Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Pharmaceutical Sciences, PhD and Pharmaceutical Sciences/Medicinal Chemistry Specialization, PhD


Colleges  > College of Pharmacy  > Pharmaceutical Sciences, PhD and Pharmaceutical Sciences/Medicinal Chemistry Specialization, PhD

Pharmaceutical Sciences is the study of the mechanisms of action of drugs and their effects on normal and disease states. It is a science based upon integrating chemistry, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology and physiology. Students in the Pharmaceutical Sciences program may develop research projects in the areas of renal physiology, autonomic and central nervous systems, cardiovascular pharmacology, signal transduction, cellular physiology of exercise and aging, or protein biochemistry. Graduates pursue careers in academia, government, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Students may also study for a concentration in Medicinal Chemistry in the areas of:

  1. virtual drug screening and design;
  2. high throughput screening and drug syntheses;
  3. characterization of drug targets and developing of novel therapeutic interventions; or
  4. therapeutic natural product screening and identification.

For more information, please visit the Pharmaceutical Science, Pharmaceutical Science/Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics program website: http://www.uh.edu/pharmacy/prospective-students/graduate-programs/pharmacology-and-pharmaceutics/.

Admission Requirements


Applicants must 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. For the Pharmaceutical Sciences program, previous undergraduate courses in physiology and biochemistry are required. 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 term in which the student took the first of the 60 most recently earned term hours. GRE scores are evaluated as one criterion in the total graduate application, along with GPA, research experience and three letters of recommendation. In person or online interviews will be done with selected applicants. A test for English proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS) is required for international applicants, according to the University Houston requirements.

For more information, please visit the Admissions for PhD Programs webpage: http://www.uh.edu/pharmacy/prospective-students/graduate-programs/phd-graduate-admissions/.

Degree Requirements


Credit hours required for this degree: 75.0

The student must complete a minimum of 75 credit hours for the PhD degree, including 38 credit hours of research and a minimum of 37 credit hours of graduate or doctoral degree courses approved by the departmental faculty. Before achieving full doctoral degree candidacy, the student must progress through a two-step qualifying process. The student must:

  1. take a written examination that addresses the student’s knowledge in the area of his/her dissertation research, and
  2. prepare a proposal defining his/her dissertation project, and conduct an oral defense of it.

Each student must write a dissertation and successfully defend it orally before the dissertation committee and the departmental faculty. This oral defense examination emphasizes the student’s dissertation but also covers general knowledge in the field of specialty.

Elective Courses


Below are listed courses that are often taken as electives, however there are numerous others available at the University of Houston and at Texas Medical Center Institutions.

Department/Program Academic Policies


A minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 (A=4.00) must be maintained in all graduate level courses required for the PhD degree in order to obtain an advanced degree from the College of Pharmacy. Graduate-level courses are defined as all courses required for the PhD degree as defined either by the department and/or dissertation committee. Graduate students are allowed only two ‘C’ grades throughout the PhD program. Students will be automatically put on probation upon receipt of their second ‘C’ grade and will be withdrawn from the program upon receipt of their third ‘C’ grade. Additionally, students receiving a grade below ‘C’ in any core course are required to repeat the course during its next offering. A student with a D, F, or I as the most recent grade in a graduate level course for a degree plan will not be eligible for graduation.