The Doctor of Pharmacy Program
  External PharmD Program
  Graduate Program - Medicinal Chemistry
  Graduate Program - Pharmaceutics
  Graduate Program - Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy
  PharmD/MS in Pharmaceutical Policy Research & Policy
  PharmD/Physican's Assistant Program
  Pharmacological Sciences Training Program
  Certificate, Fellowship and Residency Programs

The Doctor of Pharmacy Program

The School of Pharmacy offers a four-year program leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. Students must complete two years of college-level prerequisite courses prior to program entry. The curriculum of the PharmD program is designed to provide students with the scientific background and clinical skills to render pharmaceutical care in a changing health care system. Instructional methods emphasize the critical thinking and problem solving skills necessary to provide rational drug therapy, promote healthy lifestyles and disease prevention, enhance patient compliance, reduce medication-related problems, and optimize health outcomes. Professional elective courses allow students to design a program compatible with individual areas of interest. Dual degree options include the PharmD/PhD programs in Pharmaceutics or Medicinal Chemistry and the PharmD/MS program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes. The School aspires to foster a commitment to life-long learning and provide an environment where students can develop the knowledge, attitudes and values consistent with the profession's high standards.

External PharmD Program

The nontraditional PharmD program is a collaborative effort between the UW School of Pharmacy and the WSU College of Pharmacy. It is designed to provide the same outcomes and educational quality as a traditional program leading to the first professional PharmD, while allowing for greater accessibility to pharmacists in the state of Washington.

Graduate Program - Medicinal Chemistry

The Department of Medicinal Chemistry offers a program of graduate study leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Occasionally students complete the MS degree. The primary areas of research training of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry are in chemical and molecular aspects of drug action and of drug metabolism including both laboratory experiments and theoretical work. Studies in the field include, for example, the relationship between chemical structure and biologic effect, function and toxicity, delineation of the metabolic spectrum of drugs or foreign substances in man and animals, and the factors (environment, disease, etc.) that affect this spectrum of metabolites; the study of the nature and catalytic properties of the enzymes responsible for metabolic reactions and the molecular mechanisms by which such reactions occur. Theoretical studies on conformational aspects of important enzymes involved in these processes are under study.

Students with degrees in pharmacy or in the biological or physical sciences may be accepted for graduate study in medicinal chemistry. Students who plan to pursue graduate study may expedite their programs by selection of pertinent electives. Although the choice of electives varies with the student's ultimate goals, graduate study in medicinal chemistry requires adequate preparation in mathematics and in the biological and physical sciences.

Graduate Program - Pharmaceutics

The Department of Pharmaceutics offers programs of graduate study leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The program provides research training in the fundamental aspects of drug disposition, drug delivery, and drug action in animals and man. Drug disposition includes the phenomena of absorption, distribution, and elimination. Pharmacokinetics is the study of time course of these processes and the time course of pharmacological effects. Drug delivery includes targeting of drugs to tissues or specific cells to improve therapeutic effect. These areas of research have a wide range of applications, particularly in the pharmacological characterization of new drug molecules in pharmaceutical development. Graduates of this program possess expertise in a variety of analytical techniques and the elaboration of mathematical models to describe drug disposition and pharmacological processes. 

A wide range of career paths is available to graduates of this program. Opportunities include research in the pharmaceutical industry, research in hospitals, institutes, and foundations; teaching and research in academic institutions; and positions with government regulatory agencies.

Students with degrees in pharmacy, chemistry, or in the biological sciences may be accepted for graduate study in pharmaceutics. Students who plan to pursue graduate study may expedite their programs by selection of pertinent electives.

Graduate Program - Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy

The Department of Pharmacy offers graduate study leading to a PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy. The emphasis of this program is in the health and cost outcomes of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical services and policies. Graduate training in this program prepares students for career opportunities in teaching and research positions in universities, safety and economic evaluation of products in the pharmaceutical industry, policy analysis of governmental agencies, and drug use management within health care delivery and financing organizations.

Students with professional degrees in pharmacy, medicine, or a health-related may apply. Students with Baccalaureate or Masters Degrees in related fields such as epidemiology, economics, or public health are also encouraged to apply.

Also offered is the track-in PharmD/MS Program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy. This program provides the opportunity for 1-2 students currently completing their PharmD training at the University of Washington to enter the Graduate Program in their 4th year of training. The program requires completion of 64 credit hours, a written thesis and a quarter of practicum in a managed care, government, industry or other appropriate setting. At the end of this training, students may elect to receive a Masterâs degree, or continue on towards a PhD degree.

PharmD/MS in Pharmaceutical Policy Research & Policy

The Department of Pharmacy offers a combined PharmD-MS program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy. This program is targeted towards outstanding students currently enrolled in the School of Pharmacy's PharmD program who have a proven interest in the field of Outcomes Research and Policy. The concurrent degree program allows students enrolled in the School of Pharmacy’s professional program to pursue a PharmD and MS degree, and to complete both degrees within a 5-year period. Students will complete extensive graduate coursework, and will complete 10 credits of practicum and research training in a managed care, government, industry or other appropriate setting. The program offers efficient and specialized training in pharmaceutical outcomes, through research experience, and classroom training.

PharmD/Physican's Assistant Program

Primary care practitioners are in high demand.  Physician Assistants (PA's) and Advanced Nurse Practitioner's (ANP’s) are being promoted as primary care providers and physician extenders in the new models for delivering health care services.  Pharmacists can deliver primary care and are the health care professionals found most often outside metropolitan areas.  Pharmacists alone can reach 30% of all rural patients who don't have access to a primary care physician.  With 6-plus years of education, steeped in pharmacotherapy, pharmacy education provides a solid foundation for much of what is termed primary care.

The School of Pharmacy has joined with the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program at the University of Washington, School of Medicine to coordinate the development of a joint degree program to produce a practitioner that is prepared to sit for both the Pharmacy and Physician Assistant National Boards. More information about the MEDEX program can be found on their website. Students interested in this program should contact Dr. Allan Ellsworth, 206/598-5618, for more information.

Pharmacological Sciences Training Program

The primary objective of this predoctoral training grant program in Pharmacological Sciences is to develop scientists equipped with the necessary background in the basic biological and physical sciences, and training in the application of modern tools of research and instrumental techniques to undertake and direct fundamental research related to drug action, metabolism and kinetics. These aspects include mechanisms by which drugs produce their effects on organisms and also the effects of biomedical systems on drugs, including the areas of drug distribution, bioavailability, metabolic processes, elimination and study of kinetics of these processes. The training program supports selected PhD students in the broadly defined areas of drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, cellular pharmacology and molecular pharmacology which presently exist in the departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology.