Pharmacy, Dual Degree: Pharm.D. and M.A. (PS)
Admission Requirements
Students who wish to pursue the dual degree- PharmD/MA (PS) program must first be admitted to the Doctor of Pharmacy program and then must complete and submit to the graduate college, an application that meets the following requirements for admission.
Applications may be submitted under the Graduate applicant link on Marshall University's Admissions website (https://www.marshall.edu/admissions/apply/). Requirements for program admission include:
- An earned baccalaureate degree from an accepted, accredited institution with a recommended degree GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
- Two letters of recommendation from academic or professional references
- Official transcripts from degree-granting institutions (additional transcripts may be required, at the discretion of the program). International students must submit transcripts evaluated by a credentialing agency such as WES or a member of NACES.
- No entrance exam is required; however, a Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score may be submitted to strengthen an application.
- Complete an on-site or video interview.
- All applicants, regardless of citizenship, must provide proof of English proficiency to be considered for admission to Marshall University. English proficiency requirements are available here: https://www.marshall.edu/international-admissions/proof-of-english-proficiency/.
Graduation Requirements
Requirements for M.A. Degree:
A Plan of Study approved by the student’s advisor must be submitted for approval to the director of graduate studies before the student registers for his or her 12th semester hour. The Plan of Study is a student’s “blueprint” for completing the graduation requirements.
M.A. Degree Requirements for Non-Thesis Option
- Students must complete the required 32 hours of graduate 500-800 level coursework with a minimum of 16 hours of 600 or higher level courses in any campus college or school.
- Not more than 4 hours of Graduate Seminar (MSPS 542 Science Seminars) may be used to complete the M.A. program credit requirement.
- Not more than 4 semester hours credit in Independent Study or 8 semester hours of Special Topics can be used to complete the elective requirements.
- A maximum of 12 semester credit hours from the Doctor of Pharmacy program may be approved for dual credit as indicated in the student's plan of study.
Requirements for Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (PharmD):
Academic Performance
Students are eligible for graduation upon successful completion of all academic (courses and examinations) and clinical (experiential learning) coursework. The student must earn a minimum of 155 semester credit hours. The expected graduation grade point average is 3.0 with the minimum grade point average of 2.5. The student is responsible for knowing and satisfying degree and graduation requirements. Students must be enrolled in the term in which they plan to graduate.
The following courses apply to both the MA and PHARMD
Time Limitations (for all degrees):
If a student has not completed his/her Pharm.D./M.A. degrees within six years from the end of the first course to be counted toward his/her degrees, and if the student has not been enrolled in a course toward that degree for the most recent one year when that seven-year limit is reached (meaning the sixth year), then the student will be dropped from the program. To continue to work on that degree, the student must reapply for admission to that degree program through the regular graduate admission process, and pay the appropriate admission fees.
Plan of Study
Successful completion of the required curriculum will result in both a PharmD degree and an MA in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
*Please note that 12 credit hours from PharmD Program are dual counted towards the MA degree.
The curriculum is designed to be completed over 4 years/ 11 semesters. A summary of the courses composing the curriculum is found below:
Recommended Plan of Study for the Dual Degree Program
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| PHAR 512 | Pharmacy Skills Lab I | 2 |
| PHAR 524 | Drug Info & Comm Skills | 2 |
| PHAR 531 | Biopharmaceutics I (Dual credit course for MSPS 561) | 3 |
| PHAR 533 | Introduction to Pharmacy 1 | 3 |
| PHAR 542 | Immunology and Microbiology | 4 |
| PHAR 547 | Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 4 |
| PHAR 591 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 1 | 1 |
| MSPS 542 | Science Seminars (MA Requirement) | 1 |
| Credit Hours | 20 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHAR 523 | Pharmacogenomics (Dual credit course for MSPS 581) | 2 |
| PHAR 592 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 2 | 1 |
| PHAR 532 | Biopharmaceutics II (Dual credit course for MSPS 562) | 3 |
| PHAR 536 | Introduction to Pharmacy 2 | 3 |
| PHAR 537 | Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PHAR 538 | Pharmacy Skills Lab 2 | 3 |
| PHAR 544 | Prin of Disease & Drug Action (Dual credit course for MSPS 544) | 4 |
| MSPS 542 | Science Seminars (MA Requirement) | 1 |
| Credit Hours | 20 | |
| Summer | ||
| PHAR 548 | Intro to Community Pharm IPPE | 0 |
| PHAR 550 | Intro to Institutional IPPE | 0 |
| Credit Hours | 0 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHAR 623 | Patient Safety | 2 |
| PHAR 593 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 3 | 1 |
| PHAR 635 | Research Outcomes Patient Care | 3 |
| PHAR 636 | Pharm Skills Lab III | 3 |
| PHAR 641 | Therapeutics 1 - OTC/Self-Care | 4 |
| PHAR 662 | Pharmacy Administration | 6 |
| MSPS 542 | Science Seminars (MA Requirement) | 1 |
| MSPS 681 | Special Topics (MA Requirement) | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 24 | |
| Spring | ||
| MSPS 542 | Science Seminars (MA Requirement) | 1 |
| PHAR 637 | Pharm Skills Lab IV | 3 |
| MSPS 682 | Special Topics (MA Requirement) | 3 |
| PHAR 594 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 4 | 1 |
| PHAR 652 | Therapeutics 2 - Cardiology | 5 |
| PHAR 643 | Therapeutics 3 GI & Renal | 4 |
| PHAR 644 | Therapeutics 4 - Endocrine | 4 |
| PHAR 801 | Special Topics I (PharmD Program Elective) 1 | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 24 | |
| Summer | ||
| PHAR 649 | Intro Outpt Clin Skills IPPE | 0 |
| PHAR 650 | Intro Inpat Clin Skills IPPE | 0 |
| Credit Hours | 0 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHAR 735 | Pharmacy Law & Ethics | 3 |
| PHAR 595 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 5 | 1 |
| PHAR 737 | Pharmacy Skills Lab 5 | 3 |
| PHAR 752 | Therapeutics 6 - Neuro/Psych | 5 |
| PHAR 762 | Infect Disease Therapeutics | 5 |
| MSPS 685 | Independent Study (MA Requirement) | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 20 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHAR 724 | Special Populations | 3 |
| PHAR 596 | Cont Prof Dev (CPD) 6 | 1 |
| PHAR 730 | Therapeutics 8 - Derm/Opht/MUS | 3 |
| PHAR 743 | Therapeutics 9 - Hem/Oncology | 4 |
| PHAR 736 | Pharmacy Skills Lab 6 | 3 |
| PHAR 802 | Special Topics II (PharmD Elective) | 3 |
| MSPS 632 | Prod Dev by Quality Design (MA Requirement) | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 20 | |
| Summer | ||
| PHAR 881 | APPE - Adv Inpat Clin Skills | 5 |
| PHAR 882 | APPE - Adv Outpat Clin Skills | 5 |
| Credit Hours | 10 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHAR 883 | APPE - Advanced Community | 5 |
| PHAR 884 | APPE 4-Adv Institutional | 5 |
| PHAR 885 | APPE - Transitions of Care | 5 |
| PHAR 891 | Pharmacy Capstone I | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHAR 886 | APPE - Diverse Populations | 5 |
| PHAR 887 | APPE - Elective (10 hours as 2 courses, 5 SCH repeatable) | 10 |
| MSPS 686 | Problem Report (MA Requirement) | 3 |
| PHAR 892 | Pharmacy Capstone 2 | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 20 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 175 | |