PharmD/MPH Combined Degree Program

Objective

This program is intended to provide students special expertise in public health as related to pharmacotherapy and health promotion, disease prevention and medication safety. There are many areas where public health and pharmacy have interests and commitments that are related. Among these are: spread and treatment of disease, community health, immunology; bioterrorism, terrorism, and preparedness; genetics; insurance; managed care; family and juvenile health; and protection of special populations .

Graduates of the PharmD/MPH program will be able to:

1. Serve either as a public health professional having strong preparation and competency to deal with pharmacotherapy issues
2. Serve as a pharmacist specializing in health care issues in a public health setting
3. Serve in management positions in a health care pharmacy
4. Be a drug use review specialist in a managed care program, or
5. Serve as a community pharmacist with involvement in community-based prevention programs

Graduates who possess the dual degree will have employment opportunities in:

1. Public and private hospitals and clinics and health care providers
2. Private practice
3. Insurance and managed care organizations
4. Local, county, state, or federal government
5. Public health governmental agencies such as CDC, HRSA, NIH, FDA
6. Colleges and universities

Prerequisite

A minimum of 120 hours of undergraduate course work toward an undergraduate degree is required. Students must be admitted to the UI PharmD degree program to be admitted to the combined degree program. The cumulative grade-point average should be a minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. One semester each of college algebra and biology are required for admission to the PharmD/MPH degree program. Candidates may be reviewed for each degree concurrently but the condition of acceptance into the PharmD must be made before final acceptance into the MPH program. For information on admission to the PharmD program, please see http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/admissions/index.htm.

MPH Core Courses (18 s.h.)

The following courses are required of students in the MPH program. Students are expected to earn ≥ B- (2.67) on each core course and must earn a ≥ B (3.0) cumulative grade point average on all core courses. When necessary, a student may repeat a course to achieve this standard.

Capstone/Practicum Requirement (3 s.h.)

All MPH students are required to complete a 200 hours practice course (170:299) that includes a paper and an oral or poster presentation. The Practicum Experience must be related to skill demonstration in a setting that has components of public health and pharmacy.

Pre-Requisite:

Students should complete all Core Courses prior to registering for the Practicum. In special circumstances, students may request to take a Core Course concurrently with the Practicum.

For additional information, regarding the practicum experience, please visit the official practicum website.

Credits from the PharmD Counted Toward the MPH (12 s.h.)

Elective Public Health Courses (9 s.h.)

Credits must be selected from one area of public health that would include nine hours from one of the following departments or focused areas of study:

biostatistics, community and behavioral health, epidemiology, occupational and environmental health, public health genetics, health management and policy, aging studies, maternal child & family health, global health, clinical investigation, or nutrition and exercise.

Selection of elective coursework will be done between the student and the Pharmacy and Public Health advisors.