MS and PhD programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Program overview

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offers Master of Science and PhD programs in pharmaceutical sciences that are designed to educate the next generation of scientists in the use, development and emerging technologies to advance research in the fields of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. These programs prepare graduates for research and active scholarship that will extend the knowledge base of pharmaceutical sciences in the areas of drug target discovery, drug testing and drug delivery. Graduates of the program will be prepared for careers in a variety of scientific fields in industry and academia, as well as for healthcare leadership positions.

Degrees offered

MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences

focused on foundational and technical knowledge to prepare students with workforce-ready skills designed to be completed in 1.5 years

PhD in Pharmaceutical Science

interdisciplinary, focused on preparing students to become independent investigators that are ready to tackle complex biomedical problems
designed to be completed in approximately 5 years

Research opportunities

Our department is home to faculty members with a diverse set of research interests that span nearly every aspect of pharmaceutical investigation, including disease pathogenesis, molecular diagnostics, drug-target identification, drug design, pharmaceutics, biomarker identification and clinical development. Particular disease areas of focus include muscular dystrophy, cancer, Lyme disease, bacterial infections and autoimmune disorders. Our faculty are world-renowned leaders in their fields, as reflected by their peer-reviewed publication records and their high levels of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), private philanthropic organizations as well the pharmaceutical industry. Students entering the PhD program typically perform rotations in three faculty labs prior to selecting their dissertation advisor in the spring of their first year. Project teams are typically composed of a multidisciplinary group of faculty that may include chemists, neuroscientists, geneticists, biomedical engineers and clinicians. As such, it is not unusual for PhD students to have a secondary research advisor in a different academic department. While not required, MS students may also affiliate with a research lab and participate in shorter-term research projects.

Research labs

The newly constructed Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science opened in 2017 with significant support ($60 million) from the state of New York. The school is housed in a recently completed facility that contains ~100,000 square feet of space and provides two floors for research laboratories and collaborative spaces (~50,000 square feet in total). Each faculty lab has dedicated space tailored to the faculty member’s particular research focus. The department has been outfitted with numerous “core” areas (shared research space) that contain state-of-the-art equipment for pharmacological, biological, and chemical research. Major pieces of equipment include: Orbitrap Q-Exactive HF Mass Spectrometer, Waters Acuity UPLC (H-Class) with Xevo TQD triple quadrupole mass detector, Waters Autopurification HPLC system with SQD2 quadrupole MS, Bruker Avance III HD 400 mHz NMR, GE Typhoon 5 fluorescent and NIR scanner, Leica DMi8 CEL Advanced Confocal Microscope, Amersham Typhoon 5 BioMolecular Imager and the MSD Meso QuickPlex SQ120.

Our animal facility is registered with the USDA and the New York State Department of Health, and is accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). Animals are housed in dedicated colony rooms adjacent to testing and experimental areas. Staff in the animal facilities includes a full-time veterinarian and a veterinary assistant, along with numerous laboratory animal caretakers.

After you graduate

Graduates of the MS program will be particularly well-suited for the life-sciences sector and technology services organizations. PhD graduates will be prepared for academic, government and industrial research positions. Training in entrepreneurism will also play a critical role in these programs, preparing graduates to address the rapid growth in biomedical and pharmaceutical startup companies and to provide consultation and technical advisory services to law firms, venture capitalists and the financial services industry. Graduates may also find themselves working in government in areas such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Admission requirements

To be eligible for graduate study, you must:

Provide a complete set of your official undergraduate (and, if applicable, graduate) transcripts showing one of the following:
- have earned a bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university that includes 12 or more credits in higher level chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, genetics and/or related area.
- be within one academic year of earning a bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university with 12 or more credits in higher level chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, genetics and/or related area.
- be eligible to apply as part of a memorandum of understanding between your current institution and Binghamton University and have completed 12 or more credits in higher level chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, genetics and/or related area.
Have earned, at minimum, one of the following:
- a 3.0 GPA over your entire undergraduate career
- a 3.0 GPA during your last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits of your undergraduate degree, with most courses graded regularly (not as "pass/fail")
- a 3.0 GPA in a graduate degree, with most courses graded regularly (not as "pass/fail")
  - In consideration of the different grading scales used around the world, each academic department evaluates international transcripts to determine on a case-by-case basis whether they demonstrate one of the above requirements.

To be eligible for graduate study in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, you must:

Provide a complete set of your undergraduate (and, if applicable, graduate) transcripts showing one of the following:
- that you have earned, or are within one academic year of earning, a bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university that includes 12 or more credits in higher level chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, pharmacology or related areas.
- that you are eligible to apply as part of a memorandum of understanding between your current institution and Binghamton University and have completed 12 or more credits in higher level chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physiology, pharmacology or related areas.
- that you have earned a GPA of 3.0 or above, with a science GPA of 3.0 or above.

GRE scores are not required. However, students are free to submit GRE scores if they feel it would be beneficial to their application.

Online graduate degree application with graduate degree application fee
Transcripts from each college or university that you have attended.
500-word personal statement that specifically addresses your research interests and professional goals with a mention of possible current Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD faculty member(s) whose current research may best coincide with your background and interests
Curriculum vitae
Two letters of recommendation for graduate study

For general guidelines for these materials and to apply, see the Graduate School MS/PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences page.

International students must also submit the following materials:

International Student Financial Statement (ISFS) form
supporting financial documentation (such as bank statements, scholarship or sponsor letters, etc.)
proof of English proficiency:
- TOEFL (≥ 100)
- IELTS (≥6.5)
- PTE(≥53)
- Academic/Duolingo* (≥105)

* In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Graduate School at Binghamton University has temporarily approved the use of the Duolingo English Test as proof of English proficiency through the 2023 application cycle. Updates for the 2024 application cycle will be posted here when available.

For more information about these materials, see the International Students section of the Admission Requirements website.

Application fee waivers

Application fee waivers are generally not granted except in very specific circumstances outlined on the web. Eligible students include the following:

CSTEP, EOP, HEOP, LSAMP Program, Project 1000, SEEK Program or TRIO Program (McNair Scholars Program, Student Support Services, Upward Bound, etc.) students
GEM Fellowship applicants
United States Armed Forces veterans and active duty service members

This information is subject to change. While we make every effort to update these program pages, we recommend that you contact the department with questions about program-specific requirements.

Deadlines

Degree	Fall
MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences	Rolling (before March 15)
PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences	Rolling (before March 15)

Contact

Yetrib Hathout
Professor and Graduate Director
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
pharmsci@binghamton.edu
607-777-5825
PB-303C