Graduate Program

Inquiries and Applications

Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program inquiries should be addressed to the College of Pharmacy Office of Student Services, MSC09 5360, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Applications to the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program use the Office of Graduate Admissions online or paper application for domestic applicants. Information and instructions for completing this form are available at the http://ogs.unm.edu/ Application materials for international students can be found through The University of New Mexico’s Office of International Admissions http://admissions.unm.edu/international/graduate.html.

Prerequisite Course Work

Students wishing to pursue a graduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences must meet the general requirements for admission to graduate studies outlined elsewhere in this catalog. In addition, each concentration of study has prerequisites for admission that are described below.

Program of Study

The Committee on Studies determines the Programs of Study for graduate students for each concentration. In general, this program consists of core and elective course work required of all students. However, in some cases the Committee on Studies may approve a Program of Study that takes advantage of previously completed course work or provides interdisciplinary training of interest to particular students. More specific information on the programs is given below.


Pharmacoeconomics, Epidemiology, Pharmaceutical Policy and Outcomes Research (PEPPOR)

This is a program of study and research leading to a M.S. and/or Ph.D. degree emphasizing the social, psychosocial, political, legal, historical and economic factors that impact on the use, non-use and misuse of drugs. It emphasizes human behavior in health illness, cultural determinants, health service systems organization, finance and economics. Individuals examine the societal systems in which patients, pharmacists and other health care practitioners interact, behave, perform, generate revenues, provide services and are educated. They generate knowledge about man as a social, cultural, psychological and biological being, as well as the intervention and effect of health care systems upon man and the economics of pharmacy services. Study and research training in this discipline prepares individuals with the background and problem solving skills to evaluate and design systems for the delivery of pharmaceutical systems and to apply behavioral and social interdisciplinary theories to the study of pharmacy practice. Two emphases areas are available:

  1. Health Services Research; and
  2. Clinical Trials Research. An individual program of course work is determined for each student according to his/her career goals by a Committee on Studies. Students must meet the general admission requirements listed in this catalog. For admission information go to http://hsc.unm.edu/pharmacy/graduatePEPPORadmission.shtml

Radiopharmaceutical Sciences

A program leading to an M.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a concentration in radiopharmacy is offered to individuals who have received a professional degree in pharmacy or a B.S. in a health-related science. The primary mission of the Radiopharmacy Education Program is to provide a comprehensive training experience that affords individuals the opportunity to acquire the scientific knowledge, technical skills, and professional judgement required to promote patient care through assurance of the safe and efficacious use of radiopharmaceuticals and ancillary medications for diagnosis and therapy. In order to best accomplish this mission, it is necessary to develop professionals who can solve problems, think logically and work independently or in collaboration to conduct research that will add to the knowledge base in nuclear medicine and radiopharmaceutical science.

Moreover, nuclear pharmacy is practiced in countries all around the world. Not only are U.S. pharmacists traveling to these countries to meet their health care needs, but pharmacists from these countries are also seeking opportunities to become competently trained nuclear pharmacy practitioners in order to return to their native lands. To maintain its reputation as a premier nuclear pharmacy education program, The University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy must seek to address the idiosyncrasies and needs of nuclear pharmacy on an international scale.

The comprehensive nature of the program is related to the fact that information is made available in a variety of ways. The program therefore is able to achieve the following goals:

  1. To develop pharmacy generalists who can effectively manage patients requiring both diagnostic and therapeutic medications. Information regarding the rational use of radiopharmaceuticals is integrated into the professional (entry-level) Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
  2. To develop specialists who can serve as caregivers in the Radiology setting and provide consultation to all health care professionals, a focused curriculum is offered at the M.S. and certificate levels. (Note: the M.S. Program is available to pharmacists as well as individuals with a background in the life sciences.) Realizing that these two types of students may have different career goals, both a clinical track curriculum and a basic science track curriculum are offered. The focus of the clinical track is on the care of patients who receive diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, and on practice-related issues and research, whereas the basic science track emphasizes theory of imaging technology, radiation protection, use of radiometric methodologies, development, of radioactive drugs and basic science research.
  3. To promote the expansion of knowledge and technology, to foster creative thinking and to advance the practice of nuclear pharmacy and a diverse research program is maintained by both full-time and volunteer faculty who serve as role models for students.
  4. To promote life-long learning, a correspondence continuing education program is offered to practicing nuclear pharmacists and nuclear medicine professionals.

The entire pharmacy profession, including the specialty of nuclear pharmacy, is an applied science. However, nuclear pharmacy, even more so than general pharmacy practice, relies upon a firm grounding in multiple basic sciences. To practice nuclear pharmacy, you must be able to extemporaneously compound and test a wide range of radioactive
medications, develop and enforce adequate radiation protection measures for one’s self and coworkers, meet the demand of numerous regulators and troubleshoot a variety of imaging pitfalls and artifacts and also provide patient care in a setting that is foreign to most pharmacists. Therefore, to achieve an optimal learning environment for nuclear pharmacy, it is essential to have an appropriate blending of the clinical sciences with multiple basic sciences.

College level organic chemistry, physics and mathematics through calculus are prerequisites for entry into the program. In addition, general requirements for admission to the program are specified on earlier pages of this catalog. Didactic and laboratory course work, research leading to a thesis (Plan I) or non-thesis (Plan II) degree and an opportunity for experience in radiopharmacy practice are components of the program. General requirements for completion of the degree are specified on earlier pages of this catalog. The student’s program will be developed and is supervised by a Committee on Studies.


Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Sciences encompasses a broad range of scientific disciplines that are critical to the discovery and development of new drugs and therapies, including drug design and chemical biology, pharmaceutics and drug delivery, radiopharmaceutical target imaging, and pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, pharmacogenomics and toxicology. The group is focused on developing outstanding scientists through training in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences and disease processes. Specific strengths of the program include gene-environment interactions and the mechanisms by which exposure to environmental hazards adversely affect living organisms. Highly innovative programs such as the New Mexico Center for Environmental Health Sciences, the New Mexico Center for Isotopes in Medicine, the UNM Biomedical Research and Integrative Imaging (BRaIN) Center offer excellent opportunities for collaborative basic and translational research among faculty in the College of Pharmacy, School of Medicine, and Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute.

For those students interested in obtaining an M.S. or Ph.D., the UNM Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program http://hsc.unm.edu/som/research/brep/ offers these degrees with a focus in one of six content areas, including Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.  During the first year of study, students take core courses through the UNM Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.  This core course work emphasizes basic concepts in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and reading in the biomedical sciences literature.  In the second and subsequent years, students are required to take Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology and General Toxicology, followed by advanced courses in pharmaceutical sciences and toxicology and other topics related to the student's research.  These courses may be further supplemented with elective courses chosen by the student and their Committee on Studies.   

These programs are designed to develop outstanding M.S. and Ph.D. research scientists by providing a firm foundation of knowledge in biomedical sciences augmented by an emphasis on research-based, experimental approaches to learning. Areas of research are diverse and current research interests can be found on the program’s website.  Typically, students graduating from this program have gone on to careers in academia, the pharmaceutical industry, government regulatory agencies, and biotechnology firms.


Courses

PHRM 496. Topics in Pharmacy. (1 to a maximum of 3 ∆)



PHRM 497. Problems in Pharmacy. (1-5, no limit ∆)



PHRM 498. Problems in Pharmacy. (1-5, no limit ∆)



PHRM 511 / 773. Nuclear Pharmacy Instrumentation. (3)



PHRM 512 / 774. Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry. (1)



PHRM 513 / 775 [775]. Radiation Biology and Radiation Safety [Radiopharmacy Health and Radiation Biology]. (3)



PHRM 514. Basics of Nuclear Pharmacy Practice. (2)



PHRM 516 / 776. Radiopharmacology. (3)



PHRM 518. In-Vitro Radiotracer Procedures. (2)



PHRM 519L. Instrumentation and In Vitro Lab. (2)



PHRM 521. Radiopharmaceutics. (2)



PHRM 523. Clinical Nuclear Medicine. (1)



PHRM 545-546. Pharmacy and Its Environment. (3, 3)



PHRM 547. Pharmacy Practice Research. (3)



PHRM 548. Ethics Clinical Trials/Informed Consent. (2)



PHRM 549. Regulatory Issues in Clinical Trials. (2)



PHRM 550. Pharmacoeconomics and Patient Outcomes Research in Medicine. (3)



PHRM 576. Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology. (1)



PHRM 580. General Toxicology. (2)



PHRM 591. Seminar in Administrative Pharmacy. (1, no limit ∆)



PHRM 592. Seminar in Radiopharmacy. (1, no limit ∆)



PHRM 593. Pharmaceutical Sciences and Toxicology Seminar [Seminars in Toxicology]. (1, no limit ∆)



PHRM 594. Topics in Environmental Disease. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 ∆)



PHRM 597. Research Problems in Pharmaceutical Sciences. (1-6, no limit ∆)



PHRM 598. Topics in Pharmaceutical Sciences. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 ∆)



PHRM 599. Master’s Thesis. (1-6, no limit ∆)



PHRM 699. Dissertation. (1-9, no limit ∆)



PHRM 701. Pharmaceutics I. (Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms I) . (3)



PHRM 702. Pharmaceutics II. (3)



PHRM 703L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab I. (3)



PHRM 704L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab II. (3)



PHRM 705. Pathophysiology. (4)



PHRM 706. Foundations of Drug Action. (3)



PHRM 707. Pharmacy and Health Care Delivery. (3)



PHRM 709. Introduction to Pharmacy Practice. (1)



PHRM 710. Mechanisms of Drug Action I. (5)



PHRM 713. Pharmaceutical Calculations. (1)



PHRM 715. Pathophysiology II. (4)



PHRM 717. Introductory Pharmacy Law. (1)



PHRM 718L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab III. (2)



PHRM 719. Self-Care Therapeutics. (2 [3])



PHRM 720. Introduction to Nuclear Pharmacy. (2)



PHRM 721. Self-Care Therapeutics II. (1)



PHRM 726. Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics. (3)



PHRM 728. Pharmacy Informatics and Research. (3)



PHRM 731. Mechanisms of Drug Action II. (5)



PHRM 732. Mechanisms of Drug Action III. (5)



PHRM 733L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab IV. (2)



PHRM 734. Comprehensive Diabetes Elective. (2)



PHRM 735. Substance Abuse Elective. (2)



PHRM 736. Introduction to Pharmacogenomics. (2)



PHRM 739. Pharmacotherapy I. (6)



PHRM 740. Self-Selected Supplementary Pharmacy Education. (1-2 to a maximum of 2 ∆)



PHRM 748. Research Project (Initial). (1)



PHRM 751. Pharmacotherapy II. (6)



PHRM 752. Pharmacotherapy III. (6)



PHRM 755. Seminar in Pharmacy. (1 to a maximum of 2 ∆)



PHRM 756. Safe Medication Practices. (2)



PHRM 758. Research Project. (1)



PHRM 759. Advanced Law and Ethics. (2)



PHRM 760. Pharmacy Healthcare Management and Economics. (3)



PHRM 761. Introduction to Managed Care Pharmacy Practice. (2)



PHRM 762L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab V. (2)



PHRM 764. Emerging Technologies in Pharmaceutical Care. (1)



PHRM 765L. Pharmaceutical Care Lab VI. (2)



PHRM 766. Public Health in Pharmacy. (2)



PHRM 770. Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience. (2-4 to a maximum of 36 ∆)



PHRM 771. Introductory Community Pharmacy Practice Experience. (4 [2 to a maximum of 4 ∆])



PHRM 772. Introductory Institutional Pharmacy Practice Experience. (2 to a maximum of 4 ∆)



PHRM 773 / 511. Nuclear Pharmacy Instrumentation. (3)



PHRM 774 / 512. Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry. (1)



PHRM 775 / 513 [775]. Radiation Biology and Radiation Safety [Radiopharmacy Health and Radiation Biology]. (3)



PHRM 776 / 516. Radiopharmacology. (3)



PHRM 781. Geriatric Medication Management - An Interprofessional Elective. (2)



PHRM 782. Clinical Toxicology. (2)



PHRM 784. Advanced Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy. (1)



PHRM 785. Advanced Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy. (1)



PHRM 786. Geriatric Interprofessional Elective. (2)



PHRM 798. Problems in Pharmacy. (1-5 to a maximum of 10 ∆)



PHRM 799. Nontraditional Pharm. (2 to a maximum of 12 ∆)



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Office of the Registrar

MSC 11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
Fax: (505) 277-6809