Program Requirements
Students typically complete all requirements for graduation from the Pharmacology & Toxicology Graduate Doctoral Program within 5 years, but must complete all requirements including their defense of their dissertation within 8 years. A brief overview of course and research requirements is given below. More detailed information regarding requirements of the program requirements is available in Practices and Procedures for the Ph.D. Program in Pharmacology & Toxicology.
Required Courses
Courses required by the doctoral graduate program are intended to provide a solid background upon which to build an understanding of pharmacological and toxicological concepts. Biochemistry and Physiology courses serve as this background and are taken during the Fall and Spring semesters of the first year - before students begin pharmacology and toxicology courses. The minimum acceptable grade point average to maintain graduate student status after the end of the spring semester of the first year is 3.0.
BMB 801 - Molecular Biology (3 credits)
BMB 802 – Metabolic Regulation and Signal Transduction (3 credits)
PHM 827 - Physiology and Pharmacology of Excitable Cells (4 credits)
PSL 828 - Cellular and Integrative Physiology (4 credits)
PHM 819 - Principles of Drug-Tissue Interactions (2 credits)
PHM 820 - Cellular, Molecular and Integrated Systems Pharmacology & Toxicology (4 credits)
PHM 870 - Research Rotation (2 credits)
PHM 910 - Seminar Discussions of Current Topics (1 credit)
PHM 980 - Problems/Biostatistics (3 credits)
PHM 999 - Doctoral dissertation research (1 to 24 credits)
Elective Courses
Students are required to take a minimum of one elective course - there is no credit minimum or maximum. Students are encouraged to take electives in advanced areas of pharmacology, toxicology and other disciplines that complement their research interests. Elective course selection should be made by the student following consultation with the student’s dissertation advisor and Guidance Committee. Doctoral students typically choose from the following courses:
PHM 804 - Molecular and Developmental Neurobiology (3 credits)
PHM 806 - Advanced Neuroscience Techniques Laboratory (3-9 credits)
PHM 810 - Synaptic Transmission (3 credits)
PHM 813 - Cardiovascular Pharmacology (3 credits)
PHM 816 – Integrative Toxicology (3 credits)
PHM 839 - Systems Neuroscience (4 credits)
For those students with interest in specializations or dual degree programs, there will be additional requirements.
Research Requirements
Laboratory Rotations
During their first year, students participate in a research rotation program. During the first three weeks of the fall semester, students meet as a group with faculty to become familiar with the breadth of research activities within the department. Throughout the remaining fall semester (Rotation 1) and full spring semester (Rotation 2) each student works in the laboratory of a potential faculty dissertation advisor. During the period of research rotations, emphasis is placed on active participation in laboratory work, intellectual engagement in the research project and field of study and demonstration of potential for a research career in pharmacology or toxicology.
Dissertation Research
At the end of the second semester of graduate study, students select one faculty member to serve as the major advisor for their dissertation research. A guidance committee oversees the student's course work, provides advice concerning dissertation research, and conducts the oral defense of the dissertation. At all times during a student's course of study and research, members of the Guidance Committee are available for consultation.
Students conduct an original dissertation project based on the approved dissertation proposal. Students present a public seminar based on their PhD dissertation, which precedes the dissertation defense with the student's dissertation Guidance Committee. PhD candidates have many resources available while conducting their research and authoring their dissertation. Resources range from considerable support from faculty advisors to workshops on research ethics and dissertation writing.
Seminar Requirements
Graduate students in the Pharmacology & Toxicology Graduate Program present seminars during progressive stages of their graduate training. These include presentation of their research conducted during research rotations at the end of their first year, presentation of their dissertation research proposal during their third year, and dissertation defense seminars.
Teaching Requirements
After their second year of training, graduate students participate in the teaching in undergraduate pharmacology and toxicology courses. Students gain experience in creation and delivery of lecture material, and development and grading of examinations. Students also proctor examinations in professional and medical school courses given by the department, and may elect to act as tutors for Pharmacology & Toxicology-based undergraduate and graduate students.
Comprehensive Examination
At the end of spring semester of their second year, students take a common written component of comprehensive examination that covers broad areas of pharmacology and toxicology. The written examination is designed to assess the student's knowledge of core concepts shared by all professional pharmacologists and toxicologists. Within six months after the written component has been passed each student completes the oral component of the comprehensive examination - which is a defense of a dissertation proposal and an evaluation of the student’s knowledge of related areas of pharmacology and toxicology by their dissertation committee. In addition, students are required to present a formal public seminar based on their dissertation proposal.