Note: The following degree plan applies to students entering the Professional Pharmacy
Program (Pharm.D.) in Fall 2018 or later.
The curriculum for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree includes a minimum of 218 semester
hours of college work, 146 semester hours of which must be pharmacy courses or the
equivalent.
Students with course credit for non-pharmacy courses or pharmacy courses from another
college/school of pharmacy similar to those courses in the professional program may
be petitioned for equivalency credit. The degree plan for the Pharm.D. program is
shown below under the Pharmacy Course of Study.
Overview
The Pharm.D. curriculum is designed to prepare students to be practice ready upon
arrival at their experiential sites, and ultimately undergo more robust clinical and
professional growth during their patient care encounters and research activities.
The curriculum integrates core knowledge areas – such as the effects of drugs in the
body and how to select a particular drug among a range of options – into courses based
on organ systems and disease states, in contrast to the previous system that delivered
the information in separate courses where therapeutic relevance is sometimes lost
between the molecules and actual medicines.
Integrated Modules
Each integrated module is organ system- or disease-based and provides students with
the 360-degree picture of how to treat and/or manage patients. Each module contains
key aspects of pathophysiology of disease; pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacogenomics,
and toxicology affiliated with the drugs relevant to the disease states; and therapeutic
concepts centered on therapeutic goals, drug selection, monitoring, and self-care.
Where appropriate, all spectrums of ages (pediatrics through geriatrics) are included.
Module-Related Skills Lab (MRSL)
For each semester of integrated modules, there is an affiliated MRSL which presents
students with structured cases as well as reinforcing courses covered earlier in the
curriculum (e.g., pharmacokinetics, calculations, pharmaceutics, patient assessment,
literature evaluation, communication, pharmacoeconomics, self-care, etc.). These MRSLs
are hands-on activities with an emphasis on critical thinking and skill development
allowing our students to meet accreditation standards of becoming "practice ready."
Electives
Students must complete six hours (a minimum of three elective courses) in pharmacy
elective courses. Four of the six pharmacy elective hours may be satisfied by completion
of two Selected Topics courses (PHAR 5198, 5298, 5398). Any student may participate
in a Selected Topics course if they are in good academic standing in the College and
have approval of a faculty member who will supervise their work.
Hours in Residence
The college requires at least three years in residence in the professional program
at the college of pharmacy for graduation. Students transferring from another school
or college of pharmacy are required to complete at least 25% of the semester hours
of pharmacy and related work in residence at the University of Houston.