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://www.unm.edu/~grad/admissions/admissions.html Application materials for international students can be found through The University of New Mexico’s Office of International Admissions http://www.unm.edu/preview/na_intlgrad.htm.

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 biolmedical 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.