Pharmaceutical Administration PhD Graduate Studies

Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Administration

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Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Administration

Objectives

The Ph.D. program is designed to provide students with research skills and education in problem solving and decision making as applied to pharmaceutical and health care sectors of the economy. The Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical administration prepares each student with:

1. A common background in basic decision-making tools.

2. A rigorous training in research methodology and statistical tools necessary to conduct research.

3. A thorough review of various aspects of pharmaceutical administration.

4. A specialization through intensive coursework in a field of interest to the student in addition to the major field of pharmaceutical administration.

5. Training for conducting original research through writing and presentation of results of research on an important problem in pharmacy under the direction of a faculty adviser and the dissertation committee.

Program Outline

To satisfy the minimum academic requirements for the Ph.D. degree, students must:

1. Satisfy stipulations pertaining to residency, courses, credit hours, grade-point average and examinations established by the Graduate School (see Graduate School Handbook). While 135 hours of graduate work beyond the Bachelor's is required by the University, this requirement should be viewed as a minimum.

2. Register for 2 credit hours of Pharmacy 826, Special Topics in Pharmaceutical Administration, during each quarter prior to admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. program. A minimum of 12 credit hours is required. The major rationale for this course is to enhance the awareness of issues that are of relevance to the evolving field of pharmaceutical administration.

3. Register for a minimum of 2 credit hours of Pharmacy 993 (Individual Studies) each quarter prior to candidacy for the Ph.D. program under the guidance of graduate faculty members to investigate a specific subject area and research topic within the field of pharmaceutical administration.

4. Complete requirements for four fields: Foundation Field (minimum of 27 credit hours); Research Methodology (minimum of 21credit hours); Pharmaceutical Administration (minimum of 44 credit hours); and a Second Field of Specialization (minimum of 15 credit hours).

5. Pass written examinations in two areas: Pharmaceutical Administration and Research Methodology (Major Field) and Second Field of Specialization.

6. Upon satisfactory completion of the written examinations, the student is required to pass an oral examination, as a part of the General Examination, prior to admission to Ph.D. candidacy.

7. Conduct original research on an important problem in the field of pharmaceutical administration under the direction of an adviser and dissertation committee. The student should register for a minimum of 36 credit hours of Pharmacy 999 for the dissertation.

•  Successfully defend the dissertation in a formal oral defense.

Program of Study

The program of study requires students in the Ph.D. program to take courses in four fields. A suggested program of study with specific course requirements for each of the four fields of study is outlined in this section.

A. Foundation Field

Each student is required to have a breadth of knowledge across a variety of areas that serve as a foundation to the understanding of various problems and issues in the field. Students must complete a total of 27 credit hours of graduate level work to satisfy this requirement. Coursework related to finance, marketing, personnel management, economics, and operations are expected components of the foundation field. Therefore, common areas from which to select foundation field courses include:

Agricultural Education Business

Economics Epidemiology

Health Services Management and Policy Preventive Medicine

Psychology Public Health

B. Research Methodology

The purpose of this field is to provide students with a thorough introduction to modern research tools to prepare them for dissertation research as well as any other major research project.

All students are required to take a minimum of 21 credit hours to complete the requirements for this field. Students are also required to have working knowledge of at least one of the following statistical packages: SPSS, SAS, or BMDP.

Examples of courses that have been taken by former students are outlined below:

Other courses that could be taken to complete the requirements for this field include research methods and statistics courses offered in Business, Economics, Sociology, and Statistics.

C. Pharmaceutical Administration

Since pharmaceutical administration is the major field for the Ph.D. degree, all students are exposed to a variety of problems and issues in the field through the courses available within the program. Excluding registration for Pharmacy 850, the course work needed to complete the requirements for examination in this field is as follows:

Pharm 816 Medication Use System Management 4

Pharm 817 Pharmacy Management Systems 4

Pharm 821 Research Methods and Literature Evaluation 4

Pharm 824 Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programs and Services 4

Pharm 825 Drug Distribution and Public Policy 4

Pharm 826 Special Topics in Pharmaceutical Administration 12

Pharm 993 Individual Studies 12

The content covered in this field is included in the written portion of the General Examination for the Major Field (Pharmaceutical Administration).

D. Second Field of Specialization

The purpose of this field is to allow students to develop specialization in an area outside the field of pharmaceutical administration. The selection of a second field should be based upon individual student interests and future career and research goals. All students are required to take a minimum of 15 graduate hours in the second field. This requirement does not include credit earned for Pharmacy 850 or Pharmacy 993.

Some of the suggested second fields are: Consumer Behavior, Marketing, Cognitive Psychology, Economics, Psychology, Biometrics, and Epidemiology. A student may develop an individualized second field in consultation with his/her advisor. Examples of second fields are on file and can be obtained from the chairperson of the M.S./Ph.D. Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Administration

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