Degrees Offered: College of Pharmacy

Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology



Admissions

Doctor of Philosophy degrees are offered in the areas of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology by the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Financial support is available to qualified applicants on a limited competitive basis in the form of teaching and research assistantships. Information about assistantships may be obtained from the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Application

All applicants must submit for admission:

  1. Completed application online.

  2. Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work.

  3. Official test reports for the general aptitude portion (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing) of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

  4. At least three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's scholarship and research potential.

  5. Official test reports for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination if required.

  6. A one- or two-page statement of purpose.

See the department website for more important details.

All application materials and admissions inquiries for the degree programs in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology should be addressed to:

Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Graduate Programs Office Manager
University of Houston
521 Science Research 2 Bldg.
Houston, Texas 77204-5037
713-743-1222

General Admissions Requirements

All graduate program applicants must have at least a Bachelor of Science degree from either an accredited academic or professional institution comparable to the Bachelor of Science degree awarded at the University of Houston. Students must submit satisfactory scores on the general aptitude portion (verbal, quantitative and analytical writing) of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and have a minimum 3.0 (A=4.0) grade point average on all work attempted, graduate and undergraduate, beginning with the semester in which the student took the first of the 60 most recently earned semester hours.

GRE scores are evaluated as one information source in the total graduate application. Applicants also may be asked to take placement examinations given by the department in order to determine eligibility for admission or to indicate deficiencies in undergraduate course work. For additional specific admission requirements, applicants should visit the Pharmacy Admissions website.

All graduate applicants, regardless of citizenship status, must demonstrate proficiency in English to obtain admission to the university. To fulfill this requirement, applicants must have received their Baccalaureate from a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or other country where English is the medium of instruction*, or present English test scores from ONE of the following: (1) The IELTS, minimum score 6.5; (2) the TOEFL, Internet-based (iBT), minimum score 79; (3) the TOEFL, Computer-based, minimum score 213; (4) the TOEFL, Paper-based, minimum score 550. To receive a Teaching Assistant appointment, a new student has to demonstrate competency in Spoken English. The IELTS and TOEFL iBT include a speaking test, and are therefore recommended to discharge this requirement before arriving at UH. Otherwise, an admitted student will be required to take the SPEAK or TSE after arriving at UH (minimum scores = 50).

General Requirements:

The degree tracks in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology consist of courses common to both tracks and specialty course tracks in Pharmaceutics or Pharmacology. These specialty tracks provide essential training in the elected major discipline. The course of study to complete the degree is anticipated to take approximately five years after obtaining the Bachelors degree.

In addition to the course work shown below, students in both Pharmacology and Pharmaceutics must pass oral and written qualifying exams, complete a research project, and write and defend dissertation. If a student completes coursework but cannot complete these others requirements, he/she may be able to finish with a contingent Master's degree.

Ph.D. In Pharmaceutics

Pharmaceutics is a multidisciplinary science which focuses on the study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of drugs and dosage forms. Cutting across the traditional disciplinary boundaries, pharmaceutics examines the relationship of drug properties to dosage form design, fabrication, evaluation and therapeutic efficacy. Students in the pharmaceutics program may develop research programs in the areas of drug delivery systems, drug stability, dosage forms, drug absorption and disposition, and pharmacokinetics.

Pharmaceutics faculty, located in the facility in the Texas Medical Center, engage in collaborative research projects with other Texas Medical Center institutions. This environment provides students with a wide range of basic and clinical research experience and opportunities to conduct animal and human research. Course work available from other University of Houston departments and Texas Medical Center institutions provides didactic backgrounds which meet the needs of individual students.

 

Required Didactic Courses

PCEU 6341 Advanced Pharmacokinetics
PCEU 6342 Advanced Pharmaceutics I
PCEU 6345 Advanced Pharmaceutics II
PCOL 7370 Scientific Writing
PCEU 7340 Advanced Drug Delivery
PCEU 7350 Fundamental Laboratory Methods
PCEU 7180, PCEU 7181 Pharmaceutics Seminar
PCEU 6142, PCEU 6143, PCEU 7142, PCEU 7143 Pharmaceutics Literature Review
PCEU 6397 Regulatory Affairs
PHCA 6308 Biostatistics and Experimental Design
BIOL 6197 Responsible Conduct of Research
Three Credit Elective

Research Requirements

In addition to course work, the students must complete an original research project, write a doctoral dissertation and successfully defend the dissertation before their doctoral dissertation committee to meet the requirements of the doctoral degree. A minimum of 18 credit hours of Doctoral Research (PCEU 8X98)/ Doctoral Dissertation (PCEU 8X99) is required as part of this requirement.

Ph.D. In Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of the mechanisms of action of drugs and drug effects on normal and disease states. It is a science based upon the integration of chemistry, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and physiology. Students in the Pharmacology program may develop research programs in the areas of renal, autonomic, central nervous system, cardiovascular pharmacology, natural products, structural biology, signal transduction, or protein biochemistry.
Before formal admittance to doctoral candidacy students must pass a qualifying examination prepared and administered by the student's dissertation committee as well as present and defend a research proposal to this committee. If the student cannot meet the requirements for doctoral candidacy, the student may be permitted to complete the requirements for a contingent M.S. degree in Pharmacology.

 

Required Didactic Courses

PCOL 6370 Advanced Pharmacology I
PCOL 6371 Advanced Pharmacology II
PCOL 7370 Scientific Writing
PCOL 6462 Cardiovascular and Renal Pharmacology
PCOL 7362 Neuropharmacology
PCOL 7350 Cellular Pharmacology
PCOL 7180, PCOL 7181 Pharmacology Seminar
PCOL 6141, PCOL 6142, PCOL 7141, PCOL 7142 Pharmacological Literature Review
PCOL 7333 Principles of Molecular Pharmacology
PHCA 6308 Biostatistics and Experimental Design
BIOL 6197 Responsible Conduct of Research
Three Credit Elective

Research Requirements

In addition to course work, the students must complete an original research project, write a doctoral dissertation and successfully defend the dissertation before their doctoral dissertation committee to meet the requirements of the doctoral degree. A minimum of 18 credit hours of Doctoral Research (PCOL 8X98)/ Doctoral Dissertation (PCOL 8X99) is required as part of this requirement.

 

Elective Courses in Pharmaceutics or Pharmacology

PCOL 6462 Cardiovascular and Renal Pharmacology
PCOL 7362 Neuropharmacology
PCOL 7297 Selected Topics in Pharmacology
PCOL 7350 Cellular Pharmacology
PCEU 7397 Selected Topics in Pharmaceutics
PCEU 7350 Fundamental Laboratory Methods
PCEU 6397 Regulatory Affairs
PCEU 7340 Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
PCOL 7333 Principles of Molecular Pharmacology
PCOL 7330 Biochemical Pharmacology

Catalog Publish Date: January 14, 2013
This Page Last Updated: December 20, 2012