research project leading to a final thesis or dissertation. Students may select to specialize in clinical or basic research in any of three primary tracks: medicinal chemistry, biochemical pharmacology, or pharmaceutics.

Medicinal Chemistry.  The medicinal chemistry track encompasses drug discovery and prepares you with the means to study the behavior of chemical substances at the molecular level.

• You will use computational, biochemical and cell-based screening technologies to identify natural and synthetic compounds with pharmacological activity.
• You will study structure-activity relationships to understand the mechanisms of drug action.
•  Your research will be directed towards the identification, synthesis and development of new chemical molecules suitable for biological studies and eventually therapeutic use. 

Biochemical Pharmacology.  The biochemical pharmacology track focuses on the biochemical mechanisms responsible for drug and other xenobiotic actions on living systems, both healthy and compromised.

• You will develop a broad knowledge of drug metabolism, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics.
• You will have the opportunity to study with faculty in multiple areas including behavioral, cardiovascular and endocrine pharmacology, neuropharmacology, immunopharmacology, chemotherapy, and toxicology.
• Your research opportunities include studying the biochemical mechanism of drugs in cell cultures and/or healthy and compromised animal models.

Pharmaceutics.  The pharmaceutics track is concentrated on the study of chemical and biophysical technologies used in drug delivery and targeting.

• You will develop the fundamentals required for design of both traditional and complex state-of-the-art drug delivery systems (e.g. gene delivery).
• You will gain the skills essential for the advancement of targeted drug therapies ranging from small molecules to proteins to genes.
• Your research opportunities include the formulation of biologically active molecules into optimal dosage forms, the development of novel drug delivery systems, and the delivery of complex new therapies to their site of therapeutic action.

Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist.  The clinical pharmaceutical scientist is a specialty track in which students with expertise in pharmacotherapeutics investigate both the clinical and mechanistic elements of drug therapy issues.

• You will study how research discoveries are translated into practices that promote health and prevent disease.
• You will learn the process required to implement new therapies as standards of care through human-based research projects.
• You will be able to specialize in any of the three major research tracks of the PhD program, including medicinal chemistry, biochemical pharmacology and pharmaceutics

Contact Information

Susan Price                 
805 Salk Hall
3501 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
412-648-8430
sprice@pitt.edu

 

Admissions Process

Applications must be submitted electronically. (http://www.pharmacy.pitt.edu/programs/gradprog/prospectives/application.html) Applications for the Fall term are evaluated on a rolling basis beginning February 1, and applicants will be considered until all available openings are filled.

Applicants must possess a BS degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university and a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale (B average).  Those students applying for the Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Track should have earned a BS in pharmacy, a PharmD, or an equivalent degree in another health-related discipline. All applicants must submit scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and international students must also submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores. A $50 non-refundable fee is must be submitted with each application.

Students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty early in the process to discuss their research interests and to explore possible research projects. Further information is available on the School of Pharmacy PhD website: http://www.pharmacy.pitt.edu/programs/gradprog/default.html.

Financial Assistance

There are a limited number of teaching assistantships and graduate research assistantships that are awarded on a competitive basis to students offered admission to the program. These awards offer full tuition and a stipend. Additional positions may be available if faculty have grant funding for graduate students. For additional information on financial aid options, see Financial Aid section.

Academic Standards

School of Pharmacy students are responsible for upholding the standards of behavior outlined in the University's Guidelines on Academic Integrity (online at www.pitt.edu/HOME/PP/policies/02/02-03-02.html), the University's policy on sexual harassment, and other policies related to student behavior.

Each year, students will be asked to sign a copy of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Code of Conduct that reaffirms their commitment to ethical and professional behavior. Details of the code are outlined on the school's Web site.

Special Academic Opportunities

The School of Pharmacy is home to four research centers that provide unique opportunities to graduate students. These are the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), the Center for Pharmacogenetics, the Pharmacodynamic Research Center, and the Center for Outcomes Research. Collaborative projects between faculty members doing basic and clinical research provide students with even broader training and education. An intensive clinical scientist track is also available for students who have earned a professional pharmacy degree and wish to pursue a career in clinical research.

Program Descriptions

The graduate program is designed to provide a stimulating environment for students with a wide variety of backgrounds to receive education and training in the design and implementation of basic and clinical studies relating to the discovery, development, and clinical use of pharmaceutical agents. The program consists of a sequence of required core courses, elective courses, faculty-directed research rotations, and an original research project leading either to a final thesis for MS students or to a dissertation for those pursuing the PhD. Opportunities for interdisciplinary research in the areas of drug disposition and response; genomics-proteomics and drug discovery; drug delivery and targeting; and neuro-endocrine pharmacology.

Degree Requirements

Master of Science Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Students are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours, including 6 credits of work on a master's thesis, to meet the requirements for the Master of Science (MS) degree. The specific plan of study is developed by the student and faculty advisor. The required courses are listed below:

*MS students are required to present a seminar during two terms. PHARM 3024 and 3025 fulfill this requirement (two terms at 1 credit each).

Students are also required to complete an additional 6 credits of specialty elective courses and a master's thesis to complete the degree requirements:

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Students must complete a total of 72 credit hours to fulfill the requirements for the PhD. Required courses for all PhD students are listed below. Students who have had prior course work or extensive experience in a given area may be exempted from the required course at the discretion of the faculty. The remaining credit requirements are completed through elective courses and dissertation research. The specific plan of study is developed by the student and their faculty advisor and committee. Courses should be selected to assure an adequate breadth of knowledge as well as depth in the student's focus area.

Curriculum for PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Students enrolled in the school's graduate program are required to complete a core curriculum, regardless of their area of focus. The required courses are listed below (subject to change):

Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation

Each student follows a program of study developed in conjunction with the major advisor with input from the student's doctoral committee. The program of study must contain all of the program core courses as well as elective courses specific to the student's focus area.

Following completion of course work, students are required to complete a comprehensive examination. To be eligible for the comprehensive examination, students must be in full graduate status and have completed didactic course work with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00. To qualify for advancement to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree the student must pass the comprehensive examination.

Admission to PhD candidacy constitutes a promotion of the student to the most advanced stage of graduate study and provides formal approval to devote essentially exclusive attention to research and writing of the dissertation.

Each PhD student must write a dissertation that presents the results of research carried out by the student. An appropriate research project involves a substantive piece of original and independent research grounded in an appropriate body of literature. It is relevant to an identifiable field as it is currently practiced. It represents a hypothesis tested by collection and analysis of data and provides a significant contribution or advancement to that field.

See Regulations Pertaining to Doctoral Degrees for a full overview of regulations and procedures for PhD candidates.

Program Course Listings

PHARM 2001 Pharmaceutical Analysis

PHARM 2002 Concepts of Pharmacology

PHARM 2003 Introduction to Pharmacoepidemiology

PHARM 2007 Special Topics in Drug Research

PHARM 3000 Topics in Neuroscience

PHARM 3002 Advanced Pharmacokinetics

PHARM 3008 Advanced Drug Delivery and Targeting

PHARM 3009 Advances in Pharmaceutical Sciences

PHARM 3024, 3025 Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar

PHARM 3027 Topics in Biopharmaceutics/Pharmacokinetics

PHARM 3028 Pharmacology and Therapeutics

PHARM 3038 Essentials of Competitive Grant Writing

PHARM 3061 Special Topics in the Pharmaceutical Sciences

PHARM 3063 Graduate Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences

Master of Science Degree in Pharmacy Administration

Program Description

Pharmacists are increasingly relied upon to assume leadership roles in patient care and health care organizations. Regardless of their title or formal position in the organization, pharmacists will have the opportunity to lead and set the direction. As a result, the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy has created a Masters of Science Degree in Pharmacy Administration (M.S.) degree.

The primary objective of the program is to prepare pharmacists to assume leadership positions in a variety of healthcare and integrated patient care systems. Graduates of the program will have a higher level of competency in assessing and resolving the health needs of the public as it relates to the safe and effective use of medication and will be expected to assume a leadership role in pharmacy practice upon completion on the program.

The students will receive training in the following areas:

• broad-based academic training in statistics and quantitative reasoning, epidemiology, public health as it relates to biological, social/behavioral, and environmental sciences, and management theory with respect to public health and human services;
• interdisciplinary problem solving and decision making skills;
• organization of integrated health care systems with the pharmacist as an essential component of the health care team;
• leadership and administrative skills necessary to manage pharmaceutical care needs of patients;
• public health and quality patient care by fostering the optimal and responsible use of drugs;
• programs and services that emphasize the health needs of the public with respect to the prevention and treatment of disease;
• knowledge and expertise in managing cost-effective drug utilization through the application of phamacoeconomic principles;
• strategies in the prevention of medication errors and adverse events;
• knowledge to identify, analysis, and evaluation of health care trends and in the development of public policy;
• role of pharmacy in conducting and supporting drug research.

Contact Information

Pharmacy Leadership and Management Oversight Group

Coordinator:

Scott M. Mark, PharmD, MS, Med, FASHP, FACHE, FABC
Assistant Professor and Vice Chair, Pharmacy and Therapeutics
(412) 647-5929, marksm@upmc.edu

Rafael Saenz, PharmD, MS
Instructor, Pharmacy and Therapeutics

Gordon Vanscoy, PharmD, MBA, CACP
Associate Dean for Business Innovation
Associate Professor, Pharmacy and Therapeutics

Robert Weber, MS, FASHP
Chair, Pharmacy and Therapeutics
Associate Professor

Admissions Requirements

In order to be considered for the program, applicants must have graduated from an accredited college of pharmacy and have obtained the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm..D.) degree or equivalent, and be eligible for acceptance into the School of Pharmacy. All students must take the GRE within 5 years of application.

Financial Assistance

Students are responsible for payment of all expenses. Those students who are concurrently accepted into a combination residency program affiliated with the MS program will have their tuition paid by the program directly.

Learning Outcomes: Foundational Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes

The low student/faculty ration and tailored curriculum in the comprehensive program offers a special opportunity for students to acquire an important skill set. The program offers a more advanced exposure to critical leadership theories and skills. The pharmacy administration electives utilize a case-based instructional format rather than a traditional didactic instructional format. Each topic is studied using a combination of readings and cases from Harvard Business Review.

Curriculum for MS in Pharmacy Administration

School of Pharmacy Graduate Faculty