Pharmacology Degrees

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: March, 1 2010

It is interesting to note that many schools offer pharmacology and toxicology departments. A beneficial drug that has harmful effects on the human body is, in effect, toxic to that person. Pharmacologists spend years studying the effects of organic and inorganic chemicals on the human body and become experts at determining what are the likely results of exposure to a variety of substances.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in pharmacology is an option, but there are far fewer pharmacology degrees offered by undergraduate four-year programs than there are pharmacology degrees offered by master’s and doctoral programs. Pursuing a master’s degree in pharmacology involves studying the activity of specific drugs within the body, how the human body responds to them and the best course of action to respond to an overdose of these substances.

While not a requirement to land a job with a drug company or research facility, a Pharm. D or a PhD in pharmacology are more typical degrees for pharmacologists. It is not unusual for a person to attend medical school and become a pharmacologist or for someone who earns a pharmacology degree to ultimately become a medical doctor, a registered nurse or a physician assistant.

During the course of study, a pharmacology student will rotate through laboratories in addition to spending many hours in classroom lecture (as well as plenty of self-study time). Unless the focus is on clinical pharmacology, hospital internships are not required.