Pharmaceutical Sciences (PHD) - Pharmaceutics & Drug Delivery

Description

The Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmaceutics deals with the science of dosage form design and embraces all facets of the process of turning a new chemical entity into a medication that can be safely and effectively used by patients. Pharmaceutics deals with the formulation of drugs into dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, creams, gels, ointments, transdermal and transmucosal patches, solutions, sprays, drops, injectables, and many others.

Course Requirements

The graduate course work requirement for the Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmaceutics requires 36 semester hours of course work. The following core courses are required:

  • Statistics and Experimental Design [BISC 5504 (4 hours) or HP 626 -(3 hours)];
  • Graduate Student Survival Strategies (BMSC 6010) (2 hours) or Research Ethics (GRAD 6000) (1 hour);
  • Applied Pharmacokinetics (PHAR 7600) (3 hours);
  • Product Development (PHAR 7490) (3 hours);
  • Formulation Development (PHAR 6500) (3 hours);
  • Advanced Pharmaceutics (PHAR 7410) (4 hours);
  • Stability of Pharmaceutical Systems (PHAR 7440) (3 hours);
  • Applied Pharmaceutics (PHAR 7500) (2 hours);)

In addition, at least two of the following electives are required:

  • Colloid and Surface Science (CHME 5950) (3 hours);
  • Analytical Pharmaceutics (PHAR 7350) (3 hours);
  • Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (PHAR 6580) (3 hours);
  • Regulatory Science I (PHAR 6510) (3 hours);
  • Regulatory Science II (PHAR 6520) (3 hours);
  • Problems in Pharmaceutics (PHAR 5910, PHAR 5920) (1-3 hours);
  • Introduction to Polymer Science (CHME 5930) (3 hours);
  • Coating Materials Processing and Applications (CHME 5900) (3 hours).

Additional courses may be required by the student’s research director and/or advisory committee. If a required course is unavailable, the Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery graduate faculty may approve an alternative course for a particular student.

Seminar Requirement

Students are required to register for Seminar in Current Pharmaceutical Topics (PHAR 5930 or PHAR 5940) every semester.

Other Academic Requirements

Comprehensive Examination:

After completion of all course work, including any additional course work required by the research director and/or dissertation committee, a student must successfully pass a comprehensive examination. If a student fails one of the sections of the exam, he or she will be allowed to retake a second exam from a given faculty member. If a student fails more than one section of the exam, he or she will be terminated from the Ph.D. program and allowed to enter the master’s program. After passing the exam, a student enters the candidacy stage.

Dissertation Prospectus and Dissertation:

A minimum of 18 hours of dissertation research must be taken to meet degree requirements. Doctoral students must prepare and orally defend a dissertation prospectus before their dissertation committee. Doctoral students must prepare and orally defend their dissertation, based on original and independent research, before the same committee. The general procedures and composition of the committee are governed by Graduate School policy. Prior to the student's dissertation defense, the student must have a minimum of two completed manuscript ready for submission to a referred journal for publication.

Note: An applicant may enter the Ph.D. program directly, without having to enroll in the master’s program.

The policies and regulations contained in this online University of Mississippi Catalog are in effect for the current or selected semester. The catalog is not a contract, but rather a guide for the convenience of students. The University of Mississippi reserves the right to 1) change or withdraw courses; 2) change the fees, rules, and schedules for admission, registration, instruction, and graduation; and 3) change other regulations affecting the student body at any time. Implicit in each student’s enrollment with the university is an agreement to comply with university rules and regulations, which the university may modify to exercise properly its educational responsibility.