Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

General Information

These guidelines represent the policies of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology regarding the doctoral (Ph.D.) program. The doctoral program is administered by the Graduate Committee consisting of the Graduate Program Director, additional faculty members elected by the faculty, and a doctoral candidate selected by the graduate students. This committee is responsible for reviewing the progress of the students, administering the qualifying exams and recommending changes in the program for approval by the faculty. In addition, the Department Chairman, the Graduate Committee, and all members of the faculty are available to assist students in their progress towards successful completion of the Ph.D. degree and in obtaining outstanding research positions following graduation.  Additional guidelines from the Graduate School Catalog should also be reviewed.

Students are expected to read and be familiar with all of the policies and requirements outlined herein. These guidelines are not meant to supersede the academic policies of the University as outlined in the Graduate School Catalog. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Graduate School Catalog, the policies on academic standing, the statement of student ethics, and the requirements for obtaining graduate degrees at the University of Louisville.

Graduate Program Administrators 

• Dr. Peter Rowell is Vice Chair for Graduate Education
• Dr. Chris States is director for graduate student admissions and recruitment
• Sharon Carpenter is administrative assistant for the graduate programs

Student Honor Code

Students enrolled in the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate programs at the University of Louisville are required to affirm that they have read, understand, and will abide by the Code of Student Rights and Reponsibilities of the University of Louisville as published in the Student Handbook. 

Student PhD Programs

• PhD Curriculum (PDF)
• PhD/Medical Oncology Curriculum (PDF)

Many students will matriculate into the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate program through the School of Medicine's Integrated Programs in the Biomedical Sciences (IPIBS) gateway. The Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate program is designed to facilitate matriculation from the IPIBS gateway.

Student Financial Support

Students accepted into the Ph.D. program will be considered for financial aid. The Department houses a NIEHS Predoctoral Training Program in Environmental Health Sciences which provides stipend support for selected students. Since all Ph.D. students and candidates are considered to be full-time students, they generally are not permitted to seek outside employment while enrolled in the doctoral program. In cases where financial aid is limited and additional support is essential, students needing outside employment must apply in writing for departmental faculty approval. The faculty must also approve any change in employment, as well as approving continued outside employment on an annual basis.

Laboratory Research and Selection of Advisor

Students in the Ph.D. program receive training in both the classroom and laboratory. It is most important that students begin work in the laboratory as soon as possible. During the summer of the first year, incoming students attend an orientation program to introduce them to the facilities and the research activities of the faculty. During this time, each student will choose or be assigned to participate in a research laboratory, although this may not be the laboratory in which the dissertation research is completed.

During the first semester, students will take a research methods course designed to familiarize them with basic pharmacological research techniques and practices. During the first quarter, students also will meet more formally with those faculty members of the department with whom the student may wish to work. Students will participate in laboratory rotations in order to familiarize themselves with a variety of possible research projects and faculty mentors. Students will receive a letter grade for their research effort and performance every semester prior to becoming a doctoral candidate.

As soon as possible, but no later than the end of the first year, students must select Graduate Research Advisors. Early selection of research projects and advisors will permit students to spend a maximum amount of time pursuing their research goals and thus shorten the time required for completion of their dissertation research. The selections of the graduate advisors must be approved by the Graduate Committee. Students are expected to begin working diligently in the laboratory of their research advisors as soon as the selections are made. Although students normally remain in the laboratories of these advisors for all Ph.D. training, if it is decided by either an individual student or his or her advisor that a change of research advisors is desirable, then the student has the option of selecting a new research advisor with the approval of the Graduate Committee.

Selection of Dissertation Committee

Once an advisor has been selected and the research project is underway, the advisor in consultation with the student will submit to the Graduate Committee names of five faculty members willing to serve on the student's Dissertation Committee. Since this dissertation committee must approve the student's research proposal, the committee should be appointed as soon as possible. Committees must be approved by the Graduate Committee, the Chair of the Department and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Seminars and Research Conferences

All students are expected to attend departmental seminars, research conferences and journal clubs and will register for 5280-606 (Pharmacology Seminar, one hour credit) each semester. Students will also give one presentation per year. Following these presentations, students will be given written evaluations which will be discussed with them by a member of the departmental Seminar Committee. Doctoral candidates will normally have meetings with their Dissertation Committees following their annual seminars in which their accomplishments and progress towards the Ph.D. degree will be discussed. All students are expected to participate actively in the questions and discussion following seminars. Students will receive grades based both on their individual presentations as well as their participation in the other departmental seminars.

Qualifying Exams for Ph.D. degree

Ph.D. students will take a series of Qualifying Exams, formulated by the faculty members of the department and administered by the Graduate Committee. Each exam will be designed to assess the ability of students to apply their knowledge to various research situations.

Evaluation of Student's Progress toward the Ph.D. Degree

At the end of every semester, the progress of each Ph.D. student will be evaluated by the departmental faculty. Ph.D. students are expected to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0, satisfactory research performance, active participation in department activities and seminars, and acceptable performance on the Qualifying Exams (for second year students). Students who receive grades of C or below in two or more courses will be considered for dismissal. Students must also maintain a satisfactory level of research performance in order to retain their research assistantship.

NIH Grant and Research Progress Reports

As part of the doctoral training program, students must complete and submit to their Dissertation Committees and the departmental faculty a dissertation research proposal in the form of an NIH grant application. A copy will be placed in the departmental office. After faculty and committee members have had at least two weeks to read the student's grant application, the proposal will be presented and defended by the student during a scheduled seminar period. The student's dissertation committee must give written approval of the proposal prior to advancement to candidacy.

The NIH grant application may be submitted at any time during the second year of study, but normally will be submitted before April 1 and presented by the end of May. One hour of Independent Study credit will be given during the Spring semester of the second year for work on grant application, and a grade will be assigned for the quality of the application.

Masters Candidacy and Thesis

After successful completion of all required coursework and successful completion of qualifying exams, the student will be admitted to Master's candidacy. Once candidacy is achieved, presentation and successful defense of a thesis will be the remaining requirement for the M.S. degree (see Masters Program).

Doctoral Candidacy

After successful completion of all required course work, successful completion of the qualifying exams (accumulation of 24 points), approval of the NIH grant application, and acceptable performance in the laboratory, a student will become a Doctoral Candidate. The M.S. degree and doctoral candidacy should normally be achieved no later than the summer following the second year. The remaining requirement is to demonstrate to the student's Dissertation Committee his/her ability to plan, conduct, analyze, and present original research.

Each year of candidacy, students will present updates of their research progress at regularly scheduled departmental seminars. Student Dissertation Committees must provide annual written certification of satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. Failure to make satisfactory progress towards the Ph.D. degree, documented by unsatisfactory reports from the student's Dissertation Committee, is grounds for dismissal from the program.

Dissertation

The writing and defense of a Doctoral Dissertation is the final requirement for the Ph.D. degree. Dissertation committee members must have had at least two weeks to read a student's Dissertation before a defense can be scheduled. The dissertation must present data of sufficient quality and quantity so as to convince the Dissertation Committee that the student possesses the ability to pursue independent and original research. The student must defend the research protocol, results, and conclusions at an oral Dissertation Defense. To satisfactorily pass the dissertation defense, a student may not receive more than one unfavorable vote from a member of the Dissertation Committee.