PhD Program: Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy Research

About the track

Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy Research (POPR) is a specialty track/program in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The POPR track will train students to investigate the impact and outcomes of pharmaceutical products, pharmacy services, and pharmaceutical policies across health care systems. The core mission of POPR is the advancement of knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of medicines, and pharmacy’s role in improving population health. POPR students most often focus on patient-centered outcomes such as access, safety, quality of care, costs, and patient-reported health. Graduates will be trained to work in a broad range of settings, including: academia; pharmaceutical industry; government organizations such as FDA, AHRQ, NIH; contract research organizations; and health care systems

  • You will learn epidemiological study designs, data management, data analysis, and data interpretation.
  • You will develop strong quantitative methodological skills in pharmaceutical outcomes and health services research.
  • You will apply social/behavioral theory to the study of patient, provider, and organizational behaviors as it relates to pharmaceuticals and pharmacy practice.
  • You will learn how pharmaceutical outcomes research is used to inform clinical practice and guide health policy decisions.

Faculty Associated with this Track

Curriculum

Year 1

Fall
Course NumberCourse TitleCredits
PHARM 3040Statistical Methods3
PHARM 3024Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar1
EPIDEM 2185Intro to SAS2
PHARM 3028Pharmacology and Therapeutics4*
PHARM 3306Intro to US Healthcare System1 (1st 7 weeks)
PHARM 3302Conducing Research with Large Biomedical Databases1 (1st 7 weeks)
PHARM 3304Research Methods1.5 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3052Journal Club1 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3308Data Security and Privacy1 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3042Research PracticumAs needed
 Total15.0

*Exempt if PharmD from ACPE accredited University

Spring
Course NumberCourse TitleCredits
PHARM 3073Applied Multivariate Statistics3
PHARM 2003Pharmacoepidemiology2
PHARM 3023Foundations in Clin. Drug Dev. And Assessment1.5
PHARM 3024Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar1
PHARM 3303Journal Club1 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3301Secondary Database Applications1 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3310Secondary Database Sources, Methods, and Tools1 (2nd 7 weeks)
PHARM 3042Research PracticumAs needed
 Total15.0

Year 2

Fall
Course NumberCourse TitleCredits
PHARM 3038Grant Writing 12
PHARM 3024Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar1
BIOST 2050Longitudinal and Clustered Data Analysis2
BIOST 2066Applied Survival Analysis: Methods and Practice2
 Additional ElectivesVariable
 Research PracticumAs needed
 Total15.0
Spring
Course NumberCourse TitleCredits
PHARM 3038Grant Writing 22
PHARM 3024Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar1
PHARM 3045Advanced Statistical Methods3
PHARM 3312Communicating Data1 (1st 7 weeks)
 Additional ElectivesVariable
 Research PracticumAs needed
 Total15.0