Program Requirements

All students must successfully complete the core curriculum before advancing to the specific program requirements for their degree. Intensive graduate-level pharmacology and physiology courses round out the core programmatic courses. Specialization in ion channel physiology, smooth muscle physiology, neuropharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, and signal transduction processes may involve the taking of several elective courses. Each program requires defense of a thesis based on original research.

The PhD program, requiring a minimum of four years in full-time study, is focused on educating students to become independent researchers and teachers. The MS program, requiring two years of full-time study, provides a broad knowledge and technical expertise in pharmacology and physiology, allowing graduates to become partners in research in either an academic or industrial environment. Students who wish to continue their graduate studies after the MS degree may apply to the PhD program, and their course credits may be applied to the doctoral program.

Required Courses

The core curriculum is a comprehensive interdisciplinary program of study for all first-year research master's and PhD students in the Biomedical Graduate Studies programs. The goal of the core curriculum is to provide a broad foundation in biomedical sciences and serve as a framework for advanced study in more specialized areas.

Courses Repeatable for Credit

As well as taking all required courses, MS and PhD students may re-enroll in courses having the status "repeatable for credit" (such as journal club, seminar and research courses) for the duration of their program in order to meet the total number of credits required for graduation.

Please visit the Drexel Course Catalog for a full description of program courses

Program Guidelines

The following guidelines describe the academic policies and procedures pertaining to graduate study in the Pharmacology and Physiology program. The booklet contains current standards that are revised periodically by faculty in the Pharmacology and Physiology program, procedures and general rules of the Division of Biomedical Science Programs.

Download Pharmacology & Physiology PhD Policies [PDF]

Download Pharmacology & Physiology MS Policies [PDF]

Program Level Outcomes

Graduates of the PhD/Master of Science in Pharmacology and Physiology program will achieve seven program level outcomes that describe the skills, competencies and knowledge gained through completion of the program curriculum.

• Understand fundamental concepts in pharmacology and physiology
• Be able to design and perform hypothesis driven research that applies concepts in pharmacology, physiology and drug discovery
• Be able to effectively communicate scientific concepts and data from the literature as well as their own research to a broad range of audiences
• Be able to critically read and analyze scientific literature regarding the broad range of subject areas associated with pharmacology
• Be able to work effectively and collegially in collaborations as well as independently in the execution of research projects and associated analysis of scientific data
• Be able to employ creative problem solving skills
• Be able to conduct themselves with maturity and integrity in professional endeavors