PharmD/MPH Dual Degree

PHARMD/MPH (Doctor of Pharmacy/Master of Public Health)

The PharmD/MPH Program provides students with the knowledge, tools, and skills to enhance their pharmacy and public health practice in the community. The dual program curriculum consists of MPH core courses, MPH concentration courses, PharmD courses and PharmD clinical education. This program is designed to train students who wish to seek careers in state and local health departments, pharmaceutical industry, managed care organizations, and academia. Other anticipated audience may include students who are interested in both areas and wish to integrate their public health and pharmacy practice. Students in the dual degree program will be able to obtain both degrees in less time than completing the two degrees separately.

Pharmacists are increasingly becoming important members of inter-professional teams with other health professionals. In community settings, particularly small towns and urban neighborhoods, it is important for them to understand the public health needs/aspects of community residents. These may include racial, ethnic, economic, and social disparities in the population; understanding social networks, and local environmental conditions. Social marketing for health promotion to local residents is also important and the dual degreed prepared student will be better able to contribute to the well-being of the community.

Curriculum Outline

  1. Total number of credit hours is 187.5 to 190.5 depending on your MPH concentration. The dual degree is 33 to 36 credits more than the current PharmD (154.5)
  2. The program of study for the PharmD/MPH dual degree program is 4 ½ years.
  3. The PharmD/MPH program demonstrates integrity in meeting the educational standards of both accrediting bodies, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) (MPH).
  4. The educational experience for students and curriculum content is equivalent to that which they would receive if pursuing each degree separately.
  5. The curriculum developed aims to prevent unnecessary duplication of content while also maintaining the integrity of each degree program.

Curriculum

PharmD/MPH dual-degree students may take both pharmacy and public health courses in a sequence that meets the approval of faculty advisors from both the College of Pharmacy and the College of Public Health. PharmD credit hours transfer to the MPH degree to fulfill elective credit requirements, so students complete 33-36 credit hours in the MPH program, depending on concentration. The Applied Practice Experience (three credit hours) and Capstone Experience (three credit hours) will follow the guidelines of the UNMC MPH Program. The student’s MPH Capstone committee should include faculty from both programs.

Concentrations Areas: