To qualify as a dual degree student in any of the training paradigms which appear in the Bulletin, a student must have evidence of having been simultaneously enrolled in one or more courses of both of the programs constituting the “dual degree” for at least one semester.
The School of Pharmacy and the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health in VCU’s School of Medicine offer a dual degree program through which students earn both Pharm.D. and M.P.H. degrees. This dual degree program offers students the opportunity to achieve a Doctor of Pharmacy while also learning about research and the importance of population health. This five-year program requires students to spend the fourth year of the Pharm.D. program pursuing the M.P.H. degree, after which they transition back to pharmacy for advanced practice experiences.
Students are required to take a minimum of 36 credits in the M.P.H. curriculum. This includes 24 credit hours of core courses, a minimum of nine credit hours of concentration courses and a minimum of three credit hours of a capstone project that examines a relevant public health topic. These courses [credits] within the Pharm.D. curriculum count toward the M.P.H. degree:
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| IPEC 501 | Foundations of Interprofessional Practice | 1 |
| PHAR 509 | Evidence-Based Pharmacy I: Introduction to Pharmacy Information Skills | 1.5 |
| PHAR 533 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience: Patient Care | 0.5 |
| PHAR 545 | The U.S. Health Care System | 2 |
| PHAR 546 | Pharmacy-based Immunization Delivery | 1.5 |
| PHAR 565 | Evidence-based Pharmacy II: Research Methods and Statistics | 2.5 |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Students in this dual degree program must complete a minimum of 191 graduate credit hours to earn both degrees. If students were to complete both degrees independently, a minimum total of 200 graduate credit hours would be required.
The required M.P.H. internship and M.P.H. capstone project will be completed in a community setting during the P5 year. The internship will be a community health-based advanced practice experience approved by both programs that involves the development of one or more deliverables. The M.P.H. capstone project will be a comprehensive, integrated learning experience involving either a hypothesis-based research question or a comprehensive project serving the needs of a professional public health organization. Examples include a disease surveillance project, a needs assessment or program evaluation, or analysis of survey data.
Note that some elective courses may not be available in certain years or may require instructor permission for registration.
VCU Graduate Bulletin, VCU Graduate School and general academic policies and regulations for all graduate students in all graduate programs
The VCU Graduate Bulletin website documents the official admission and academic rules and regulations that govern graduate education for all graduate programs at the university. These policies are established by the graduate faculty of the university through their elected representatives to the University Graduate Council.
It is the responsibility of all graduate students, both on- and off-campus, to be familiar with the VCU Graduate Bulletin as well as the Graduate School website and academic regulations in individual school and department publications and on program websites. However, in all cases, the official policies and procedures of the University Graduate Council, as published on the VCU Graduate Bulletin and Graduate School websites, take precedence over individual program policies and guidelines.
Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on academic regulations for graduate students.
Degree candidacy requirements
A graduate student admitted to a program or concentration requiring a final research project, work of art, thesis or dissertation, must qualify for continuing master’s or doctoral status according to the degree candidacy requirements of the student’s graduate program. Admission to degree candidacy, if applicable, is a formal statement by the graduate student’s faculty regarding the student’s academic achievements and the student’s readiness to proceed to the final research phase of the degree program.
Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following degree candidacy policy as published in the VCU Graduate Bulletin for complete information and instructions.
Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on degree candidacy requirements.
Graduation requirements
As graduate students approach the end of their academic programs and the final semester of matriculation, they must make formal application to graduate. No degrees will be conferred until the application to graduate has been finalized.
Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following graduation requirements as published in the Graduate Bulletin for a complete list of instructions and a graduation checklist.
Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on graduation requirements.
Other information
School of Medicine graduate program policies
The School of Medicine provides policies applicable to all programs administratively housed in the school. Information on master’s programs is available elsewhere in this chapter of the Graduate Bulletin.
For M.P.H., apply online at sophas.org and complete a VCU supplemental application following instructions available at sophas.org and the Family Medicine and Population Health/Division of Epidemiology website. Pharm.D. applicants follow instructions on the School of Pharmacy website.
Please review the admission requirements for each stand-alone degree (Master of Public Health and Doctor of Pharmacy) in the VCU Graduate and Professional Bulletins to learn the specific application requirements for each program.
Curriculum requirements
M.P.H. courses
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Program core | ||
| BIOS 543 | Graduate Research Methods I | 3 |
| BIOS 544 | Graduate Research Methods II | 3 |
| EPID 547 | Applied Data Analysis Lab I | 1.5 |
| EPID 548 | Applied Data Analysis Lab II | 1.5 |
| EPID 571 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| EPID 580 | Public Health Ethics | 1 |
| EPID 593 | Foundations of the Public Health Profession | 2 |
| EPID 604 | Principles of Environmental Health | 3 |
| HCPR 601 | Introduction to Health Policy | 3 |
| SBHD 605 | Introduction to Social and Behavioral Health | 3 |
| Additional required courses | ||
| EPID 600 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| EPID 603 | Public Health Policy and Politics | 3 |
| EPID 622 | Maternal and Child Health | 3 |
| Integrative learning course | ||
| EPID 694 | MPH Capstone Project | 3 |
| Noncurricular requirements | ||
| In addition to course work, students must attend 12 public health seminars and complete 20 hours of community-based service-learning. | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Pharm.D. courses
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| IPEC 501 | Foundations of Interprofessional Practice | 1 |
| IPEC 502 | Interprofessional Quality Improvement and Patient Safety | 1 |
| IPEC 561 | IPE Virtual Geriatric Case | 2 |
| MEDC 527 | Basic Pharmaceutical Principles for the Practicing Pharmacist | 3 |
| MEDC 533 | Pharmacognosy | 2 |
| MEDC 542 | Biotechnology-derived Therapeutic Agents | 1 |
| MEDC 543 | Clinical Chemistry for the Pharmacist | 1 |
| MEDC 553 | Concepts in the Medicinal Chemistry of Therapeutics Agents | 1 |
| PCEU 501 | Pharmaceutical Calculations | 1 |
| PCEU 507 | Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics I | 3 |
| PCEU 508 | Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PCEU 509 | Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics II | 3 |
| PCEU 615 | Applied Pharmacokinetics | 2.5 |
| PHAR 509 | Evidence-Based Pharmacy I: Introduction to Pharmacy Information Skills | 1.5 |
| PHAR 513 | Contemporary Pharmacy Practice | 2 |
| PHAR 515 | Continuous Professional Development I | 1 |
| PHAR 523 | Foundations I | 1.5 |
| PHAR 524 | Foundations II | 1.5 |
| PHAR 526 | Community Pharmacy Practice | 2 |
| PHAR 529 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Introduction to Special Populations | 2 |
| PHAR 530 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience: Community Practice | 4 |
| PHAR 532 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience: Hospital Practice | 3 |
| PHAR 533 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience: Patient Care | 0.5 |
| PHAR 534 | Foundations III | 1.5 |
| PHAR 535 | Foundations IV | 1.5 |
| PHAR 540 | Self-Care and Alternative and Complementary Treatments | 2.5 |
| PHAR 541 | Patient Assessment in Pharmacy Practice | 2 |
| PHAR 544 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Cardiovascular | 4.5 |
| PHAR 545 | The U.S. Health Care System | 2 |
| PHAR 546 | Pharmacy-based Immunization Delivery | 1.5 |
| PHAR 549 | Personalized Medicine | 1 |
| PHAR 555 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Endocrinology | 2.5 |
| PHAR 556 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Neurology | 4 |
| PHAR 565 | Evidence-based Pharmacy II: Research Methods and Statistics | 2.5 |
| PHAR 566 | Evidence-based Pharmacy III: Drug Literature Evaluation | 2 |
| PHAR 602 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Psychiatry | 3 |
| PHAR 603 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Respiratory/Immunology | 2.5 |
| PHAR 604 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Infectious Diseases | 4.5 |
| PHAR 605 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Hematology/Oncology | 2.5 |
| PHAR 606 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Nephrology/Urology | 2 |
| PHAR 607 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Dermatology/EENT | 2 |
| PHAR 615 | Continuous Professional Development II | 1 |
| PHAR 618 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Gastrointestinal/Nutrition | 2.5 |
| PHAR 619 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Women's Health/Bone | 2 |
| PHAR 620 | Clinical Therapeutics Module: Critical Care/Toxicology and Complex Patients | 2.5 |
| PHAR 621 | Pharmacoeconomics | 2 |
| PHAR 640 | Foundations V | 1.5 |
| PHAR 645 | Foundations VI | 1.5 |
| PHAR 652 | Health Promotion and Communication in Pharmacy Practice | 2.5 |
| PHAR 660 | Community Pharmacy Practice Management II | 2 |
| PHAR 715 | Continuous Professional Development III | 1 |
| PHAR 724 | Pharmacy Law | 2.5 |
| PHAR 730 | Continuous Professional Development IV | .5 |
| PHAR 760 | Acute Care Pharmacy Practice I | 5 |
| PHAR 761 | Advanced Hospital Pharmacy Practice | 5 |
| PHAR 762 | Geriatrics Pharmacy Practice | 5 |
| PHAR 763 | Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice | 5 |
| PHAR 765 | Elective I | 5 |
| PHAR 766 | Elective II | 5 |
| PHAR 768 | Advanced Community Pharmacy Practice | 5 |
| PHAR 773 | Acute Care Pharmacy Practice II | 5 |
| PHTX 606 | Introduction to Pharmacology of Therapeutic Agents (Pharmacy) | 1 |
| Electives | 5 | |
| Total Hours | 155 | |
The minimum total of graduate credit hours required for this degree is 191.
Typical plan of study
Many students often end up taking more than the minimum number of hours required for a degree program. The total number of hours may vary depending upon the program, nature of research being conducted by a study or in the enrollment or funding status of the student. Students should refer to their program websites and talk with their graduate program directors or advisers for information about typical plans of study and registration requirements.
Contacts
Juan Lu, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.D.
Associate professor, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, and graduate program director
juan.lu@vcuhealth.org
(804) 828-9786
Pramit A Nadpara, Ph.D.
Assistant professor, Department of Pharmacotheraphy and Outcomes Science
panadpara@vcu.edu
(804) 828-3245
Additional contact
Lisa S. Anderson
Director of educational programs, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health
lisa.s.anderson@vcuhealth.org
(804) 628-2512
Program website: pharmacy.vcu.edu and MPH Dual Degrees web page