Pharmaceutics, Ph.D.

Admission Requirements

General Admissions Requirements

Applicants must have, or nearly have, at least a Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, biology, biochemistry, chemistry or related discipline from either an accredited academic or professional institution comparable to the Bachelor of Science degree awarded at the University of Houston. Applicants 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 must have taken 3 credit-hour undergraduate courses in biochemistry and in human physiology.  These also may be taken the summer before entry to the program.

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.  A test for English proficiency is required for international applicants.  For additional specific admission requirements, applicants should visit Admission to the Program in Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

General Degree Requirements

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 a dissertation.  If a student completes coursework but cannot complete these other requirements, he/she may be able to finish with a contingent Master’s degree.

Ph.D. In Pharmaceutics

Required Didactic Courses

• PCEU 6341 - Advanced Pharmacokinetics Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCEU 6342 - Advanced Pharmaceutics I Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCEU 6345 - Advanced Pharmaceutics II Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 7370 - Scientific Writing Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCEU 7340 - Advanced Drug Delivery Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCEU 7350 - Fundamental Laboratory Methods Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCEU 7180 - Pharmaceutics Seminar Credit Hours: 1.0
• PCEU 7181 - Pharmaceutics Seminar Credit Hours: 1.0
• PCEU 6142 - Pharmaceutics Literature Review Credit Hours: 1.0
• PCEU 6143 - Pharmaceutics Literature Review Credit Hours: 1.0
• PCEU 7142 - Pharmaceutics Literature Review Credit Hours: 1.0
• PCEU 7355 - Regulatory Affairs Credit Hours: 3.0
• PHCA 6308 - Biostatistics: Experimental Design Credit Hours: 3.0
• BIOL 6197 - Responsible Conduct of Research
• Three Credit Elective

Elective Courses

For students who want to pursue a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Hotel and Restaurant Management and earn a Master of Science (M.S.) in Hospitality Management, the dual B..S./M.S. program offers an accelerated degree program to earn both in five years. The dual B.S./M.S. provides a clear and concise path toward accelerated academic goals and enables students to begin concentrated work on a professional focus in the hospitality industry during the final year of their B.S. degree plan. Students who are accepted into this program can complete 12 hours toward their M.S. degree as an undergraduate student, and the remaining credits for the M.S. can be completed in one additional calendar year as a graduate student.

• PCOL 6462 - Cardiovascular and Renal Pharmacology Credit Hours: 4.0
• PCOL 7297 - Selected Topics in Pharmacology Credit Hours: 2.0
• PCOL 7330 - Biochemical Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 7333 - Principals of Molecular Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 7350 - Cellular Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 7362 - Neuropharmacology Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 6370 - Advanced Pharmacology I Credit Hours: 3.0
• PCOL 6371 - Advanced Pharmacology II Credit Hours: 3.0

Research Requirements

In addition to course work, and qualifying exams, 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.