CPTS PhD Program

Curriculum

The objective of the Clinical Pharmacy Translational Science (CPTS) PhD Program is to provide intensive didactic and mentored research training to post-graduates (PharmD, BS, etc.) with an interest in pursuing careers as independent investigators in research. Each student will select from two tracks for focused learning and training; Health Services Research (HSR) focuses on how health policy and our health systems and providers can impact and improve medication use, while Precision Pharmacotherapy focuses on the discovery and translation of physiological biomarkers that can be used to predict, monitor, or understand treatment outcomes.

All students will receive general instruction in translational pharmaceutical sciences, research study design, and grant proposal development, and participate in a Seminar series with departmental faculty. In-depth knowledge and skills in HSR or Precision Pharmacotherapy will be developed. We anticipate that students in the CPTS PhD Program will complete their doctoral studies in about four years. A general outline of the anticipated timeline and curricula for students within each track are provided in the below sections. Faculty of interest should be mentioned in application materials; however, we do not accept students into the program to do PhD work with specific faculty. There is no MS available. 

Please click on the following links to view our PhD Curriculum and Course Descriptions.

Faculty Advisors

Our faculty conduct collaborative clinical-translational research that generally focuses within Precision Pharmacotherapy and Health Services Research. 

Admissions

Successful applicants must demonstrate adequate preparation in pharmacy, chemistry, biochemistry and biology for the Precision Pharmacotherapy track and pharmacy, informatics, economics or sociology for the HSR track. A prior PharmD degree is preferred, but not required. Some applicants may be required to take additional courses to enhance their background in any of these areas.

• Procedures for applying to the CPTS PhD Program can be found HERE.
• All materials must be submitted to Rackham Graduate School.
• Applications are only accepted for Fall admission
• Applications are made available in mid-September of the preceding year,
• Application deadline is December 1, and decision notification letters are sent between January 15 and April 30.

All accepted students receive an annual stipend ~$35,000 and their UM tuition, benefits, and fees are paid by the PhD program. Questions? Please e-mail [email protected]

Admissions are only for the PhD Program in Clinical Pharmacy Translational Sciences. Applicants interested in a Master’s Degree should review information at the following link for the UM College of Pharmacy MS in Integrated Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSIPS).