The PhD programs in pharmacy at the Ohio State University offer advanced education in all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmaceutical sciences extends well beyond the medication dispensing function of pharmacy and includes all aspects of the discovery, development, and use of medicines. Thus, the graduate program in pharmacy includes courses and research associated with discovery and evaluation of new drugs, determination of the mechanisms by which medicines exert both beneficial and harmful effects, and optimization of drug delivery to specific organs requiring treatment. It also includes studies and research on the ways in which human behavior influences the purchase and consumption of medicines and seeks to improve the delivery of medicine and health care information to all patients, with particular emphasis on those who are currently serviced inadequately.

The goal of activities within the pharmaceutical sciences is to improve health through the use of medicines. This includes finding and developing new and better drugs, using existing drugs more efficiently, and lowering cost of therapy by improving production, distribution, and marketing. These goals are accomplished through research in industry, academic, and hospital settings and by training of health care providers. Graduates of MS and PhD programs in pharmacy have integral roles in these functions.

Because the scope of pharmaceutical sciences is so broad, our graduate program has five specialty areas of emphasis:

The pharmaceutical administration discipline focuses on issues related to the pharmaceutical care delivery system, pharmacoeconomics, pharmacoepidemiology, drug distribution and public policy, strategic planning for pharmaceutical organizations, and medication use, safety, and outcomes. A subspecialty within pharmaceutical administration is the master of health-system pharmacy administration. The major focus of this program is to educate and train pharmacists to conceptualize, plan, coordinate and evaluate pharmaceutical care in organized health care settings. The medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy discipline focuses on the interdisciplinary application of chemical, biochemical, and molecular principles to the identification and development of therapeutic agents. This includes both synthesis of new chemical entities and isolation of medicinal agents from natural sources (pharmacognosy). The pharmaceutics area focuses on pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, with a special emphasis on drug delivery and targeting systems. The pharmacology area focuses on determination of biochemical and physiological mechanisms by which drugs exert their effects. The Translational Science discipline is that which ultimately translates research from the laboratory bench to the patient as well as the reverse. It is conducting studies at the interface between the laboratory and the clinic.

To complete an application for any of our program specializations, please access a graduate school application at http://gradapply.osu.edu.

[ View Application Information ]

Graduate Fellowships

Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy

Jack L. Beal Endowment, Raymond Doskotch Fellowship, Chih-Ming & Jane Chen Fellowship, Albert H. Soloway Graduate Endowed Fund in Pharmacy and Cancer Research, Witiak Award in Medicinal Chemistry

Pharmaceutical Administration

Tim Moore Award, Dev Pathak Fellowship in Drug Distribution and Public Policy

Pharmaceutics

Sylvan Frank Fellowship, Hoener Award, Eli Lilly and Co. Fellowship

Pharmacology

Chauncey D. Leake Memorial Award Fund, John W. Nelson & Arthur Tye Graduate Endowed Fund in Pharmacology, Popat N. Patil Graduate Fellowship Fund in Pharmacology, The Simon P. Yotive Endowment Fund, Norman J. Uretsky Graduate Award

Other Awards and Fellowships

American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Fellowship (AFPE), Cancer Drug Discovery & Development Award, Presidential Fellowship, Procter & Gamble Fellowship, Graduate School University Fellowships

For more information see the
Graduate Fellowships and Awards page.

Graduate Areas of Specialization

Health-System Pharmacy Administration MS

Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy PhD

Pharmaceutical Administration PhD

Pharmaceutics PhD

Pharmacology PhD

Translational Science Graduate Studies PhD

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Combined PharmD/PhD Program (PDF document)

All Combined Programs PharmD/PhD, PharmD/MBA, PharmD/MPH

Graduate Student Handbook

The Graduate and Research Committee (GRC) has prepared a handbook for graduate students and graduate faculty in the College of Pharmacy which provides information specific to graduate programs offered in the college, describes college policies, and supplements the statement of policies in the Ohio State University's Graduate School Handbook (GSH) published by the Graduate School.

[ Download Graduate Student Handbook (PDF) ]

Also, for more information refer to the Graduate School's handbook:

[ Graduate School Handbook (PDF) ]