Pharmaceutical Sciences, B.S.
The purpose of the B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.S.P.S.) program is to prepare students for targeted industries requiring B.S.-level pharmaceutical sciences skills in pharmaceutical, biomedical and other health care fields. Pharmaceutical sciences encompass a wide range of sciences that link to the discovery and development of new drugs and therapies to improve people's lives. The B.S.P.S. program trains students for diverse positions in industrial, academic, or other research environments within the areas of drug discovery, development, and commercialization. Students will also have the option of completing an internship in the pharmaceutical industry.
The program is also offered as part of an accelerated 3 + 4 program in conjunction with the Doctor of Pharmacy degree (3 years B.S. + 4 years Pharm.D.). The first 3 years of the B.S.P.S. program include all prerequisite courses that are required for matriculation into the Pharm.D. program as well as all university core requirements for a B.S. The coursework in the fourth year of the B.S.P.S. program is synonymous with the coursework in the first year of the Pharm.D. program. This allows both degrees to be completed within 7 (3 + 4) years.
Admission Requirements
- Prospective students must meet the Marshall University admission requirements. In addition, students shall have a minimum composite ACT score of 21 with a math score of 21, or a minimum SAT composite score of 1060 with a math section score of 530.
- Students that have not met the above requirements may gain admission to the BSPS program by completing all of the requirements below:
- Completion of MTH 127 or 130 and ENG 101 with a grade of C or higher; and
- Completion of at least 15 credit hours of college coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Enrolled students are required to complete all coursework with a minimum grade of C. Grades of D and F will not be counted toward graduation requirements and must be replaced with a grade of C or higher before graduation.
- Students in the 3+4 accelerated program must complete the first 3 years with an undergraduate overall GPA and a GPA within the major of at least 3.30 in order to be eligible to enter the Pharm.D. program in year 4.
- Students must complete a capstone experience (BSPS 471) consisting of either a research project or internship
- Candidates for graduation from the B.S.P.S. program must complete 120 CR of study. Students in the accelerated 3+4 program must complete 138 credit hours, since the university only allows 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework to count toward both the undergraduate and doctoral degrees.
- Students can complete a minor in Pharmaceutical Sciences by completing 14 credit hours of courses with BSPS or PHAR course numbers.
Degree Requirements
Degree requirements for the B.S.P.S. program include prerequisites courses for admission to U.S. Pharm.D. programs (e.g., biology, chemistry, calculus, physics) including the Pharm.D. program at the Marshall University School of Pharmacy.
- Elective courses enable B.S.P.S. students to take courses to meet prerequisite requirements for entrance to specific graduate or professional programs or to pursue coursework in specific areas of interest (e.g., microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, physics II, biochemistry)
- The core curriculum is composed of BSPS and PHAR coded courses of 55 credit hours that include:
- Introductory pharmaceutical sciences courses (BSPS 101 Intro to Careers in Pharm Sci andBSPS 201 Intro to Pharmaceutical Sci)
- Courses in the six major sub-disciplines including pharmaceutics (PHAR 531 Biopharmaceutics I, PHAR 532 Biopharmaceutics II), pharmaceutical chemistry (PHAR 547 Pharmaceutical Chemistry), pathophysiology (PHAR 544 Prin of Disease & Drug Action, pharmacology (BSPS 301 Introduction to Pharmacology I) Pharmacogenomics (PHAR 523 Pharmacogenomics), and pharmacokinetics (PHAR 537 Pharmacokinetics).
- Two semesters of a seminar sequence in which students attend research presentations given by guest speakers, faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students (BSPS 401 Pharm Sciences Seminar)
- A capstone research project or internship experience (BSPS 470 Capstone Exper in Pharm Sci).
- With the exception of B.S.P.S. Seminar (BSPS 401 Pharm Sciences Seminar), student performance in BSPS-coded courses will be primarily evaluated by examinations, quizzes, and assignments. Select courses will use presentations (BSPS 401 Pharm Sciences Seminar) or written assignments (BSPS 470 Capstone Exper in Pharm Sci) to assess students.
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Students who decide to only obtain the B.S.P.S. degree (and not the Pharm.D.) after the third year, may elect to not take the following courses (PHAR 501, PHAR 502 Pharm Cont Prof Dev, PHAR 512 Pharmacy Skills Lab I, PHAR 524 Drug Info & Comm Skills, PHAR 533 Introduction to Pharmacy 1, PHAR 536 Introduction to Pharmacy 2, PHAR 538 Pharmacy Skills Lab 2, PHAR 811 Pharm Prac Exp I (IPPE 1)) and still earn the undergraduate degree. Students may elect to take BSPS 401 Pharm Sciences Seminar in the fall semester of the fourth year instead of the third year.
The Core Curriculum is designed to foster critical thinking skills and introduce students to basic domains of thinking that transcend disciplines. The Core applies to all majors. Information on specific classes in the Core can be found at https://www.marshall.edu/gened/.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Curriculum | ||
| Core 1: Critical Thinking | ||
| FYS 100 | First Yr Sem Critical Thinking | 3 |
| Core 1: Critical Thinking | 3 | |
| Core 1: Critical Thinking | 3 | |
| Core 2 | ||
| ENG 101 | Beginning Composition | 3 |
| ENG 201 | Advanced Composition | 3 |
| Core II Communication | ||
| STA 225 | Introductory Statistics (CT) (Core II Math) | 3 |
| Core II: Physical/Natural Science | 4 | |
| Core II Humanities (WI) | 3 | |
| Core II Social Science | 3 | |
| Core II Fine Arts | 3 | |
| Additional University Requirements | ||
| Writing Intensive | 3 | |
| Writing Intensive | 3 | |
| Multicultural or International | 3 | |
| BSPS 470 | Capstone Exper in Pharm Sci (Capstone) | 4 |
| Major-Specific | ||
| BSC 120 | Principles of Biology I | 3 |
| BSC 120L | Principles of Biology I Lab | 1 |
| BSC 121 | Principles of Biology | 4 |
| BSC 121L | Prin of Biology II Lab | 1 |
| BSC 227 | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| BSC 227L | Human Anatomy Lab | 1 |
| BSC 228 | Human Physiology | 4 |
| BSC 228L | Human Physiology Lab | 1 |
| BSC 302 | Principles of Microbiology | 3 |
| BSC 304 | Microbiology Lab | 2 |
| CHM 211 | Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHM 217 | Principles of Chem Lab I | 2 |
| CHM 212 | Principles Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHM 218 | Principles of Chem Lab II | 2 |
| CHM 355 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHM 356 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHM 361 | Intro Organic Chm Lab | 3 |
| MTH 140 | Applied Calculus | 3 |
| PHY 201 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PHY 202 | General Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| STA 225 | Introductory Statistics (CT) | 3 |
| BSPS 101 | Intro to Careers in Pharm Sci | 2 |
| BSPS 201 | Intro to Pharmaceutical Sci | 2 |
| BSPS 202 | Drug Regulatory Affairs | 3 |
| BSPS 301 | Introduction to Pharmacology I | 3 |
| BSPS 401 | Pharm Sciences Seminar | 1 |
| BSPS 401 | Pharm Sciences Seminar | 1 |
| BSPS 444 | Princ fo Disease Drug Act | 4 |
| BSPS 447 | Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 4 |
| BSPS 470 | Capstone Exper in Pharm Sci | 4 |
| BSPS Required Course | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | ||
| BSPS Elective | ||
| Free Elective (CT) | ||
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
Semester Plan
The Core Curriculum is designed to foster critical thinking skills and introduce students to basic domains of thinking that transcend disciplines. The Core applies to all majors. Information on specific classes in the Core can be found at https://www.marshall.edu/gened/.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credit Hours | |
| BSC 120 & BSC 120L | Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology I Lab | 4 |
| CHM 211 | Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHM 217 | Principles of Chem Lab I | 2 |
| ENG 101 | Beginning Composition | 3 |
| FYS 100 | First Yr Sem Critical Thinking | 3 |
| UNI 100 | Freshman First Class | 1 |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| BSPS 101 | Intro to Careers in Pharm Sci | 2 |
| BSC 121 & BSC 121L | Principles of Biology and Prin of Biology II Lab | 4 |
| CHM 212 | Principles Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHM 218 | Principles of Chem Lab II | 2 |
| ENG 201 | Advanced Composition | 3 |
| STA 225 | Introductory Statistics (CT) | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Second Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| BSPS 201 | Intro to Pharmaceutical Sci | 2 |
| BSC 227 & BSC 227L | Human Anatomy and Human Anatomy Lab | 4 |
| CHM 355 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| MTH 140 | Applied Calculus | 3 |
| PHY 201 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PHY 202 | General Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| CHM 356 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHM 361 | Intro Organic Chm Lab | 3 |
| BSC 228 & BSC 228L | Human Physiology and Human Physiology Lab | 4 |
| BSC 304 | Microbiology Lab | 2 |
| BSC 302 | Principles of Microbiology | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| BSPS 202 | Drug Regulatory Affairs | 3 |
| Multicultural/International | 3 | |
| Core II Social Science | 3 | |
| Core II Fine Arts | 3 | |
| Core II Humanities (Writing Intensive) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| BSPS 301 | Introduction to Pharmacology I | 3 |
| BSPS Required COurse | 3 | |
| Free Elective: select an elective with the critical thinking attribute | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| BSPS 401 | Pharm Sciences Seminar | 1 |
| BSPS 447 | Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 4 |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| Core II Communications | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| BSPS 444 | Princ fo Disease Drug Act | 4 |
| BSPS 470 | Capstone Exper in Pharm Sci | 4 |
| BSPS Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 11 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 122 | |
BSPS Electives
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BSPS 350 | Pharmacology of Illicit Drugs | 3 |
| BSPS 340 | Immunotherapeutics | 3 |
| BSPS 320 | Pharmaceutical Analysis | 3 |
| BSPS 302 | Cardiovascular Pharmacology | 3 |
| BSPS 330 | Introduction to Cancer Biology | 3 |
| BSPS 360 | Prin of Infectious Diseases | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours | 19 | |