PharmD/PhD = completed in 5 years? Is this a joke?

[CareDD]

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It 's hard enough to believe someone could finish a PhD in 4 years now. It's more common to say to become a PhD, you would need to devote at least 5 years. I just went to the University of Pacific Pharmacy School info meeting and they said their dual degree PharmD/PhD is 5 years. Is this a joke? At the end of the meeting, I talked directly with the man who had given the speech, and he didn't give me a solid answer Yes or No ...

 

[moolman]

UOP PharmD is 3 years, during that time you setup the frame work for your thesis, you get your PharmD then the next 2 years you finish it up. Pretty simple and sweet if you really want to do it.

 

[Jackie B]

lol why what did he say?

 

[CareDD]

lol he told me, "that's only if you could finish everything in place on time" (his eyes were rolling around while saying this. I then followed up, "if not, then it would be 7 years?", "yes," he replied. I have a friend who is going to Uni of Michigan doing DDS/PhD, and the length of this program is 7 years

 

[rxlea]

Depends on how much you can handle. I'm doing the dual degree. It will add on about a year and a half or so provided I get enough scholarship done. Could be two additional years, I don't know. I'll be doing research over the summer and I'm taking PhD classes on top of my PharmD classes. A couple of my PharmD classes count as PhD credit with an additional project (usually a lengthy paper + presentation/poster). My electives for the PhD track are covered by my PharmD curriculum (my research courses). Basically, I will become a licensed pharmacist and continue my PhD work.

It's a lot of work and that would be an understatement. Not really a joke at all. If you are considering academia, health policy/government, industry, or "non traditional" pharmacy positions, you should consider it. Not sure I would do it with an accelerated program, though. I'm already going insane 😉

 

[Jackie B]

lol he told me, "that's only if you could finish everything in place on time" (his eyes were rolling around while saying this. I then followed up, "if not, then it would be 7 years?", "yes," he replied. I have a friend who is going to Uni of Michigan doing DDS/PhD, and the length of this program is 7 years

CareDD do you know anything about how a PhD program works? It's not a set of classes you take and BOOM you have a degree, you have to do research and that time is variable based on the progress of your project. No PhD program can guarantee an end date, it depends on the amount of work you put in and how things go. Sometimes the research is out of your hands - your experiment fails, you're sitting around waiting for grant money, your results suck soo you need to figure something out orrrr what happens more often is someone is working on the same project as you and published right before you got a chance to! Now you need a new project. So I think he meant you can finish in 5 years if you are on track and everything goes as planned.

 

[PharmboyinNC]

Respectable PhDs takes as long as it needs to be to complete ones thesis/research. I'd be a little worried about any PhD program that guarantees a degree in a finite time. Keep in mind there are lots of schools offering PhDs, so the competition is stiff. If your research PhD is not revelant or strong (via publication records or your professior is nationally known) then it may be better to do a fellowship and gain valuable industry expereince is the same time one does a PharmD/PhD.

FYI- I have a pharmD/PhD.

 

[xiphoid2010]

It 's hard enough to believe someone could finish a PhD in 4 years now. It's more common to say to become a PhD, you would need to devote at least 5 years. I just went to the University of Pacific Pharmacy School info meeting and they said their dual degree PharmD/PhD is 5 years. Is this a joke? At the end of the meeting, I talked directly with the man who had given the speech, and he didn't give me a solid answer Yes or No ...

can say something about Ph.D not so much about the combined program.

How long it takes for a Ph.D really depends on your luck. If you have magic hands it is possible to finish a Ph.D in 2 years, given that Pharm.D degree covers much of the first year Ph.D's didactic portion.

So say 3 years to finish the Pharm.D, and then during the 2 years in the lab and somehow just about every single one of your experiments works. Yeah, it's possible but not probable.

 

[npage148]

can say something about Ph.D not so much about the combined program.

How long it takes for a Ph.D really depends on your luck. If you have magic hands it is possible to finish a Ph.D in 2 years, given that Pharm.D degree covers much of the first year Ph.D's didactic portion.

So say 3 years to finish the Pharm.D, and then during the 2 years in the lab and somehow just about every single one of your experiments works. Yeah, it's possible but not probable.

no PhD from a reputable school is getting out in two years regardless of your hands (unless your Dead is really fond of your magic hands, wink wink). In my program, zero pharmD classes were part of the core curriculum of the PhD. All I could use them for was to waive some out of department electives. For all the programs I know about, you're lucky to get out in 4

 

[xiphoid2010]

no PhD from a reputable school is getting out in two years regardless of your hands (unless your Dead is really fond of your magic hands, wink wink). In my program, zero pharmD classes were part of the core curriculum of the PhD. All I could use them for was to waive some out of department electives. For all the programs I know about, you're lucky to get out in 4

We all know 4-5 is the norm. We are just toying with possibilities here.

Suppose that you have a 3 year pharmD program that allows you to complete all of the ph.d's first year courses and submit your proposal. Then you are left with 2 years to do the rest.

In org/med chem it is possible to do it the rest in 2. Org chem Ph.D falls into 2 categories, methodology or total synthesis. If you go the total synthesis route, building that natural product involves usually involves anywhere between 20-40 synthetic steps. If every step works, you can conceivably do it in less than a year, then it's just putting everything to paper and defense. Of course having that magic touch require extreme genius or extreme luck.

 

[rxlea]

I don't have to have "magic hands" for my PhD thankfully. but that did make me lol😎

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[Jackie B]

You also don't need to do your research in a hard science like med chem where you spend a lot of time doing labwork, you can just as easily do research in the social science aspect of pharmacy such as pharm care, healthcare system aspect, community aspects, studies on healthcare relating to certain ethnic groups, etc, that may take less time than labwork.

 

[rxlea]

You also don't need to do your research in a hard science like med chem where you spend a lot of time doing labwork, you can just as easily do research in the social science aspect of pharmacy such as pharm care, healthcare system aspect, community aspects, studies on healthcare relating to certain ethnic groups, etc, that may take less time than labwork.

That's what I'm doing 😉

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[Jackie B]

That's what I'm doing 😉

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ahahaha nice. What do you wanna do after if you don't mind me asking? I was considering PharmD/PhD too

 

[rxlea]

ahahaha nice. What do you wanna do after if you don't mind me asking? I was considering PharmD/PhD too

I am not completely sure, actually. My PhD is in pharmacoeconomics, policy/outcomes.. The research I am working on right now has to do with public health, medication adherence, med rec, health literacy, and quality improvement. I have an interest in working with underserved populations, which is a big reason I am doing some of my rotations in rural Arizona. My profs are encouraging me to go into academia but residency is still on my radar (I've worked in hospital for a while now). My PhD program is willing to work with me should I want to do a PGY1. So, the short answer is I have no idea yet I am keeping an open mind, though. I really, REALLY like what I am doing now (both at school and work) so I am going to roll with it.

 

[homeslice]

I am not completely sure, actually. My PhD is in pharmacoeconomics, policy/outcomes.. The research I am working on right now has to do with public health, medication adherence, med rec, health literacy, and quality improvement. I have an interest in working with underserved populations, which is a big reason I am doing some of my rotations in rural Arizona. My profs are encouraging me to go into academia but residency is still on my radar (I've worked in hospital for a while now). My PhD program is willing to work with me should I want to do a PGY1. So, the short answer is I have no idea yet I am keeping an open mind, though. I really, REALLY like what I am doing now (both at school and work) so I am going to roll with it.

I plan on going into the same area, not sure I can pull the trigger on making the commitment for the PhD though. For now, I plan on going the fellowship route. Supposedly UArizona has a good one...

 

[rxlea]

I plan on going into the same area, not sure I can pull the trigger on making the commitment for the PhD though. For now, I plan on going the fellowship route. Supposedly UArizona has a good one...

Well, if you want to discuss it with someone, I can do a virtual introduction with some faculty. It's pretty competitive but they could guide you on what you would need.

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