The Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, requiring 4 - 5 years to complete, is designed primarily for students who are strongly motivated toward an academic/ research career in the pharmaceutical sciences. The PhD program in pharmacy program is flexible enough to accommodate individuals of varied educational backgrounds.
The actual time required for completion of the program depends on the individual qualifications and interests of the student and generally takes about two years for students entering with a BS degree to satisfy course work requirements.
Selected majors/areas of research for a PhD in Pharmacy include
Pharmaceutical Care
Pharmaceutical Health, Policy and Management
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Students in a pharmacy doctoral program must pass a written and oral qualifying exam and then complete and formally defend a doctoral dissertation based on original research. In general, all pharmacy PhD programs require that successful candidates for the degree demonstrate:
The ability to conduct independent research at a high level, leading to completion of a dissertation which is defended before a committee of scholars. Because examinations given as part of a PhD curriculum assess expert knowledge, they are created and evaluated by a committee of experts, each of whom holds a PhD degree
Proficiency in the tools necessary to carry out this research, including but not limited to computer skills and bibliographic competence
Mastery of general and specific subject matter in the field of study before a committee of scholars.
Part- and full-time study options, along with various delivery modes - residential programs, distance education programs and online programs - are also available American PhD programs welcome foreign students into pharmacy. However, fluency in spoken and written English is critically important.
