Prerequisites and Admissions Information - Master of Science

Admission Requirements

Potential applicants are required to complete a bachelor’s degree program or higher, completing courses with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants are required to submit their application through PharmGrad application service. For an applicant from a country where the primary language is other than English, TOEFL or IELTS scores are required.

Admission policy

Application for admission must be made through PharmGrad. An application cannot be given final consideration until all required components have been received. A complete application consists of the following – all completed in PharmGrad:

  • A completed application
  • Official transcripts. An official transcript is one that has been issued by an institution and received by PharmGrad. You are required to submit one separate official transcript from each college or university you have previously attended or are currently attending.
  • Official reports of TOEFL or IELTS scores, if required.
  • International students with degrees that have not been earned at a regionally accredited institution are required to provide a report by a professional evaluation service for foreign course evaluations. This report must be submitted to PharmGrad. The evaluation should name and describe all diplomas, certificates, degrees, periods of education, or training and give U.S. equivalencies for each. Mercer University accepts evaluations from the following two services:
  • Recommendations on the supplied forms from three persons who are able to judge the applicant’s accomplishments and academic ability.

Acceptance into the graduate program in Pharmaceutical Sciences is based on the overall record and ability of the applicant. Applicants failing to meet the required minimum GPA may be considered for admission provided their record is indicative of exceptional ability.

Minimum expectations for consideration for admission into the graduate program include the following:

  • A Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, Chemistry, Biology, or an equivalent degree in a related area, Pharm.D. degree or conditional admission with completion of 2 years in the Pharm.D. program. Students entering the M.S. program in the Pharmaceutical Sciences are expected to have a background that includes the following minimum prerequisites: calculus, statistics, biochemistry, and anatomy and physiology. Students who have not completed these prerequisites prior to entering the program may be required to remove deficiencies before they matriculate.
  • A GPA of 3.0 based on a 4.0 scale
  • For an applicant from a country where the primary language is other than English, a TOEFL score of 100 (IBT) or a score of 7.5 (IELTS).

Curriculum Requirements

M.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences Required Courses (30 hours)

  • PHA 715 Pharmacokinetics (3 semester hours)*
  • PHA 742 Foundations in Pharmaceutical Sciences (5 semester hours)*
  • PHA 743 Foundations in Research (3 semester hours)
  • PHA 744 Scientific Writing (3 semester hours)
  • PHA 745 Statistical Methods (3 semester hours)
  • PHA 749 Introduction to Research (2 semester hours)
  • PHA 797 Graduate Seminar (1 semester hour)

Choose one:

  • PHA 799 Thesis Research (10 semester hours)
  • PHA 798 Non-Thesis Project (10 semester hours)

*waived for students who have completed the Pharm.D. program at Mercer