The PhD Program in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery educates and trains students in the design and synthesis of novel, biologically active compounds and in delineating their mechanisms of action using biochemical, biophysical, and pharmacological approaches. Research specializations are available in synthetic, biochemical/pharmacological, and biophysical aspects of medicinal chemistry. Doctoral research in these specializations will relate to faculty areas of research, which currently include substance use disorders and addiction; neuropathic pain; obesity and metabolic disorders; neuropsychiatric disorders (psychoses, ADHD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders); and neurodegenerative diseases.
Journal Club Participation
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences sponsors weekly journal clubs, Pharmaceutical Science Seminar (PHSC 6300), at which students present and evaluate current scientific literature in their fields of study. Students must attend one of these journal clubs (Pharmaceutics & Drug Delivery Journal Club, Pharmacology Journal Club, or Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Discovery Journal Club), chosen in consultation with their advisors.
Attendance at one of these journal clubs is required each and every academic semester, as an integral part of the PhD curriculum, with the exception of the last year (year four) in the program. All PhD students must participate full-time in journal club for course credit, Pharmaceutical Science Seminar (PHSC 6300), for six semesters. Failure to attend journal club regularly may result in sanctions such as probation or dismissal from the PhD program. Any student who does not comply with these (or any other) conditions required in the PhD program faces potential dismissal.
Colloquium Attendance
All PhD students, regardless of program, are required to attend the weekly Pharmaceutical Science Colloquium series. Announcements of times and locations will be distributed weekly to students by email to their university email addresses. Attendance is recorded by sign-up sheet. One excused absence is permitted per semester. Failure to attend colloquia may result in sanctions such as probation or dismissal from the PhD program.
Internship Requirements and Regulations for Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Internships provide an experiential component of the graduate curriculum that fosters professional development through work in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
After PhD candidates have completed their dissertation research and are working on their dissertations, they are able, with the express permission of their PhD advisor, to participate in an internship if they choose. They are never allowed to intern while they are serving as teaching assistants.
- Students are responsible for finding their own internship and must be honest and accurate representing their experiences on their resumés. Students are responsible for tracking this experience on their resumés as there will be no detailed record on students’ transcripts of these opportunities.
- In order to be eligible for internship, students must take Professional Development for Pharmaceutical Sciences (PHSC 5305) a semester before internship.
- Students must not accept more than one position. They must honor the first offer accepted. Any student not adhering to this requirement will not be allowed to participate.
- International students must register for Pharmaceutical Science Internship (PHSC 6401) and follow instructions to receive Curricular Practical Training authorization from the Office of Global Services every semester they work. This applies to part-time jobs and volunteer opportunities. International students cannot engage in full-time CPT authorization totaling more than 52 weeks. Doing so will eliminate the possibility of engaging in the postgraduation benefit of Post-Completion Optional Practical Training.
- In order to receive a grade for the course, students must write at least two learning goals within the first two weeks of the internship and a one- to two-page paper describing what they learned, mid- and end of semester. Supervisors for internships will reply to a questionnaire about students’ performance.
- Taking internship must not extend international students’ visas.
- There are no vacations on co-op/internships. Companies’ sick time policies may vary. Students should check with their employers. For all other matters, please see the Universitywide Academic Policies and Procedures and/or Bouvé College of Health Sciences Academic Policies and Procedures.
Milestones
Qualifying Examination
The PhD qualifying examination is required for students in all four programs under the auspices of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences: pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, biomedical sciences, and pharmaceutics and drug delivery. Students from each of the four programs will take the exams within the same time frame (below), regardless of specialty-area program focus.
Doctoral students should have selected a dissertation advisor by the end of their first year in the program and are expected to have begun research and demonstrated initial proficiency in the laboratory before taking the PhD qualifying examination.
The PhD qualifying examination tests the candidates’ knowledge and skills in core courses and program content areas. The overall PhD qualifying examination consists of two written exams and one oral exam. The qualifying examination is taken as a course, Doctoral Training and Research (PHSC 8940), no later than during the fall semester of the student's second year, after having successfully completed all the core courses of their respective programs.
At least two departmental faculty will contribute questions for the written exams, and no one faculty member will write more than the equivalent of one entire exam. All students qualified to sit for the exams are expected to take them at the times announced.
The format for the written exams may vary (e.g., faculty may ask a series of comprehensive essay questions or provide research publications(s) from the biomedical literature and ask questions based upon the publications’ content). The first exam is given in the first week of fall semester, with the written portion of the second exam (i.e., the F31 written document) to be submitted to the student’s exam committee by the end of October, with the oral presentation to be completed by mid-November and graded by the providers of the question(s).
- Written exam 1 reflects students’ knowledge of their specialty-area program material and of overall pharmaceutical sciences. This exam is given on the same day in two parts. Part 1 is focused on each student’s specialty-area program focus. Part 2 will test students' overall knowledge in another program focus covered by the pharmaceutical sciences curriculum.
- For example, if the student is in the pharmaceutics and drug delivery PhD program, part 1 will be about pharmaceutics and drug delivery, and part 2 can focus either on pharmacology or medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
- Written exam 2 requires that students write an NIH F31 grant proposal and have the proposal signed off as passing by their examination committee after an oral defense.
A score of at least 70% is required to pass the first written exam (two parts). Students must pass all written portions of the PhD qualifying examination prior to the oral defense of the F31 proposal. Students who fail one written exam will have one opportunity to retake and pass that examination. A student who fails the first exam twice will be required to withdraw from the PhD program.
During the oral exam, students defend their NIH F31 grant proposal before an examination committee of, minimally, four faculty members: the dissertation advisor, at least two other Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members, and at least one member from outside the department. This committee is convened only for the oral exam and does not need to be the same committee as the student's dissertation committee.
Members of the oral examination committee are selected by the student, after consultation with the dissertation advisor and/or the director of graduate studies. The oral exam is graded on a pass/fail basis. Students who fail the oral exam on the first attempt may retake the exam within a time period designated by the examination committee not to exceed two months from the first oral exam. Those who fail twice will be dismissed from the program.
Doctoral Candidacy Status
Doctoral students who have completed satisfactorily and thereby earned the credits for all required core courses (including those for their specialized area) and who have passed the written and oral qualifying examinations shall be admitted to candidacy status for the PhD degree.
Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Doctoral students must complete a dissertation that embodies the results of extended research and makes an original contribution to their field. This work should give evidence of candidates’ abilities to conduct independent investigation and interpret the results of their research in a professional manner. The doctoral dissertation advisor serves as chairperson of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, which consists of no fewer than five members. Selection of an advisor is by mutual consent of the student and a member of the faculty, with approval by the director of graduate studies in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. At least two members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee must be faculty members in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. At least one member is to be selected from outside the department. Committee members are chosen for their expertise in students’ research areas.
Dissertation Proposal Defense
Within a year after successful completion of the PhD qualifying examination, but no later than the beginning of the fall semester of the third year, students must prepare and defend a written proposal detailing their planned dissertation project. Failure to do so will be regarded as a failure to progress in the PhD program and will result in a warning from the director of graduate studies of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Students who do not correct this deficiency within one semester will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation must complete the dissertation proposal defense and return to nonprobationary status within one semester or be dismissed from the PhD program.
The dissertation proposal should be no more than 50 double-spaced pages (12-point font minimum and one-half-inch margins on all sides). This page limit excludes references but includes figures, figure legends, and tables. Aside from these exceptions, the proposal should otherwise conform to the format and structure of an NIH grant proposal with four main sections: specific aims, background and significance, preliminary studies, and experimental design and methods. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Dissertation Proposal document provides detailed instructions on the preparation of a dissertation proposal. Associated required forms may be found on the SOPPS Student Portal Canvas site.
The dissertation proposal must be defended orally before the student's dissertation committee and signed by all dissertation committee members in approval of the student's planned dissertation research. Upon dissertation approval, the copies of the signed proposal approval cover sheet must be submitted to the department’s director of graduate studies and to the Bouvé College of Health Sciences Graduate Office.
Biannual Review
Dissertation committees meet routinely at six-month intervals, but no less than once a year, to evaluate students’ research progress and to be presented with written and oral progress reports on the direction and status of the research. Progress reports should be written in a brief format, identical to that described for the formal dissertation (see instructions listed on the SOPPS Student Portal Canvas site). Unsatisfactory productivity provides the basis for a warning by the dissertation committee and/or the Graduate Committee. Two such warnings will result in a student’s dismissal from the program.
Registration for Dissertation
Advisor consent and completion of all coursework (with the exception of the colloquium course) must be documented before students register for the first dissertation course. Students must register for Dissertation Term 1 (PHSC 9990) and Dissertation Term 2 (PHSC 9991). Students must register for Dissertation Continuation (PHSC 9996) each semester thereafter until the dissertation has been successfully defended. The department strongly encourages PhD students to complete the program within five years after acceptance, i.e., by three years after establishing degree candidacy. According to university policy, no PhD students may remain in the program for more than seven years.
Publications and Presentations
Prior to completion of PhD training, candidates must present their research either as a poster or podium presentation at a regional or national scientific conference. Also prior to completion, the student must have submitted (preferably, published) at least one manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal that reflects original findings and laboratory work from the candidate's dissertation research.
PhD Dissertation Preparation
Detailed guidelines for the format and content of the written dissertation are given in Instructions for Preparation of the Dissertation found on the SOPPS Student Portal Canvas site. The completed dissertation document should be reviewed first by the dissertation advisor. Feedback from the advisor should be incorporated into the dissertation draft before its distribution to the dissertation committee. The completed dissertation should be delivered to all dissertation committee members no later than two weeks before the scheduled oral defense.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Colloquium
All PhD candidates nearing completion of their research are required to present their dissertation findings at the department’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Colloquium. These presentations should be scheduled at least six months before anticipated completion of the dissertation. In turn, the dissertation should be completed no later than one year after the colloquium presentation. Students must register for Pharmaceutical Science Colloquium (PHSC 6810) during the semester that the colloquium presentation is to be given.
Oral Dissertation Defense
The oral dissertation defense takes place after students complete their PhD dissertation research and all other requirements for the PhD degree. The oral defense deals with the subject matter of the dissertation, significant developments in the field, and students’ background knowledge in their field of concentration.
The dissertation committee conducts the final defense. The committee may recommend that the student clarify, amplify, or rewrite portions of the dissertation before the final defense is scheduled. Once the committee concurs that that written dissertation document is acceptable, a date is chosen for the final oral examination.
At least two weeks prior to the defense, students should inform the director of graduate studies in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the date of defense, so that advance announcement may be distributed. The final defense is open to anyone who wishes to attend and typically lasts at least two hours. After presentation of the work by the student in a seminar format, and responses to audience and committee questions, the committee meets first with the student for any follow-up discussion and then in executive session to decide whether the student has defended the dissertation successfully.
The committee’s decision is then announced to the student. If the committee’s vote is favorable, the student incorporates committee suggestions and corrections, if applicable, and the dissertation is signed and passed on to the department’s director of graduate studies. Requests for a second defense are highly irregular but may be permitted in the event that the previous oral defense was judged by the committee to be highly promising but inadequate in one critical aspect.
Deadline
The final dissertation must be written, defended, and approved at least two weeks before the university commencement deadline. Students must submit signed copies of their dissertations to the website designated by the university and must abide by any embargo sanctioned by the student’s principal dissertation advisor and/or dissertation committee. The students should apply for graduation before the final dissertation defense, on the assumption that the dissertation will be approved. If the dissertation committee decides that more time is required to complete the dissertation beyond the commencement date, then the application for graduation can be withdrawn and a new one submitted pending final dissertation approval.
SOPPS Professional Code of Conduct
All SOPPS students (BSPS, Preprofessional, MS, and PhD) are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct.
Please visit Bouvé College of Health Sciences Program Learning Outcomes for the specific student learning outcomes for this program.
- Concentrations and course offerings may vary by campus and/or by program modality. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for the course availability each term at your campus or within your program modality.
- Certain options within the program may be required at certain campuses or for certain program modalities. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for requirements at your campus or for your program modality.
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
Milestones
Qualifying examination
Doctoral candidacy status
Doctoral dissertation committee
Dissertation proposal
Biannual review
Pharmaceutical Sciences Colloquium
Oral dissertation defense
Core Requirements
A grade of C– or higher is required in each course.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| 6 |
| Pharmaceutical Science Seminar | |
| PHSC 5100 | Concepts in Pharmaceutical Science | 2 |
| PHSC 5102 | Concepts in Pharmaceutical Science 2 | 2 |
| PHSC 5212 | Research Skills and Ethics | 2 |
| PHSC 5305 | Professional Development for Pharmaceutical Sciences | 1 |
| PHSC 6213 | Ethical Problems in Health Sciences Research | 2 |
| PHSC 6214 | Experimental Design and Biostatistics | 2 |
| CHEM 5626 | Organic Synthesis 1 | 3 |
| CHEM 5628 | Principles of Spectroscopy of Organic Compounds | 3 |
| PHSC 5450 | Contemporary Approaches to Drug Design | 3 |
Research and Dissertation
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| PHSC 7020 | Scientific Writing: Thesis Proposal | 2 |
| PHSC 8940 | Doctoral Training and Research | 1 |
| PHSC 9681 | Doctoral Proposal | 2 |
| Dissertation Term 1 | |
| Dissertation Term 2 | |
| PHSC 6810 | Pharmaceutical Science Colloquium | 1 |
Program Credit/GPA Requirements
32 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
- Concentrations and course offerings may vary by campus and/or by program modality. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for the course availability each term at your campus or within your program modality.
- Certain options within the program may be required at certain campuses or for certain program modalities. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for requirements at your campus or for your program modality.
Advanced entry into the Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery PhD program requires a master's degree in pharmaceutical sciences or a related area and focuses on various advanced research courses and successful defense of the dissertation. An applicant's transcripts are required to be reviewed by the admissions committee to ensure they are eligible to be in the advanced entry program.
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
Milestones
Annual review
Qualifying examination
Dissertation committee
Dissertation proposal
Dissertation defense
Core Requirements
A grade of C– or higher is required in each course.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| PHSC 6213 | Ethical Problems in Health Sciences Research | 2 |
| 4 |
| Pharmaceutical Science Seminar | |
| PHSC 6810 | Pharmaceutical Science Colloquium | 1 |
Research and Dissertation
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| PHSC 8940 | Doctoral Training and Research | 1 |
| PHSC 9681 | Doctoral Proposal | 2 |
| Dissertation Term 1 | |
| Dissertation Term 2 | |
Program Credit/GPA Requirements
10 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
