Top Thirty Schools of Pharmacy

The premier college ranking survey is produced annually by US News and World Report. It has grown into a respected analysis of America's colleges and universities that today provides ratings for different types of colleges and for a number of graduate school specialties - such as pharmacy. Here are the best thirty colleges for pharmaceutical studies according to US News.

1. University of California/San Francisco School of Pharmacy�� The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program includes options in Public Health and a dual degree that includes the doctorate and a Master of Science in Clinical Research.

2. University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy offers the PharmD, a PhD in Pharmacy and Fellowships in Heart Failure Pharmacotherapy and HIV Pharmacology among others.

3. University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy�� operates at both the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, offering an MS, a PharmD and a PhD in the field.

4. University of Texas College of Pharmacy has both a masters and doctoral program with six areas of specialization: pharmacology/toxicology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacotherapy, pharmacy administration, and pharmacy practice.

5. Ohio State University College of Pharmacy�� has a graduate program with four divisions, among them Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, which is the study of drugs of natural origin.

6. University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy offers some excellent dual degree options with the PharmD, including an MBA and a Masters in Economics.��

7. University of Michigan College of Pharmacy has an impressive range of degree options that includes an undergraduate BS in Pharmaceutical Studies.�� Their Master of Engineering - Pharmaceutical Engineering speaks to the depth of the research program there.

8. University of Washington School of Pharmacy�� also has some unusual academic options which include a Masters in Biomedical Regulatory Affairs.�� The Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program for doctoral candidates "conducts research and provides graduate and external training in health outcomes and policy research on health care technologies, with a focus on drugs, diagnostics, and devices."

9. Purdue University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as a Pre-pharm undergraduate option designed for completion in three years.�� The PharmD program is an additional four years of study.

10. University of Arizona College of Pharmacy has a Masters and PharmD program, and extends graduate work into areas that include Drug Discovery and Design.

11. University of Florida College of Pharmacy has, aside from its PharmD program has graduate options that include a PhD program in Pharmacodynamics, "research��at the interface of physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology and pathology�� [Relying] on a combination of molecular, biochemical, cellular and behavioral tools."

12. University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy offers Masters, PharmD and PhD options through several departments, one of which is through the Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

13. University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has two eminent research divisions in addition to the Department of Pharmaceutical Practice.�� The PhD in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research trains the graduate to participate in policy research regarding health care and pharmacological treatment.

14. University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy has three primary divisions: Pharmacy Practice, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Social & Administrative Sciences.

15. University of Southern California School of Pharmacy offers the PharmD program and several PhD options which include Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology.

16. University of Iowa College of Pharmacy has a research division alongside its PharmD program; graduate choices include a program in Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry that focuses on drug discovery.

17. University of Tennessee Health Science Center operates six schools including the College of Pharmacy which have an enormous number of departments.�� The School of Allied Health alone teaches seven medical disciplines.

18. University of Utah College of Pharmacy has four Departments which include Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics & Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Pharmacotherapy.

19. University of Kansas School of Pharmacy notes that their PharmD program includes Pharmacy Practice Experiences (PPEs), constituting a significant portion of the pharmacy curriculum and comprising more than 30% of the curricular hours.�� The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education mandates this community and institutional exposure.

20. University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy�� provides a PhD option in Biochemical Pharmacology that is described to the student thusly: You will develop a broad knowledge of pharmacology, drug metabolism, and pharmacodynamics. You will have the opportunity to study with faculty engaged in a wide variety of research topics including behavioral, cardiovascular and endocrine pharmacology, neuropharmacology, immunopharmacology, chemotherapy, and toxicology.

21. University at Buffalo SUNY School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offers a Pharmaceutical Sciences program leading to the PhD that has both BS and MS degrees as well.

22. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutics "specializes in the science and technology associated with innovations in drug delivery."

23. University of Colorado School of Pharmacy offers the PharmD program in a "nontraditional" format which means as a part-time academic pursuit.

24. Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy has the PharmD program and PhD options that includes Pharmacy Care Systems, "concerned with the socio-behavioral, economic and administrative sciences in pharmacy."

25. Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy has a very active research program alongside its PharmD school.�� The Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences includes an area of focus on drug and disease induced cell death, injury and regeneration.

26. Rutgers University School of Pharmacy has a Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration that offers a graduate program training in "clinical service to hospitals and other health care organizations and/or institutions, professional organizations, governmental agencies, and industry."

27. University of Georgia College of Pharmacy operates the Center for Drug Discovery for which the declared mission is, "Promoting research & discovery in the battle against infectious diseases & cancer."

28. University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has an unusual research organization called the Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management which looks into the commercial and entrepreneurial side of the industry.�� One of the phenomena currently occurring in pharmaceutical marketing is the migration of nurses to pharmaceutical sales.

29. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy ��has an undergraduate Pre-pharm program of two years duration which is followed by the four year PharmD course of study.

30. University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy includes a Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program that "provides graduate instruction and training in drug discovery, drug delivery and targeting, biophysical chemistry, bio-materials nanotechnology, nanomedicine, biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics as well as pharmacodynamics."�� This program is targeted directly at the biotechnology industry.