The UT College of Pharmacy is one of 49 U.S. schools offering the PharmD degree, accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education.
Deans and top administrators at schools offering the degree placed UT second to the University of California at San Francisco.
"This high ranking is due to the excellent support that we have received through the years from the administration and faculty of UT Austin and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio," said Dr. James Doluisio, dean of the UT College of Pharmacy. "Each university has provided us the opportunity to excel, and I am pleased that we have achieved a level of excellence that is acknowledged by our colleagues in pharmacy education."
The program, established in 1974, is unique among graduate-level pharmacy programs in that it is administered jointly. Since May 1977, a total of 232 students have received the PharmD degree from the College of Pharmacy.
"We began the program in 1974 with an investment of resources and tremendous potential for interdisciplinary education and training," said Dr. L. Cliff Littlefield, assistant dean for pharmacy education at the Health Science Center. "I am extremely pleased that this potential has culminated in a program of national and international acclaim. Our graduates have had a positive impact in all arenas of pharmacy."
The degree program is designed to supplement and complement courses taken in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. Graduates who hold the PharmD are prepared to play a unique role in the design and monitoring of therapeutic drug regimens.
Clinical faculty within the program are involved in research and clinical trials of drugs used in the treatment of numerous diseases, including cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and AIDS.