Program of Study Graduate studies are available in this Department leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Medicinal Chemistry. The focus of the educational program is on the theory and practice of drug design, with additional advanced-level instruction in the appropriate underlying scientific areas.
Students normally focus entirely on course work during the first year of the program.
This centers around advanced medicinal and biomedicinal chemistry courses, which are offered in small-group tutorial sessions. Students are expected to concentrate on fundamental concepts from the drug design literature and then formulate their own ideas about possible new directions based on recent advances in the field. Each student is responsible for a number of written and oral presentations. Early in the program students generally rotate through two faculty laboratories, where they carry out small research projects. These experiences in turn provide a basis for choosing a laboratory in which to conduct subsequent thesis or dissertation research.