PhD Program

About the PhD Program

Prospective students who would like to enter the graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences select from one of five specific training tracks with an emphasis in the following disciplines: pharmaceutics and drug delivery, pharmacology and toxicology, pharmaceutical/medicinal chemistry, clinical pharmacokinetics, and biomedical sciences. We tailor our curriculum, resources, and mentoring styles to the individual needs of a diverse next generation of pharmaceutical scientists who will positively shape the world through scientific research in the pharmaceutical sciences. Students with or without master's degrees will be considered for admission into PhD program.

Texas A&M University is ranked among the top U.S. public universities and is the top university in the south and southwest states for research funding according to the National Science Foundation. With some of the most accomplished faculty across the nation, the graduate faculty also exemplifies the highest standards in teaching, research, and scholarship. By joining the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy you will be engaged in exciting research while becoming a part of the Aggie family, a unique and life-long experience full of traditions and a network of leaders across the world.

With 25 PhD faculty members with expertise in pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, immunology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, as well as the social and behavioral sciences and more than 20 postdoctoral fellows and staff scientists, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has active research projects with funding from the NIH, FDA, DOD, NIPTE, American Heart Association, several state and national foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry. The research spans the areas of cancer, diabetes, pain, HIV, cardiovascular diseases, opioid/cannabinoids addiction, drug delivery systems and formulations, manufacturing sciences, epigenetics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing and many more emerging technologies.

Our diverse student body comes from across the nation and the world to become independent and creative scientists and develop professional skill sets through top research projects, professional development, and other trainings that prepare them to become leaders in a wide range of pharmaceutical sciences. Being part of our PhD program allows our graduate students to select one of our two campuses: the traditional Aggie experience on the College Station campus and the Kingsville campus that is located in the coastal bend area of South Texas. The campuses may be geographically different, but both provide students with excellent resources, cultures and environments in which to pursue graduate studies in the pharmaceutical sciences. The goal of graduate study at the School of Pharmacy is to develop the intellectual breadth and specialized training necessary for a career in transforming the health care capacity to its full extent.

Mission Statement

The mission of the PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PHSC) is to provide a comprehensive knowledge base that leads to drug discovery, design, and development of pharmaceutical dosage forms through basic and applied research in pharmaceutical sciences. This comprehensive knowledge will afford graduates the ability to detect and correct product manufacturing issues of post-marketing adverse drug events and to perform translational research leading to the discovery and development of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Consistent with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) message of pharmaceutical current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) of the 21st century, Process Analytical Technologies (PAT), Quality by Design (QbD), and the Critical Path Initiative, the PHSC aims to provide strong foundational, educational, and research training in drug discovery and pharmaceutical product development; delivery of drugs to their sites of action; modernization of pharmaceutical manufacturing; regulatory affairs; and to support the existing preclinical and translational research programs within Texas A&M to obtain practical dosage forms that benefit patients and the citizens of Texas.   

The PHSC program will prepare students for executive positions in academia, research, education, government, industry, and related fields. These new leaders of pharmacutical sciences will identify, research, and problem-solve issues related to pharmaceutical sciences. The proposed PhD program will provide education and research training for a comprehensive knowledge base required for translational research from bench to bed side, and to identify product quality issues that cause post-marketing adverse drug events and recalls that lead to dose and medication changes by physicians. It will prepare the students to fill the voids of pharmaceutical scientists and executives in academia, research, education, government, industry, and related fields.  

Vision Statement

Texas A&M’s strategic plan supports doctoral programs. The strategic plan can be found on the Office of the Provost website. Texas A&M’s strategic planning document Vision 2020 and road map to achieve this vision with 12 “imperatives” can be found on the Vision 2020 website. The top two imperatives include elevation of faculty with teaching, research and scholarship, and the strengthening of graduate programs. The School of Pharmacy is already receiving solid support to hire established faculty with attractive start-up packages, equipment purchases, space for laboratories, and a new good manufacturing practice laboratory. The establishment of the proposed PhD in PHSC supports the imperative of strengthening graduate programs.

The School of Pharmacy's Research and Scholarship strategic goals reflect the Health Science Center’s strategic plan and lists development of graduate programs as a key objective/strategic direction to achieve the institution’s aspirations of national ranking similar to other strong programs within Texas A&M. Additionally, during the most recent faculty retreat, RSOP faculty overwhelmingly voted for development of PhD program in PHSC as the top priority for the College of Pharmacy.

The students will be informed of the marketable skills through several didactic courses on applied sciences and reinforcing of this knowledge through industrial collaboration, and industrial internships and ultimately through awareness on absorption of workforce in pharmaceutical industries, public universities, and government agencies such as FDA and others. The students are also expected to attend professional meetings with the mentors, and they will have a lot of opportunities to interact with potential recruiters.