The Harrison College of Pharmacy offers innovative dual degree programs for students interested in either bringing clinical perspectives to research topics or learning about health care on a community or global perspective.
The Harrison College of Pharmacy offers an innovative program for students who want to bring clinical perspectives to research topics. While pursuing their Pharm.D., students can apply to the program and begin conducting research. Following completion of the professional degree, students continue coursework toward a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences.
The Pharm.D.-Ph.D. program is designed to prepare individuals for a career as clinician-scientists or to enable them to bring clinical perspectives to basic science research topics. It is anticipated that these individuals will be prepared for careers in government, the pharmaceutical industry, or academia.
Students in the program will complete the Pharm.D. degree in its entirety and earn licensure to practice Pharmacy in Alabama before transitioning into the Ph.D. phase of the program. Nonetheless, the program fosters the engagement of students in research during the Pharm.D. phase of the program and permits students to count some coursework toward both degrees. These features reduce the time to complete both degrees to approximately seven years (versus 8+ years if the degrees were pursued separately).
HCOP Pharm.D. students may apply for entry into this dual degree program after completing the first year of the Pharm.D. program.
Ph.D. degree options are available in a variety of disciplines in the Department of Drug Discovery and Development and the Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy.
Students in the program generally complete Pharm.D. coursework, Ph.D. coursework, and research experiences each summer after entering the program. Both P4 elective rotations may be used for research experiences.
To obtain the Ph.D. degree, students must complete an original research project and defend a doctoral dissertation, in addition to completing additional coursework beyond the PharmD.
Graduate assistantships are typically available to support students during the Ph.D. phase of the program. These give the graduate assistant opportunities for didactic instruction, clinical instruction, and direct patient care activities. Hence, these graduate assistants receive training experiences that allow them to be competitive for a variety of positions after graduation and receive a stipend competitive with that paid to PGY1 residents.
Interested students should email hsopps@auburn.edu.
In a collaborative agreement with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Harrison College of Pharmacy students have the opportunity to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) while pursuing the Pharm.D. degree. Students are able to work on the degrees concurrently with options of taking the MPH classes online, in-person or a mix of the two.
This coordinated degree program is offered through the UAB School of Public Health and the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy. Students have the ability to pursue the concentration in Population Health.
The Auburn Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program is a four-year course of study that requires the completion of the pre-pharmacy curriculum prior to enrollment and includes course work in biomedical sciences; pharmaceutical sciences; behavioral, social, and administrative pharmacy sciences; pharmacy practice; and pharmacy practice experience. The MPH degree prepares students for careers to improve the health and well being of individuals, families, communities and populations, locally and globally. These complementary MPH/Pharm D dual coordinated degree programs provide students with a fuller and richer perspective of community and global health issues including the epidemiology of disease, health behavior, the impact of environmental and occupational factors on patient health, disease progression, management of disease states, drug and insurance policy issues, patient access to drug therapy, as well as pharmaceutical social, legal and ethical issues.
Students must complete the MPH Core plus 10 credit hours of MPH focus courses for a total of 30 credit hours in addition to the required Pharm.D. curriculum requirements. Twelve credit hours from the Pharm.D. curriculum are credited toward the MPH degree for a total of 42 MPH credit hours. Students may complete the MPH degree program totally online, in class, or through a mix of online and in class experiences. Out-of state online students pay the same tuition rate as Alabama residents.
Students entering the Pharm.D. program with a bachelor's degree may enroll in the MPH program and begin courses during the summer term before they matriculate into the Pharm.D.
Students who enter the Pharm.D. program without a bachelor's degree, but will be completing their Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Sciences at Auburn University in the College of Science and Mathematics at the end of Fall Semester of their second professional (P2) year may still begin a MPH degree. Since UAB typically requires a bachelor's degree to take graduate-level courses, these students may apply to UAB as a "transient" (visiting student) in order to begin work on a MPH degree beginning in the summer before they matriculate into the Pharm D. Transient students are designated as non-degree and typically remain enrolled for one semester - no more than two. There is no limit on the number of courses/hours for which they may register. Otherwise, these students are eligible to start taking MPH courses fall P2, but would likely start summer between P2 or P3.
Some students will enter the PharmD program prior to receiving a Bachelor degree; but, receive a BS or BA degree from their undergraduate university after completing some portion of the PharmD program. Since UAB typically requires a Bachelor degree to take graduate-level courses, these students may apply to UAB as a "transient" (visiting student) in order to begin work on a MPH degree in the summer before they matriculate into the Pharm D. Transient students are designated as non-degree and typically remain enrolled for one semester, no more than two. There is no limit on the number of courses/hours for which they may register. Otherwise, these students would be eligible to start the MPH Program after they received their BS degree from their undergraduate institution and would be eligible to enroll in the semester before they graduate with their BS or BA.
Those students entering without a BS degree, with the PharmD degree becoming their first degree, may apply during their final semester of the Pharm.D. program and then could start the MPH program either in the summer or fall following graduation with the Pharm.D. and would be allowed to count the 12 shared hours.
Students are admitted separately to the MPH and Pharm.D. programs. Upon acceptance to the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy program, students will be accepted automatically to the UAB MPH degree program.
Students must apply separately to each program. To apply to the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy, please follow the step-by-step instructions.
To apply for the dual MPH, please visit the UAB School of Public Health website for step-by-step instructions. Navigate to the dual degree section and apply through the Graduate School. Special instructions:
To apply as a transient student, visit the UAB Student Services website and fill out the form.
For additional information concerning the coordinated PharmD/MPH program or how to apply contact the UAB School of Public Health at soph@uab.edu or Mallory Hawkins in the Harrison College of Pharmacy at mhawkins@auburn.edu . Students can also contact Meghan Walker, program manager of the School of Public Health's Population Health and Coordinated Degree Programs, at 205-934-2684 or mewalker@uab.edu.