Dual Degree

PharmD + PhD

With the expanding needs in health care, there is a growing need to translate today’s research findings into tomorrow’s health care solutions.

The WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS), in collaboration with the WSU Graduate School, has established a combined, sequential Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)/Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine program that allows some aspects of the PhD experience to be initiated during the PharmD curriculum.

The goal of this program is to integrate and expedite completion of the dual degrees in a time frame that is approximately two years shorter than it would be otherwise.

Program Admission

PharmD students may apply to the PhD program in either their second or third professional year (PY2 or PY3). Applicants follow the regular admission process for the PhD program through WSU Graduate School. Any student interested in applying should contact the Director of the PharmD/PhD Program early on.

Prerequisites

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0)
  • Satisfactory completion of all PharmD courses
  • Statement of purpose and three letters of recommendation

Applicants are strongly encouraged to gain research experience with a Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program faculty member before applying. Admission into the PhD program is competitive, and students are expected to be strong academically as well as having an established interest in research. Students accepted into the dual degree program will be admitted to the PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine contingent upon their satisfactory completion of the PharmD degree and other outlined requirements.

Research Experience

Students interested in the PharmD/PhD program should gain research experience prior to applying to the PhD program. Students should seek out research experiences with potential PhD mentors that are Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members. Research experiences can include:

Electives

Doctor of Pharmacy students in any professional year can take approved Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate courses as electives. The credit for these graduate courses can be reserved so they can count towards both graduate course credit and elective requirements of the PharmD program. Students interested in applying to the PharmD/PhD program or students contingently admitted to the program should contact the Director of the PharmD/PhD program before the start of each semester to complete necessary forms prior to starting these electives.

Financial Aid

Once students in the PharmD/PhD program complete their Doctor of Pharmacy and matriculate into the PhD program, they will be offered a graduate stipend support package (contingent on availability of funds).

PhD students will also be eligible to apply for extramural support to provide or supplement their usual graduate stipend.