If you are a highly motivated and well-qualified UCSF pharmacy student who is interested in pursuing research training, consider earning a PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG) from the UCSF Graduate Division after earning your PharmD.
While the School does not offer a formal combined PharmD/PhD program, doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students interested in pursuing a PhD may choose to expedite their training by taking – in Summer after P2 year – PSPG 245c (a course from the graduate curriculum) and by choosing to complete an Extended Discovery Project. This research immersion experience will serve as one of three mandatory research rotations and will allow you to explore potential topics for dissertation research.
If this career path is right for you, you’ll:
- Apply to the PSPG PhD program—through the UCSF Graduate Division—while you’re enrolled in the PharmD program.
- Begin fulfilling requirements for the PhD program during your PharmD training.
- Be assured—if you are accepted—that the UCSF Graduate Division will hold a spot open for you in the PSPG PhD program and will send you an official letter of intent to confirm the reservation of your spot.
- Enter the PSPG PhD program after you graduate with your PharmD.
- Complete your PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics.
There is a pressing need to translate basic science research into clinical application. This career path meets that need efficiently and within a unique university that is devoted solely to the health sciences, including the core functions of discovery, translational science and patient care.