UW Pharmacology Graduate Program Overview
Pharmacology explores the nature of interactions between drugs and biological systems, and their applications to the treatment of disease. Courses in this field are offered to graduate, medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, and other interested UW students.
The Department of Pharmacology offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.
Admissions Requirement
GRE Scores are not required.
A baccalaureate degree with a major in any of the sciences, such as biochemistry, chemistry, pharmacy, physics, physiology, psychology, or zoology, is strongly advised. Students are selected from the applicant pool based on several criteria, including academic performance, letters of recommendation, and previous research experience.
Graduation Requirements
Minimum of 90 credits, to include:
1. PHCOL 501-506 course series with a minimum grade of 2.7 for each course.
2. Enrollment in PHCOL 507 throughout graduate school;
3. PHCOL 514 in the first and second years of graduate study.
4. PHCOL 519 (laboratory rotations) 10-week lab rotation during the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters of the first year to acquaint the student with various areas of pharmacology and research under investigation within the department.
5. Four advanced 2-3 credit graded elective courses in pharmacology in addition to the PHCOL 501 through PHCOL 506 series.
6. Creditable passage of the General examination.
7. Thesis research beginning the second and subsequent years of study. Students are expected to finish all degree requirements and complete their thesis research within six-years from time of matriculation.
8. Completion of an approved PhD dissertation and creditable passage of the Final Examination, which is the defense of the dissertation.
Time to Doctoral Degree
The Graduate Program in the Pharmacology Department is designed to provide the guidance and mentoring necessary for graduate students to finish all course requirements and complete and defend their thesis research within a period of 6 years from matriculation. In the Winter quarter (Year 2) after entering their thesis lab, students will form and convene their Doctoral Thesis Supervisory Committee to review the their progress in preparation for the general exam.
Following completion of the general exam, students are required to meet with their Doctoral Thesis Supervisory Committee at least once every 12 months. The committee and the student develop a definite plan of action for achieving specific goals, which will be summarized in the annual thesis committee report. Stipend and tuition support extending beyond year 6 are dependent on Thesis Committee approval and the advisor’s research funding or appropriate training grant support.
Financial Aid
Financial support is offered to students who maintain satisfactory academic progress. Tuition and stipends are provided by National Institutes of Health training grants, University of Washington teaching assistantships, individual research grants, and fellowships from private sources.
Contact
phcoladm@uw.edu