Curriculum
The Medicinal Chemistry Ph.D. degree typically takes four and a half to five years of research training and education in which students concentrate on course work in the first two years. M.S. degree training typically consists of one year of course work and one to two additional years of research leading to the completion and defense of the thesis. Core classes include lecture style courses, laboratory learning, seminars, workshops, and professional development. The varied courses will educate students in oral/written scientific presentations, scientific software, teaching methods and models, modern research methods, scientific ethics, intellectual property & patents, entrepreneurial endeavors, small business opportunities (SBIR), grant writing, collaborations, safety/chemical handling/hazardous disposal, chemical hygiene, job preparation, and animal/human subjects (incl. HEPA).
The following core courses are required of all students in the Ph.D. program:
| BMED 615 | Molecular Pharmacology | 3 cr. |
| BMED 621 | Drug Design, Development and Discovery & Lab | 4 cr. |
| BMED 622 | Drug Pharmacodynamics – Drug Receptor Interactions & Lab | 4 cr. |
| BMED 623 | Drug Diversity and Target-Oriented Synthesis | 3 cr. |
| MCHM 627 | Professional Development – Medicinal Chemistry | 3 cr. |
| TOTAL | 17 cr. |
Students must take at least three of the following courses:
| BIOC 581 | Physical Biochemistry | 3 cr. |
| BIOC 582 | Peptides and Proteins | 3 cr. |
| BIOC 588 | Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics | 4 cr. |
| BMED 600 | Advanced Cellular Biochemistry | 3 cr. |
| MCHM 624 | Special Topics in Medicinal Chemistry | 3 cr. |
| MCHM 625 | Drug Synthesis | 3 cr. |
| BMED 632 | Advanced Pharmaceutics | 3 cr. |
| BMED 641 | Toxicology I | 3 cr. |
| BMED 642 | Toxicology II | 3 cr. |
| BMED 661 | Neuroscience I | 3 cr. |
| BMED 662 | Neuroscience II | 3 cr. |
| CHEM 562 | Organic Structure and Mechanism | 3 cr. |
| CHEM 563 | Organic Synthesis | 3 cr. |
| COMP 458 | Introduction to Bioinformatics | 3 cr. |
| TOTAL | 9 cr. |
Examples of additional elective courses available to meet student interests (among others):
| BMED 610 | Neuropharmacology | 3 cr. |
| BMED 630 | Pharmacogenomics | 3 cr. |
| BMED 643 | Cellular and Molecular Toxicology | 3 cr. |
| BMED 646 | Neurotoxicology | 2 cr. |
| CHEM 581 | Chemical Biology | 3 cr. |
Thesis/Dissertation
| BMED 597/599 | Research/Thesis | up to 10 credits for M.S. Degree |
| BMED 697/699 | Research/Dissertation | up to 30 credits for Ph.D. Degree |