Pharmaceutical Sciences

Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Doctor of Philosophy

For More Information

Campus address: Pharmacy Building (PHR) 4.220, phone (512) 471-6590, fax (512) 471-4066; campus mail code: A1900

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program, College of Pharmacy, 2409 University Avenue Stop A1900, Austin TX 78712

E-mail: char.burke@austin.utexas.edu 

URL: http://sites.utexas.edu/adrgs/graduate-studies/

Facilities for Graduate Work

State-of-the-art research facilities are available for graduate education. Laboratories are equipped with the latest instrumentation and specialized support units for research in all of the areas of study mentioned below. Research space on the Austin campus is located in two pharmacy buildings, the Biomedical Engineering Building, the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, and in the Animal Resources Center. In San Antonio, basic laboratory and clinical research space is available in the McDermott Building on the campus of the University of Texas Health Science Center, and at affiliated institutions. Additional facilities for collaborative research in Austin are available in the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering, the Institute for Neuroscience, and the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology. Students in both Austin and San Antonio have access to extensive electronic journal holdings through the University Libraries website.

Drug Dynamics Institute. The Drug Dynamics Institute is a graduate and postdoctoral research training center where educators, students, scientists, business people, and government officials come together to share common interests in a wide range of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and public health problems. The mission of the institute is the discovery and communication of scientific and technological knowledge in drug development, manufacturing, marketing, and therapy. Projects in pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism, industrial pharmacy and technology, pharmacology and toxicology, and clinical pharmacy are currently under way. The Drug Dynamics Institute closes the gap between industry in three key areas: TherapeUTex: a preclinical core lab/service center, UTech Dorm Room: the wet lab incubator spacer bioscience startups, and Technology Readiness: innovation, entrepreneurship, and education programs.

Texas Center for Health Outcomes Research and Education (TxCORE). TxCORE addresses population and individual patient health through innovative, high-quality research and education, and serves our community by responding to critical health care issues that impact patients’ daily lives. The interdisciplinary team of researchers has expertise in health outcomes research, pharmacoeconomics, epidemiology, public health, and patient health behavior. The Center’s researchers and graduate students provide research design, data collection, and data analysis expertise to health care providers, payers, institutions and organizations, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Center personnel also develop, present, and support educational programs focused on the delivery of high-quality health care. For more information, visit the TxCORE website.

Center for Molecular Carcinogenesis and Toxicology. The University of Texas at Austin has established an interdisciplinary Center for Molecular Carcinogenesis and Toxicology (CMCT). The mission of the CMCT is to provide leadership for the expansion of programs in environmental health sciences education and research. The CMCT is supported by the College of Pharmacy and also involves faculty in the College of Natural Sciences and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Carcinogenesis, located in Smithville, Texas, about 40 miles east of Austin.

The CMCT fosters interdisciplinary graduate training programs by providing the mechanism by which students can work with a range of faculty interested in toxicology. This includes facilitating interdisciplinary research collaborations and providing ancillary student and research infrastructure support. The center’s faculty represent a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including pharmacology, toxicology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, neuroscience, nutrition, biochemistry, chemistry, marine biology, and civil and mechanical engineering.

Addiction Science Research and Education Center (ASREC). The mission of this center is to communicate the latest findings in addiction science to the public in terms that make the message easy to understand. University researchers in this dynamic area have been trained to communicate the latest findings in the field to a diverse audience, including addiction treatment professionals, medical personnel, social workers, psychologists, law enforcement personnel, teachers, students, and the general public.

Additional collaborative research is conducted between pharmacy faculty members and members of research institutes and centers across campus, including the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the Institute for Neuroscience, and the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research.

Areas of Study

The College of Pharmacy offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in pharmaceutical sciences. Areas of specialization are: chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, molecular pharmaceutics and drug delivery, health outcomes, and pharmacotherapy. Students pursuing either the Master of Science or the Doctor of Philosophy who hold a PharmD degree from a pharmacy program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education have opportunities for advanced practice training. They may complete a specialty practice residency while pursuing the graduate degree. More information is available from the graduate adviser.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring 2019 semester.

Jamie C Barner Carolyn M Brown M Lynn Crismon Maria A Croyle Zhengrong Cui Kevin N Dalby Patrick J Davis Sharon DeMorrow John Digiovanni Christine L Duvauchelle Walter L Fast Laura K Fonken Kentya C Ford Christopher R Frei Debadyuti Ghosh Rueben A Gonzales Andrea C Gore Tyler Harris Gums R A Harris Dawit Kidane-Mulat Jim M Koeller Yui-Wing F Lam Kenneth A Lawson

Grace Lee Seongmin Lee Steven W Leslie Hung-Wen Liu Michela Marinelli Robert Messing S J Mihic Edward M Mills Leticia R Moczygemba Somshuvra Mukhopadhyay Kimberly Nixon Karen L Rascati Kelly Renee Reveles John H Richburg Stephen R Saklad Hugh D Smyth Carla L Vandenberg Karen Marie Vasquez Christian P Whitman Robert O Williams III James P Wilson Feng Zhang

Admission Requirements

The applicant should have a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences, biology, chemistry, or a related field, or a professional pharmacy degree from an accredited institution in the United States or another country. Students are admitted to the program upon recommendation of the Graduate Studies Committee, provided that their undergraduate training includes appropriate work in fields related to the pharmaceutical and health sciences. Applicants without the appropriate background may be required to complete additional coursework after admission. For some areas of study, preference is given to students who have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from a college accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Preference is also given to applicants for the doctoral degree.