The Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

The purpose of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is to prepare students to be leaders in the profession of pharmacy and to provide them with the tools to effectively practice in a wide variety of currently existing and potential future roles in hospitals and medical centers, community pharmacy settings, academia, government and the pharmaceutical industry. It is expected that the emerging fields of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics will have a profound influence on the future practice of pharmacy. Graduates of the UCSD School of Pharmacy are in an excellent position to bring these advances to the patient care setting.

The curriculum is dynamic and under frequent revision. Presently, the four-year Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is as follows:

Year 1 includes courses in anatomy, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, bioinformatics and an introduction to the practice of pharmacy.

Year 2 is devoted to pre-clinical biomedical and biological subjects. Pharmacy students are enrolled in courses with first year medical students. These courses include cell biology and biochemistry, organ physiology, pharmacology, neurosciences and endocrinology, reproduction and metabolism. Supplementary courses specific to the needs of pharmacy students, such as additional coursework in pharmacology, drug study design and pharmacy practice are also offered.

Year 3 builds on the basic sciences provided in Year 2 with courses in microbiology, pathology, histology, laboratory medicine, pharmacology and biopharmaceutics. Portions of these courses are taken with medical students. A course in therapeutics begins the process of applying the knowledge gained in the basic sciences to the clinical management of patients.

Year 4 is devoted entirely to clinical clerkships where students learn to apply the skills and knowledge obtained in the curriculum in a variety of clinical settings. Many of these clerkship experiences take place at UCSD-affiliated medical centers, such as UCSD Medical Center – Hillcrest, UCSD Medical Center – La Jolla, The Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in La Jolla, and San Diego Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. In addition, many other facilities throughout the region are utilized and clerkship experiences in the biotechnology companies and research facilities adjacent to the UCSD campus are being implemented. 

The common required and elective coursework taken by pharmacy and medical students and clerkship experiences where medical and pharmacy students work closely together have been created to foster the development of cooperation between the professions as well as develop an appreciation for the unique roles that each provides to the care of patients.

Areas of Emphasis

This program is available for the first time to students who entered UCSD as normal freshman in the Fall of 2005, and who declared one of the majors offered in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. (Students who were enrolled at UCSD prior to Fall 2005 and transfer students are not eligible for this program.)

Upon completion of the second undergraduate year at UCSD, and the required mathematics and science courses, students may apply for admission to the combined B.S./Pharm.D program. Applications for admission in the Fall of 2008 will be accepted beginning June 1, 2007. Applicants must complete a PharmCAS application no later than September 1, 2007 (see the admissions section of the website for information on PharmCAS). In addition, a UCSD Seven-Year BS/PharmD Application page and a UCSD Pharm.D. Program Supplemental Application must be completed and submitted no later than September 1, 2007. The application page and supplemental application will be available on-line on the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences website on June 1, 2007. Interviews will be conducted during the fall quarter of 2007. Decisions will be provided to the applicants by the start of the winter quarter 2008. Students who are not admitted through this special program are urged to apply through the regular process for admission in the fall of 2009.

Admission to the program and to the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will be conditional, requiring continued strong academic performance in the third year of required undergraduate courses. The fourth year of a student's undergraduate work will overlap with the first year of pharmacy school. At the end of the fourth year the student will receive the B.S. Degree. Only a small number of slots in the entering Pharm.D. class are set aside for students from this program. The limited number of students admitted through this program are expected to demonstrate outstanding academic performance and strong potential for leadership.

Students anticipating applying for this program should seek counseling early in their undergraduate education at UCSD. A list of Frequently Asked Questions has been created for this program. If, however, you need additional information regarding this program please contact an advisor in Chemistry & Biochemistry at chemadvising@ucsd.edu

We recommend you monitor this website for updates regarding the program.

The purpose of the Pharm.D. / Ph.D. Program is to prepare students for positions in academia, government and the pharmaceutical industry that will require experience and knowledge in the conduct of original investigation related to the pharmaceutical sciences. Students who complete this program will be uniquely suited to perform basic and clinical research and to translate the results of the research to clinical practice. The course of study will prepare graduates for careers as faculty members in Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy or other health professions where they will engage in academic instruction and research or to serve as leaders in drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry. The program is a joint program between the SSPPS and selected graduate programs on the UCSD campus. A distinction between the Pharm.D./Ph.D. and other joint doctoral programs is that training for the Pharm.D./Ph.D. degree is envisioned to be closely aligned with the drug development process as well as therapeutic practices and outcomes.

Students may apply to the program at the time of their application for admission to the SSPPS. In addition, students may be selected from first and second year students who are currently enrolled in the SSPPS.

Students admitted to the program will complete all required coursework in the first three years of the Pharm.D. curriculum. During elective opportunities in the second and third years of the curriculum, students will be expected to enroll in graduate coursework in their area of concentration. During the summers between the first and second and second and third years, students will explore research opportunities through laboratory rotations at UCSD and at adjacent research institutes with programs affiliated with UCSD, such as the Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute. Stipends and fellowships are available to support the summer research experiences. Early in the third year of the curriculum, students will select a graduate program and laboratory/mentor for thesis studies.

Following successful completion of the third year of the Pharm.D. curriculum, students will devote full-time to research for their Ph.D. thesis project. Once they have completed all of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, students will return to complete the fourth year Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences for the Pharm.D. degree. Following successful completion of all of the requirements, the candidate will be awarded both the Pharm.D. and the Ph.D. degree. It is anticipated that the program will take, on average, eight (8) years to complete the requirements for the joint degrees.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must meet all of the admission requirements for the Pharm.D. program. In addition, applicants must be highly motivated and committed to improving health care through the conduct of research, as demonstrated by their ability to perform and aptitude for conducting research.

Admission Procedures: Applicants to the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program must complete three (3) applications and pay all necessary application fees:

• An application to the UCSD Pharm.D. Program must be submitted through PharmCAS.
• A UCSD Pharm.D. Supplemental Application must be completed online on the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences website.
• A UCSD Pharm.D./Ph.D. Supplemental Application must be downloaded from the School website, completed and submitted with all supporting materials to the Admissions Committee.

For students entering in the Fall of 2007, the deadline for submission of all application materials is November 1, 2006.

Following receipt of all application materials, the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Admissions Committee will review applications and invite a select group of applicants for an interview. These applicants will have two interviews on the same day: One interview for admission to the Pharm.D. program and a second interview for admission to the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program. Following the interviews, a limited number of applicants will be offered admission to the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program. Applicants not offered admission to the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program will be reviewed along with others who have applied for admission to the Pharm.D. Program.