Admission Requirements
Applicants to the Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research should possess a bachelor's or master's degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants without a bachelor of science in pharmacy or a doctor of pharmacy degree will be considered but, in general, preference will be given to candidates with previous pharmacy related education and/or experience.
The applicant must satisfy the general requirements of the Graduate School before consideration for admission to the program. For more information of the Graduate School Admission criteria, visit the web site at http://graduate.umaryland.edu/admissions.html. In addition to official transcripts and three letters of recommendation as evidence of academic potential, the student is to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination and TOEFL, if necessary.
Occasionally a few students who fail to meet these minimum standards may be admitted to graduate study as provisional students on the basis of outstanding performance on the Graduate Record Exam and on the basis of letters of recommendation from competent judges of their performance as students or in a professional capacity. Provisional admissions carry explicit conditions (e.g., minimal grade requirements in stipulated courses) that must be met before the student can be advanced to full graduate status. Specific conditions for admission as a provisional graduate student may be found in the current edition of the Graduate School Catalog.
Officially, applications must be received by the Graduate School by July 1 (January 15th for International Students) for the Fall Semester, December 1 (May 1 for International Students) for the Spring Semester and by May 15 for admission to the Summer Semester. However, it is preferred that students that are applying for the Fall semester submit their materials prior to January 1. Applicants interested in receiving a teaching assistantship or research assistantship must apply by March 1. An international student application must be received six months prior to the semester of expected entrance. Specific details of the admission procedures are contained in the Graduate School Catalog.
The following forms and/or documents are required for processing of an application by the Graduate School:
Application for Admission (three copies)
Application Fee
Two official transcripts mailed to the Graduate School at:
Graduate Enrollment Affairs
110 South Paca Street, 4th Floor
University of Maryland
Baltimore, MD 21201Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (mailed to the Graduate School). please use code 5848 for the Graduate School, and 0699 for the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research.
TOEFL or IELTS scores (for international applicants), minimum 550, (computer version between 215), (mailed to the Graduate School) please use code 5848 for the Graduate School, and 0699 for the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research.
Statement of financial status (International Students)
Immigration documents (form I-20) (International Students)
Students should indicate on the application a Track or Specialization of interest, if known, from the following list:
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Pharmaceutical Policy
- Health Behavior
Dual Degree Admissions
New Student Procedure
Students applying for the first time to the PHSR program may also apply for admission into the dual-degree program. In addition to the Graduate School application, they must also submit the dual-degree application, which can be obtained from the PHSR Graduate Program Coordinator. Students will not be required to submit any additional information although they may submit an additional letter of interest for the dual- degree Program. The letters of recommendation submitted to the PHSR program will also be used for the application to the dual-degree program.
Current PHSR Student Procedure
Currently enrolled students may apply to the dual-degree program at any time, but before they formally establish their doctoral dissertation committee. Students are required to submit the following items:
- A completed PHSR/DEPM Dual Degree Application
- A Letter of Intent
- Two Letters of Recommendation from PHSR Faculty Members
The PHSR Admissions Committee will forward the application materials for eligible applicants to the DEPM Graduate Program Committee, Admissions Subcommittee for review. All decisions regarding admissions into the dual-degree are determined by DEPM and students will be notified directly by that department.
Advising
Students in the dual-degree program will have their primary advisor in the PHSR program. Students will develop their Curriculum Committee with the standard three members from the PHSR program and one additional faculty from the DEPM.
Coursework
PHSR PhD students must meet all of the requirements for the PhD degree that are in effect upon their entry into the program. Requirements for the dual-degree are in addition to the PhD requirements.
Dissertation
There is only one dissertation required. To meet the training goals of the PhD dissertation research and the MS thesis research requirements, the dissertation must have significant epidemiological content and/or methods. At least one committee member, in addition to any member serving primarily as a statistical or medical consultant, must be a graduate faculty member with a primary appointment in DEPM.