The Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences is offered by the School of Pharmacy on the Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University and is located in the Robert Blackwell Smith Building, McGuire Hall, and Virginia Biotechnology Center. The School of Pharmacy was founded in 1898 and is Virginia's oldest school of pharmacy. The School offers the only Ph.D. curriculum in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Virginia, which is taught by internationally recognized research faculty. The School has over 50 full-time faculty in Pharmaceutics Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy Administration, and Pharmacotherapy. The Smith Building is also home to the School of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
For questions about the Medicinal Chemistry Track, please click here. For questions about the other tracks or overall program questions, please contact Global Education Office coordinator. Questions about submitted applications should be directed to Mrs. Ashley Brown.
VCU Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program Graduate education in the pharmaceutical sciences occupies a critical position in the varied missions of the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University. The maintenance of high standards of quality, while serving the career objectives of our students, are the responsibilities of the School in conjunction with the individual departments offering advanced degree programs.
Ph.D., M.S. and M.P.S. students are enrolled in a specific department’s track. Each department’s track is the responsibility of the department’s Graduate Program Director. The details of didactic and scholarly requirements are available from the department
handbook. Each department’s track is represented by the Graduate Program Director, who is appointed by the respective Department Chair. The Graduate Program Directors act on behalf of the programs and hold the responsibility and authority to represent the respective department(s) and their faculties to the School.
Students completing the Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences at VCU will have a base of fundamental knowledge in General Pharmaceutical Sciences and have a more extensive mastery of their specialty area.
M.P.S. Program - The major difference between the existing M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences is that the M.P.S program does not focus on research; instead it focuses on the knowledge and skills that are needed by persons who already work in the pharmaceutical industry or who wish to pursue additional professional or graduate studies in related areas.
All students enrolled in the Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences program will be required to prepare a written review of the literature suitable for publication in a journal specified by the student’s advisor. An oral defense will consist of a public presentation of the review and a committee examination of the student on the literature review and their course work. It is anticipated that students will spend 1-2 semesters performing literature research and writing their review of the literature. The student, exclusive of literature research credits, must earn a minimum of 30 credit hours.
Students who wish to apply to the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program at Virginia Commonwealth University can find out more information by clicking here and also filling out an application from the
VCU Graduate School for domestic students and permanent residents and
Office of International Admissions for international students.
In the School of Pharmacy, the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program is coordinated through the Office of the Director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program, Dr. Susanna Wu-Pong,
(swupong@vcu.edu).