All doctoral programs in the School of Medicine are combined into a single Basic Medical Science "umbrella" training program where all doctoral students take the same multidisciplinary courses during the first year, and then branch out into different specialties during the second year, which will depend on the students area of interest. For current information on the BioMedical Sciences (BMS) doctoral program, check out the BMS home page. A list of required & recommended courses for those choosing the pharmacology track can be found on our pharmacology doctoral website. Second year doctoral students focusing on a pharmacology emphasis can find more detailed information on their course schedule & uploaded lecture media provided on our Canvas Learning Management System, accessible to faculty and registered students.
Our one year master's curriculum has been designed so that different courses cover related topics in thematic blocks in a coherent and coordinated manner. For example, during each block, classes cover the basic science principles, medical pharmacology, and the scientific literature (journal club) of various topics in a coordinated sequence. Our masters curriculum is also "objective based" in design, with each lecture or small group session having its own set of specific educational learning objectives designed to focus learning. These learning objectives are provided for each content hour, prior to each block of lectures. Examples have been posted online (see navigation bar above). A list of required & elective courses in our Masters program can be found on our pharmacology masters website.
Our pharmacology curriculum includes 32 credit hours of graduate coursework that can be applied to meet the "32-hour rule" used by some medical schools that focus on the most recent 32 hours of course work when assessing academic performance during their admissions process. This is of greatest benefit to those students with either a low undergraduate GPA, or who have been out of school for awhile prior to applying to medical school.
A detailed weekly course schedule & access to lecture media is provided on our Canvas Learning Management System, accessible to faculty and registered students.
Students in the School of Medicine may wish to pursue a combined degree in some area of research related to medicine. Some of the reasons for pursuing a combined degree include:
- to continue working in an area of research with which the student has become acquainted during his undergraduate training or while working during the non-academic period of their career;
- to ascertain whether they have an interest in research because opportunities had not been available to them before;
- to prepare them better for a life in academic medicine; and
- to broaden their approach to the practice of medicine so that their patients will obtain the maximal benefit of the application of the information and skills learned during the graduate study.
For these or other reasons, medical students may wish to consider applying for the graduate program in the Department of Pharmacology at Tulane University. There are two choices available:
- MS/MD program
- PhD/MD program
It is also possible for medical students to obtain research training in pharmacology working with a faculty member without pursuing a graduate degree.
