All students are required to complete basic graduate-level courses in biochemistry, physiology, neurobiology and pharmacology. Students may then select from a large number of advanced courses offered by the department or other departments within the School of Medicine. These include courses on cardiovascular pharmacology, central nervous system pharmacology, regulation and identification of receptors and toxicology. Elective courses include biostatistics, enzyme kinetics and molecular biology. The typical program consists of a minimum of 40 semester hours in graduate-level courses combined with individualized instruction in current laboratory methods for research.
All students work with several faculty members before selecting a preceptor for the thesis research.
By the end of the second year, a thesis research proposal should be submitted and the doctoral candidacy exam passed. The student is then admitted to candidacy for the degree. Thesis research should proceed through the third and fourth years of training. Committee acceptance of a written doctoral thesis and successful defense of the thesis are the final degree requirements. It is expected that the thesis research will be published in peer-reviewed journals.