PhD Program

TAMU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS)

The Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) at Texas A&M University is a global leader in graduate education, committed to the pursuit of knowledge and the power of intellect. Through exceptional service and commitment to the highest standards, OGAPS advocates for graduate education at Texas A&M and throughout Texas. The Office of Graduate and Professional Studies is committed to a diverse campus climate, enhancement of the graduate experience and the development of all students as global citizens. For more information, visit the Texas A&M OGAPS site. 

Admission Guidelines

Fall Application Deadlines

• Domestic applicants — July 1
• International applicants — April 15

The application for fall 2021 admission (August) can be found here.

Spring Application Deadlines

• Domestic applicants — Dec. 1
• International applicants —Nov. 11

The application for spring 2021 (January) admission can be found here.

Areas of Specialization

• Pharmaceutics and drug delivery
• Pharmacology and toxicology
• Pharmaceutical chemistry
• Biomedical sciences
• Clinical pharmacokinetics

 Documents Needed and Scoring Criteria

• Letter of recommendation (minimum of 2)
• Overall GPA
• GRE (at least 152 in one of the sections and 300 in total desired)
• TOEFL/IELTS
• Background in Pharmacy/Engineering/other areas that are mission specific
• MS degree holders preferred but not required
• Research experience
• Potential for employment
• Essay (250 words max)

How to Apply (Domestic Students)

You are a domestic freshman if you:

• are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or have applied for permanent residency

For more information, visit the Texas A&M Office of Admissions site. 

How to Apply (International Students)

You are an international freshman if you:

• are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or
• are not graduating from a Texas high school after three years in residence in Texas (please review Senate Bill 1528)
• are a student without college credit or
• earned college credit prior to high school graduation (dual credit/early college high school)

For more information, visit the Texas A&M Office of Admissions site. 

Admissions Application

Applications can be submitted through ApplyTexas. The application you choose will not affect your admission decision. ApplyTexas can be used by any student to apply to any public and many private and community colleges in Texas. The Coalition application is a shared admissions application and toolkit to schools and colleges across the United States.

Tuition and Fees

Educational expenses for the months of enrollment will vary according to the course of study. For details on the basic budget for a particular graduate or professional program, please visit the Texas A&M Office of Financial Aid site. Scholarships & Financial Aid considers tuition and fees, books and supplies, transportation, room and board, incidental and living expenses in the cost of attendance for programs. All tuition and fee amounts provided herein represent the most accurate figures available at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. University Rules in place at the time of publishing are reflected here. All are subject to change. The most current information available will be maintained on the Student Business Services website.

Current Students

Degree Requirements

The College of Pharmacy PhD program follows the Texas A&M University guidelines for PhD program requirements and the SCH requirements for students with or without master’s degrees. Further, unlike other programs with separated disciplines of pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, or pharmacy administration, the proposed program will have only one administrative unit. Regardless of the discipline interest of students, they will take the required core courses followed by a qualifying examination conducted by the PHSC PhD Program Committee with help from the course instructors and advisory committees.

Following the completion of six-week lab rotations, students will select mentors and an advisory committee. This advisory committee will select prescribed electives to advance the student experience and training depending upon the discipline interest; the advisory committee will work with the PHSC Graduate Program Committee to develop content for the qualifying examination and take part in the progress evaluation of research throughout a student’s stay in the program.

The advisory committee, with assistance from the PHSC PhD Program Committee, ensures the general requirements of the Texas A&M graduate catalog are met. At the end of the second year, or any time prior, students will present their research proposal to the advisory committee and larger departmental audience in consultation with the major advisor. They will also take questions to demonstrate the mastery of the subject in which they are conducting dissertation research. Furthermore, students are required to participate in the College of Pharmacy’s seminar series and make a presentation on their respective dissertation topic at least once every year.

At the end of every year, students will present their progress report to their advisory committee or present departmental seminars on research progress, and complete their dissertations at least one month before the final defense. The dissertation must be defended in an open presentation followed by in-depth questions and examination on the research content by the advisory committee. Dissertations must be submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) as per their requirements.

Semester Credit Hour Requirements by Category

¹ Texas Education Code 61.059 (l) limits funding for doctoral students to 99 SCH. Programs may be allowed to require additional SCH, if there is a compelling academic reason. 

Courses

The program offers courses and opportunities to pursue graduate education in a variety of areas including process or product development of pharmaceutical products by quality by design and process analytical technologies with chemometrics and big data management techniques.

Further, the proposed PhD program will be the first of its kind offering graduate training and education based on the FDA’s critical path and CGMPs of the 21st century initiatives and the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education’s (NIPTE) recommendations for modernization of pharmaceutical development. Specialized courses such as pediatric dosage forms, vaccine delivery, chemometrics and big data management, process and product development with PAT and QBD tools are not offered as prescribed electives or electives in many other institutions. These unique courses will help modernize the pharmaceutical industry as needed by the FDA and pharm industry. Texas A&M is uniquely positioned to accomplish this because of the qualifications of the faculty in the College of Pharmacy as well as the state-of-the-art infrastructure at Texas A&M.

The faculty of the College of Pharmacy is diverse, which is a strength for the integration of knowledge required for pharmaceutical science research. The core courses represent basic fundamental knowledge required for all majors within pharmaceutical science. After the students complete these courses and laboratory rotations, they will select PhD advisory committees. Depending upon the specialty areas of the major advisor and advisory committee members, appropriate electives will be suggested. Another unique feature of the program is that students will understand the drug development from a regulatory standpoint so that they develop the ability to convert basic discoveries into actual dosage forms for targeted drug delivery, controlled drug delivery, biotech and vaccine product development, transdermal and topical drug delivery, as well as herbal drugs, nanotechnology for biomedical applications, and knowledge of big data management and chemometrics.

For transfer credits, a maximum of six credit hours will be allowed after the determination of competency-based equivalency with existing courses by the PHSC PhD Program Committee. For professional experience, a student may be allowed to work in a pharmaceutical industry for a maximum of six credit hours of research with consent of the major advisor and approval of the PHSC PhD Program Committee.

The College of Pharmacy has well-tested teaching strategies of active learning, problem-based learning, competency-based learning, and flip-teaching that have been evaluated by American Council on Pharmaceutical Accreditation when the college recently received its accreditation for PharmD degree. The College of Pharmacy will also participate in the Texas A&M pedagogy project to enhance student learning and professional experiences.

Required/Core Courses

The courses in the above table are the required courses for 26 SCH for all entering students without Master of Science (MS) degrees and 18 SCH with MS degrees. They build the foundation and bring consistency to a diverse group of incoming students. It is highly likely that some of these required courses have already been completed at the graduate level by students entering with MS degrees. Depending upon their backgrounds, only 18 out of the 26 credits will meet the requirements. If a student enters after a MS degree and is found to have taken more courses or their equivalents in an accredited program, the PHSC PhD Program Committee may waive the required course and substitute that course with an elective based on the students’ background and dissertation advisory committee recommendations.

Prescribed Elective Courses (course offering is determined by graduate program committee and availability of courses)

Prescribed electives vary depending upon the background of incoming students. If it is not prescribed, the students may elect to take the above courses or others from Texas A&M that their advisory committee may recommend.

Graduate Catalog

The Texas A&M University Graduate and Professional Catalog, published annually, provides information about the graduate and professional studies programs of Texas A&M University to students, prospective students, and faculty and staff of the university. Included is information concerning requirements for admission to graduate and professional studies at the university, services available to students, graduate and professional course offerings and listings of the administrative officers and the graduate faculty. For more information, visit the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional Catalog website. 

Graduate Faculty Profiles

Narenda Kumar, PhD
Associate Professor
(GPC Chair)
narendra08@tamu.edu

Mahua Choudhury, PhD
Associate Professor
mchoudhury@tamu.edu

Robert W. Hutchison, PharmD
Clinical Associate Professor
hutchison@tamu.edu

Mansoor A. Khan, PhD, RPh
Professor and Vice Dean 
mkhan@tamu.edu

Dongin (Donoven) Kim, PhD
Assistant Professor
dongin.kim@tamu.edu

M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, PhD
Professor
mnvrkumar@tamu.edu

Dai Lu, PhD
Associate Professor
dlu@tamu.edu

Mohammad Nutan, PhD
Associate Professor
mnutan@tamu.edu

Srinath Palakurthi, PhD
Professor
palakurthi@tamu.edu

Ziyaur Rahman, PhD
Associate Professor
rahman@tamu.edu

Samikkannu Thangavel, PhD
Associate Professor
thangavel@tamu.edu

Lixian Zhong, PhD
Assistant Professor
zhong@tamu.edu

Lin Zhu, PhD
Associate Professor
lzhu@tamu.edu

About Our Campuses

The College of Pharmacy operates educational and research campuses in Kingsville, Texas, and College Station, Texas. The first, second, and third professional years are offered on both campuses simultaneously, while the fourth professional year will continue to consist of advanced clinical rotations throughout Texas.

Using distance learning technology, we offer one curriculum that runs concurrently in real time, accommodating nearly all courses with the exception of practice and skills laboratories that will be physically offered on each campus.

College Station

The College of Pharmacy facilities in College Station are located on the main campus of Texas A&M University, and our students enjoy the full Aggieland experience. Beyond campus, Bryan-College Station is a community rich in tradition and history. Set deep in the heart of Central Texas, the region offers the modern amenities of a big city with a warm small-town charm, making this one of the friendliest places you’ll ever visit. 

Research focus areas on the College Station campus include:

• drug biomaterial design and synthesis
• nanomedicine and drug delivery
• drug formulations design and development
• biopharmaceutics
• drug 3-D printing
• drug quality control and good manufacturing practices
• disease biomarker development
• stem cell biology
• obesity and metabolic complications

Kingsville

The College of Pharmacy facilities in Kingsville are located on the campus of Texas A&M University Kingsville, the oldest institute of higher education in south Texas. Founded in 1904 and named for Captain Richard King of the legendary King Ranch, Kingsville is home to nearly 30,000 people, and is a vital part of Texas's growing gulf coast region. 

Research focus areas on the Kingsville campus include:

• anti-cancer drug design & synthesis
• polymer chemistry and drug discovery
• nanomedicine
• controlled release formulations
• drug delivery
• pharmacokinetics
• Cancer biomarkers,
• chronic inflammatory diseases (obesity, mental health, IBD)
• neuropathogenesis of HIV and drug abuse
• thrombosis
• platelet biology.

Campus Safety & University Police

College Station

The mission of the Texas A&M University Police Department is providing a safe and secure environment through education, the cooperative spirit of all university community members and the enforcement of laws and regulations. For more information, visit the Texas A&M University Police Department website. 

Kingsville

The Texas A&M-Kingsville University Police Department is dedicated to providing excellent customer service and protection to the campus community. One of our goals is to maintain a safe learning and working environment for everyone on campus. Additionally, the University Police Department is committed to educating the campus community on personal protection and crime awareness. For more information, visit the Texas A&M-Kingsville Police Department website. 

College Station

The College Station campus is about 4½ hours north of the Kingsville campus. It is also within a 3-hour drive or less to multiple metro areas, including:  

• San Antonio (3 hours southwest)
• Austin (2 hours southwest)
• Houston (1½ hours south)

Kingsville

Kingsville is within a 4-hour drive or less to multiple metro areas, including:

• San Antonio (2½ hours northwest)
• Austin (3½ hours north)
• Houston (4 hours northeast)
• Brownsville-McAllen-Harlingen metro area (2 hours south)

International Student Services

The Texas A&M University student population is comprised of a diverse group of students that includes more than 6,000 international students from nearly 130 nations. International Student Services (ISS) administers a wide variety of services to the international community of Texas A&M. The mission of ISS is to facilitate international students’ admittance to the United States, to assist international students’ transition to life in the United States and at Texas A&M, to promote interactions between the U.S. and international populations, and to provide services necessary to meet the special needs of international students. For more information, visit the Texas A&M International Student Services website.

Human Resource Department

Texas A&M University's Division of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness assists the university’s employees, departments, and HR Liaison Network members regarding human resources matters. For more information visit the Texas A&M Division of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness website.

Student Health Services

Graduate Programs Administration