PhD or PharmD?

[Mean Bean]

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Hello,

I am currently weighing the options of applying to a PhD or a PharmD program next year. I would be considering a PhD in the field of Pharmacology. My interests lie in clinical research mostly. I have been a Clinical Research Associate for biotech companies over the past 5 years. Were I to become a pharmacist, I would like to be involved in early phase clinical studies in addition to clinical pharmacy roles. Does anyone have an idea of the job outlook for PhD folks in Pharmacology? Any plusses or minuses of each path? How hard is it to get into a good PhD program?

 

[dgroulx]

There is a guy in my pharmacy class who has a PhD in pharmacology. I think he needs to make some money to support his family, so he's pursuing a pharmD.

 

[jdpharmd?]

We have a PhD in Medicinal Chem in our class. I think it was time for her to apply her knowledge and make some bank at the same time.

 

[jj99]

Apply her knowledge? In retail, I presume, if she's looking for "bank," LOL.

 

[Roxicet]

Why not pharmD/PhD? That would leave a lot of doors open for you when you're done. I think at the schools that offer the pharmD/PhD, you have to matriculate into the pharmD program first, and if your grades are good enough, they'll let you add the PhD program.

Here's a list of schools that offer the PharmD/PhD:
http://www.aacp.org/Docs/MainNavigation/ForStudentsApplicants/5397_PSARtab4.pdf

 

[Mean Bean]

I know that that is an option. Thanks for the link with the listing of schools. This is a heck of a lot of schooling though. I would be well into my late 30s by the time that I finished, making no income the entire time. For someone that is thinking about having a family at some point, this may be a tough proposition.

 

[Dloi]

hey mean bean,
have you looked into uop's pharmD/phD program? you can finish in five years ( if all your experiments go well 🙂 also, if you get into both programs, they will pay for both your 2 years of phD work as well as your 3rd year of pharmacy work...so you only have you pay for your first two years of school!