SIUE School of Pharmacy Adds Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SOP) is introducing a master’s program in pharmaceutical sciences to begin fall 2016. The SOP is the only school in Illinois and the metro St. Louis area to offer this degree.
“We have developed a strong Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) program because of our internationally recognized faculty with their many years of academic and pharmaceutical industry experience, ensuring the overall quality of our department,” said Mike Crider, PhD, chair of the SOP’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “As a result, our research program has advanced rapidly, receiving several federal grants along with infrastructure additions and improvements.
“Offering a master’s in pharmaceutical sciences capitalizes on the expertise and infrastructure we have within the SOP in order to provide students with an excellent range of career options. A number of our faculty hold adjunct appointments in the departments of chemistry and biology, and direct master’s thesis research with students from these programs.”
“While pharmacists work to manage patient care with emphasis on therapies using existing drugs, pharmaceutical scientists work to discover and develop new drugs,” said SOP Dean Gireesh Gupchup, PhD. “The pharmaceutical sciences not only determine the detailed biological mechanism of disease, but also develop the molecular interventions that can provide the treatment or cure.”
Students of the new program may choose a concentration in the areas of medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and pharmaceutics.
“Drug discovery is, by its very nature, a multidisciplinary undertaking,” said Bill Neumann, PhD, graduate program director and associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. “By studying the pharmaceutical sciences, students concentrate on their chosen discipline in the laboratory, but receive exposure to a number of other important areas in both the classroom and by participation in research.”
Through this new offering, students will have the tools necessary to pursue careers in pharmaceutical sciences research engaging in the discovery and development of new drugs, or to pursue PhDs in health sciences, medical and drug discovery research. Additionally, students will be prepared for other non-research, but science- and technology-related positions relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.
“On the basis of my prior work with graduate students at other institutions, master’s of pharmaceutical sciences graduates have found highly attractive research positions in the pharmaceutical industry,” Crider said. “We expect the same to happen with students in our program.”
According to data gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Labor indicates a continued growth rate for medical scientists of eight percent between the years 2014-2024.
For further information about the master’s in pharmaceutical sciences program at SIUE, please contact Neumann at wneuman@siue.edu or 618-650-5088.
Photo: Mike Crider, PhD, chair of the SOP’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
