Pharmacy Students
PharmD, PharmTox, and Graduate Student Resources

J. Credit and Course Requirements

I. Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

The Minimum Graduate Residence Requirement refers to credits earned as a graduate student at UW–Madison. The Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program requires at least 16 graduate level (courses numbered 300 and above) credits in residence for the MS Pharmaceutical Sciences degree and at least 32 graduate level (courses numbered 300 and above) credits in residence for the PhD degree. For the latter, the 32 credits must be earned before earning dissertator status.

II. Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

For students to earn a MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences (research track) they must earn a minimum of 30 total graduate credits (courses numbered 300 and above). For the PhD, the requirement is 51 total graduate credits (courses numbered 300 and above). Note that all courses numbered 300 and above, including research and seminar, count towards this requirement.

 

III. Minimum Graduate Course Work (50%) Requirement

The Minimum Graduate Course Work Requirement states that at least 50% of the credits applied toward the program’s graduate degree credit requirements must be with courses designed specifically for graduate work. For students to earn a MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences (research track) at least HALF of all degree course work (15 of the 30 credits) must be completed in courses numbered 700 or higher. For the PhD, at least HALF of all degree course work (26 of the 51 credits) must be completed in courses numbered 700 or higher.

IV. Prior Course Work

Name of degree level Prior Course Work Requirements: Grad Work Other Institutions; UW-Madison Undergraduate; and UW–Madison University Special
MS Graduate Work at Other Institutions: With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 9 credits of graduate course work from other institutions (the student must have graduate student status on the other institution’s transcript at the time the courses were taken). Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
UW-Madison Undergraduate: With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 7 credits of UW-Madison courses numbered 500 or above (earned as a UW-Madison undergraduate) toward the MS degree. Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
UW-Madison University Special: With program approval and payment of the difference in tuition (between special and graduate tuition), students are allowed to count no more than 9 credits of course work numbered 500 or above taken as a UW-Madison special student. Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
PhD Graduate Work at Other Institutions: With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 15 credits of graduate course work from other institutions (the student must have graduate student status on the other institution’s transcript at the time the courses were taken). Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
UW-Madison Undergraduate: With approval of the School of Pharmacy’s Graduate Studies Dean, students are allowed to count no more than 7 credits of UW-Madison courses numbered 500-698 AND no more than 7 credits of UW-Madison courses numbered 700 or above (earned as a UW-Madison undergraduate) toward the PhD degree. Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
UW-Madison University Special: With program approval and payment of the difference in tuition (between special and graduate tuition), students are allowed to count no more than 15 credits of course work numbered 500 or above taken as a UW-Madison special student. Course work should be presented to the DGS for the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the first semester of enrollment for consideration. Course work earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

V. Course Requirements (“PSD Course Requirements”)

The following required interdisciplinary courses provide students a breadth of knowledge in the Pharmaceutical Sciences:

  • Course I – Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Phm Sci 718-780, 3 credits, Fall)
  • Courses II and III (Students must take 6 credits from at least two Core areas):
    • Discovery Core:
      • Natural Product Synthesis, Biosynthesis, and Drug Discovery (Phm Sci 718-786, 3 credits, offered Spring of odd years)
  • Action Core:
    • Cellular Signal Transduction Mechanisms
      (Biochemistry 630, 3 credits, Fall) – course is crosslisted with Zoology and Pharmacology-Med School (Note: This course is not currently being taught, but may return in the future)
    • Cellular and Molecular Biology/Pathology
      (Path 750, 3 credits, Spring) – (Must take 3-credit version)
    • Molecular and Cellular Principles in Pharmacology
      (Phmcl-M-781, 4 credits, Spring)
  • Delivery Core:
    • Molecular Recognition
      (Phm Sci 718-766, 2-3 credits, offered Fall of even years) – course is crosslisted with Chemistry
    • Molecular Solids
      (Phm Sci 718-773, 2 or 3 credits, usually offered Spring of  even years)
    • Polymetric Drug Delivery
      (Phm Sci 718-775, 2 or 3 credits, usually offered Spring of odd years)

Note: For students who entered the program Fall 2021 or earlier, Phm Sci 718-768 Pharmacokinetics (3 credits) counts as the Delivery Core course.

  • Ethics Course – A 1-credit ethics course is required.  The School of Pharmacy offers Research Ethics:  Scientific Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research (Pharmacy 726-800, 2 credits, offered in the fall semester of even years)
  • Seminar – Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar (Phm Sci 718-931/932, 1 credit each semester while in the PhD program).  There are three sections of the seminar course; students enroll in either the Drug Discovery, Drug Action, or Drug Delivery seminar.
  • Three (3) additional graduate-level credits – For students beginning in the Fall of 2019 and after, these 3 credits must be in the biological/chemical/physical sciences, in engineering, or in clinical investigation.  The course must count “toward the 50% graduate coursework requirement” as denoted in the university’s Course Guide.  Students may consult with the DGS to assess whether a given course or set of courses will meet this requirement.Courses may be from these UW departments: ANATOMY, ANAT&PHYS, BIOCHEM, BSE, BIOLOGY, BME, BMOLCHEM, BMI, BOTANY, CRB, CBE, CHEM, COMP BIO, COMP SCI, ECE, EP, FAM MED, FOOD SCI, GENETICS, H ONCOL, ISY E, MS & E, MATH, MD GENET, M M&I, MED PHYS, MED SC-M, MED SC-V, MEDICINE, MICROBIO, M&ENVTOX, MOL BIOL, NEUROL, NEURODPT, NTP, NURSING, NUTR, SCI, ONCOLOGY, PATH-BIO, PATH, PHM SCI, PHMCOL-M, PHS, PHYSICS, PL PATH, PSYCH, RADIOL, SOIL SCI, SURGERY, SURG SCI, ZOOLOGY. A list of popular elective courses at this level taken by recent Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students is maintained at https://pharmacy.wisc.edu/programs/pharmsci/curriculum/electives/.
  • Research – Students enroll in research credits each semester. In the fall semester of the first year, research credits for rotations are earned by enrolling in the 718-999 section of the DGS, and thereafter research credits for thesis work is earned by enrolling in the thesis’s advisors section of 718-990.
  • Additional Notes:
    • A grade of “B” or better must be achieved in each course for it to count towards the PSD Core Curriculum Requirements
    • School of Pharmacy policy requires that no student carry more than 7 credits with grade BC or lower in all graduate level coursework
    • A complete list of PSD Course Descriptions can be found in the Online Graduate Course Catalog
    • Please see the handbook section on registration for details about full-time enrollment requirements

VI. Area of Expertise

  • Each student is expected to attain a breadth of knowledge in Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as a depth of knowledge in their core area of expertise (Drug Action; Drug Delivery; or Drug Discovery)
  • Each student is expected to work with their Thesis Committee to identify the course(s) that will provide the desired depth of knowledge in their area of expertise
  • This may involve taking additional graduate courses in addition to courses that satisfy the PSD Course Requirements

VII. Graduate School Academic Guidelines

In order for a PhD to be awarded the Graduate School requires:

  • A grade point average of 3.0 or above for graduate-level courses (excluding research)
  • Grades of “BC”, “C” or lower are considered unsatisfactory, but may be offset by grades of “AB” and “A”, respectively, in regular courses or seminars
  • The offsetting grades must be matched in hours of credit and the grades must be obtained before dissertation status is achieved
  • Courses with grades of “P” (Progress) count toward the credit requirement only if they are research courses
  • Courses taken pass/fail, audited, or with grades of “D” or “F” will not be counted toward graduate school credits, or the PSD Course Requirements
  • For a PhD degree the preliminary exam must have been passed

View the Graduate School’s Academic Guidelines

VIII. Inadequate Academic Progress

  • The Graduate School requires an average grade of “B” or better in all work (excluding research credits) taken as a graduate student, unless conditions for probationary status require higher grades
  • Grades of “Incomplete” are considered unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next semester of residence
  • In special cases, the Graduate School permits a student who does not meet this standard to continue on probation upon recommendation of the Thesis Advisor
  • See the Graduate School Academic Guidelines: Probation

IX. Course Evaluations

All courses with School of Pharmacy course subject listings (ie. Phm Sci, S&A Phm, Pharmacy, Phm Prac) are required to provide students with the opportunity to provide feedback through instructional evaluations. Cross-listed courses will be evaluated by the primary home unit as defined by campus. We strongly encourage you to complete these instructional evaluations, but you are not required to do so.

Pharmsci Handbook