Pharmacology and Toxicology (PhD)

Admission Requirements

For the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology complete guidelines are given below:

  1. Application forms. All candidates for admission to graduate programs at the University of Louisville must complete the online application form

    Applications are received at any time for starting dates of approximately August 1, however, for full consideration for IPIBS fellowships, applications should be received by January 15th of the prior calendar year. All credentials and/or communications should be submitted to the Graduate School, Graduate Admissions and should contain the student's full name and University of Louisville issued student ID.  Admission on a conditional basis is a possibility in rare, special cases, even though application materials are incomplete. Please contact the department for additional information.
  2. Application Fee. An application will not be forwarded to the department until this fee is paid. A check or money order should be made payable to the "University of Louisville."
  3. Transcripts. Applicants for admission to a degree program must submit an official transcript from each college attended. All University of Louisville transcripts will automatically be submitted with completion of an application. All applications are considered on an individual basis. Normally, a successful applicant will have an undergraduate GPA of 3.00 or higher and will have successfully completed sufficient coursework in biology, chemistry and mathematics.
  4. Statement of Experience and Professional Goals. At the time of application, a two to three page typed statement should be sent to introduce the student to the faculty of the Department, describing past educational, laboratory and relevant life experiences, as well as outlining professional goals after the degree program. This statement can be sent electronically to gradadm@louisville.edu.
  5. English Proficiency. All applicants for whom English is a second language must also submit official TOEFL scores of 79 or higher on the internet-based test, official IELTS scores of at least 6.5 overall band score from the academic module exam or official Duolingo overall score of 105  . Students holding a bachelor's or advanced degree from an accredited institution in the United States are exempt from this requirement. Information concerning the TOEFL exam can be obtained from: University Testing Center, or Test of English as a Foreign Language PO Box 6151 Princeton, NJ 08541 USA or toefl.org The institutional code of UofL for TOEFL is 1838. The TOEFL department code is 30 (other biological sciences); IELTS information can be obtained from www.ielts.org; Duolingo information can be obtained from englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants.
  6. Personal Interview. Whenever possible, a personal interview, either in person or via Zoom, will be held before final offer and acceptance of a position in the PhD program.
  7. Letters of Recommendation. Three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's research and/or academic work are required. These recommendations will ideally include a letter attached to the recommendation form or may be completed electronically via the online application.
  8. International Student Applicants. In addition to satisfying the appropriate credential requirements, applicants are required to provide the following documents.
    • Applicants who attended college outside the US must submit verbatim notarized English translations of all academic records and credentials.
    • Transcripts must be evaluated by a credential evaluation service such as World Education Services (wes.org) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ece.org) for admission.
    • If on a Visa that requires an I-20 or IAP-66, the applicant is required to complete an Application Supplement/Financial Declaration form and submit appropriate financial documentation.
  9. Financial Aid. All applicants to the PhD program of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology are automatically considered for financial aid upon admission. Typically, such aid consists of a stipend, tuition remission, and a health insurance benefit.

Program Requirements

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
FallHours
PHTX 641 PRINCIPLES PHARMACOLOGY 3
PHTX 643 Environmental Toxicology 3
BIOC 645 Advanced Biochemistry I 4
PHZB 602 Physiological Concepts for General Life Sciences 2
Co-curricular
PHTX 617 Laboratory Rotation Research 1
PHTX 606 Seminar 1
 Hours14
Spring
PHTX 642 Principles, Applications, and Research Methods in Pharmacology 3
PHTX 644 Organ Toxicology 3
BIOC 667 Cell Biology 3
BIOC 630 Responsible Conduct of Research: Survival Skills and Research Ethics 1
Co-Curricular
PHTX 619 Research 1
PHTX 606 Seminar 1
 Hours11
Summer
PHTX 632 Analysis of Parametric & Non-parametric Data 2
PHTX 619 Research 4
 Hours6
Year 2
Fall
PHTX 625 Scientific Writing 2
Students may take 1-3 elective courses for enrichment 1-8
Co-curricular
PHTX 619 Research 4
PHTX 606 Seminar 1
 Hours8
Spring
Students may take 1-3 elective courses for enrichment (Master's Candidacy) 1-9
Co-curricular
Submission, presentation, and defense of PhD proposal (NIH grant format) and MS thesis.
Awarding of MS degree and transition to PhD candidacy.
 Hours1
 Minimum Total Hours40