Beyond required courses, each Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD student is expected to attain a depth of knowledge in their area of expertise. Students are expected to work with their advisor and thesis committee to identify elective course(s) to provide this desired depth.
A minimum of three (3) additional credits in the biological/chemical/physical sciences, engineering, or in clinical investigation are required for Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD students and must be completed before one’s preliminary exam. Once drug action or drug delivery core course requirements have been met, additional courses taken from those core course lists can also be used in fulfillment of the elective requirement. Course(s) must have the “50% graduate coursework” attribute as denoted in the university’s Course Guide to fulfill the 3 credit elective requirement. Students may consult with the Director of Graduate Studies to assess whether a given course(s) will meet this requirement. Presented below is a list of common elective courses at this level taken by recent Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students. Students are not restricted to this list; it is provided for information purposes. Additionally, if you are planning on taking an elective that isn’t taught every year, or is taught outside of our department, you may want to consult the timetable and/or contact the course coordinator to confirm that the course will be offered as planned.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Division Courses (Graduate Level)
| COURSE TITLE | COURSE NUMBER | CR | SEMESTER OFFERED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Mass Spectrometry, Fundamentals & Applications |
Pharmaceutical Sciences 493 (meets with Chemistry 622) |
2 | fall, odd years |
| The Drug Development Process | Pharmaceutical Sciences 751 | 3 | fall |
| GPX (Good Practice): Working in a Regulated Environment | Pharmaceutical Sciences 752 | 3 | spring |
| Pharmaceutical Economics and Project Management | Pharmaceutical Sciences 753 | 3 | spring |
| Pharmacokinetics | Pharmaceutical Sciences 768 | 3 | fall |
Elective graduate courses outside of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division are listed below by hosting department. Courses mentioned here have been commonly enrolled in by recent Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students.
Biochemistry
| Chemical Biology | Biochemistry 704 | 3 | fall |
Biomedical Engineering
| Introduction to Biological and Medical Microsystems | BME 550 | 3 | fall |
Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
| Introduction to Clinical Trials I | BMI 542 | 3 | spring |
| Introduction to Biostatistics | BMI 541 | 3 | fall |
| Introduction to Clinical Trials II | BMI 544 | 3 | fall |
Cell & Regenerative Biology
| Fundamentals of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology | CRB 640 | 3 | spring |
Chemistry
| Advanced Organic Chemistry | Chem 841 | 3 | spring |
| Topics in Chemical Instrumentation: Introduction to Mass Spectrometry |
Chem 638 | 1 | spring |
| Advanced Organic Chemistry | Chem 641 | 3 | fall |
| Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules | Chem 664 | 2-3 | spring |
| Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry | Chem 860 | 1-3 | varies |
| Spectrochemical Measurements | Chem 605 | 3 | spring |
| Physical Chemistry of Surfaces | Chem 777 | 2-3 | fall |
| Chemical Crystallography | Chem 613 | 3 | spring |
| Instrumental Analysis | Chem 621 | 3-4 | fall |
| Separations in Chemical Analysis | Chem 625 | 2-3 | fall |
| Materials Chemistry of Polymers | Chem 654 | 2-3 | spring |
| Biophysical Chemistry | Chem 665 | 4 | spring |
| Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Elements | Chem 714 | 2-3 | fall |
Family Medicine
| Perspectives on Multidisciplinary Clinical & Translational Research |
Fam Med 701 | 2 | spring |
Materials Science & Engineering
| Transmission Electron Microscopy Laboratory | MSE 758 | 1 | spring, even years |
Microbiology
| Microbial Symbiosis | Micro 710 | 3 | spring |
Molecular & Environmental Toxicology
| Toxicology I | MET 625 | 3 | fall |
| Toxicology II | MET 626 | 3 | spring |
Neuroscience Training Program
| Systems Neuroscience | NTP 611 | 4 | spring |
| Neurobiology of Disease | NTP 735 | 2 | spring, even years |
| Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience | NTP 610 | 4 | fall |
| Special Topics: Molecular Approaches to Neuroscience | NTP 675 | 1-3 | varies |
Oncology
| Advanced or Special Topics in Cancer Research Topic: Core Techniques in Protein and Genetic Engineering |
Onc 675 | 3 | varies |
| Carcinogenesis and Tumor Cell Biology | Onc 703 | 3 | fall |
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
| Pathogenesis of Major Human Diseases | Path 803 | 3 | fall |
Plant Pathology
| General Virology—Multiplication of Viruses | Plant Path 640 | 3 . | fall |
Statistics
| Special Topics in Statistics | Stat 679 | 1-3 | varies |
Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students may also want to take School of Pharmacy courses in the PharmD program (for example Medicinal Chemistry) that will grow their background knowledge and may complement their research but will not fulfill the above elective requirement unless they carry the 50% graduate coursework attribute. Please consult the DGS or your thesis advisor if you are considering this possibility.