Program Information

The College of Pharmacy offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a concentration in Medicinal Chemistry. Medicinal chemistry is a unique blend of the physical and biological sciences. The scope of the field is sufficiently broad to give students with many different science backgrounds a rewarding and challenging program of study. Areas of active research include organic synthesis of medicinal agents, metal chelate design, prodrugs and topical drug delivery, drug metabolism, molecular toxicology, molecular biology, combinatorial chemistry, neurochemistry, analytical chemistry, molecular modeling, natural products, and drug discovery.

The College also offers the Master of Science in Pharmacy degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (non-thesis option) with concentrations in both forensic drug chemistry and forensic serology and DNA in a distance learning format. Minimum requirements for the M.S.P. and Ph.D. degrees are described in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

The applicant should have an undergraduate degree in pharmacy, chemistry, biology, or premedical sciences. A background in calculus and physical and organic chemistry is required. In addition to graduate medicinal chemistry courses in the College of Pharmacy, graduate courses in chemistry and biochemistry are required for the program.

For more information, please see our websites: http://pharmacy.ufl.edu/education/graduate-programs and http://pharmacy.ufl.edu/mc

Degrees Offered With a Major in Pharmaceutical Sciences through the Department of MEdicinal Chemistry

• Doctor of Philosophy
  • concentration in Medicinal Chemistry
    •  optional second concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
    • optional second concentration in Toxicology
• Master of Science in Pharmacy
  • concentration in Clinical Toxicology
  • concentration in Drug Development and Optimized Pharmacotherapy
  • concentration in Forensic DNA and Serology
  • concentration in Forensic Drug Chemistry
  • concentration in Forensic Science
  • concentration in Medicinal Chemistry
  • concentration in Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

Medicinal Chemistry Courses

Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy Courses

Pharmacodynamics Courses

Pharmacology Courses

Medicinal Chemistry Departmental Courses

College of Pharmacy Courses

PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES (PH.D.)

SLO 1    
Knowledge
Identify, interpret, and utilize core knowledge across the spectrum of Pharmaceutical Sciences as it relates to the student's research. At the most advanced level, this will include interpreting experimental data and designing experiments.

SLO 2   
​Problem Solving/Critical Thinking
Apply discipline- and research project-related knowledge to complete the student's dissertation research by formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, interpreting results, and forming conclusions from their experiments.

SLO 3   
​Skills
Discuss and defend the published literature of the Pharmaceutical Sciences field. The students will present analysis of the literature in a formal, structured class setting to clearly convey the background, methods, results, and significance of the literature to faculty and students.

SLO 4   
Research Skills
Utilize the scientific method to formulate hypotheses based on their ability to use the literature, their own experimental observations, and those of others; design a technically sound and up-to-date experimental plan with appropriate controls; execute the experimental plan in a technically proficient manner; interpret the data; reformulate the hypotheses.

SLO 5    
​Professional Behavior
Exhibit behaviors and values that are consistent with ethical standards in research appropriate to safety, administrative, and regulatory rules. Professionalism, safety and adherence to regulations will be monitored by the student's mentor.

SLO6
Professional Presentations
​Deliver a formal scholarly presentation of their original research results in oral and written formats at an internal academic review. These presentations will be clear in providing information at an appropriate level to the audience, complete in providing the necessary and relevant background from the literature and will utilize appropriate audiovisual aids that are clearly constructed.

Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry (MSP)    

SLO 1 
Knowledge
Identify, interpret, and utilize core knowledge across the spectrum of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

SLO 2 
Problem-Solving/Critical Thinking 
Analyze and apply material from foundation courses in the curriculum, interpret data, and synthesize a response to a complex problem or case.

SLO 3
Professional Communication
Deliver a presentation of a discipline-specific topic related to Pharmaceutical Sciences for internal academic review. These presentations will be clear in providing information at an appropriate level to the audience, complete in providing the necessary and relevant background from the literature, and will utilize appropriate audiovisual aids that are clearly constructed.