Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy

Grace M. Kuo, Pharm.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., FCCP, FNAP, Dean

Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | 1300 S. Coulter, Amarillo, TX 79106 | T 806.414.9393 | sopadmissions@ttuhsc.edu

About the School

The School of Pharmacy offers the following degree programs:

• Doctor of Pharmacy
• Pharm.D. / M.B.A.
• Pharm.D. / M.P.H.

One school, four campuses.

Traditionally, the pharmacist’s role has been that of a dispenser of medications. However, this traditional method of practice is no longer adequate to ensure safety and effectiveness in the use of medications and health devices. The focus of practice has changed from one of product distribution to a more expansive duty, assuming the responsibility for our patients’ outcomes from the medications we dispense. Health care reform has put an emphasis on primary health care. In addition, the effect of drug therapy differs based on individual patient characteristics, necessitating expertise in Special Populations care. This emphasis coupled with a lack of access, increasingly rising costs, and a concern for quality is placing the pharmacist in an important role as a member of the health care delivery teams of today.

Pharmacists are located in most rural communities and throughout inner cities and urban sprawl across the country. This physical placement of the pharmacist, who is trained in delivering comprehensive care to the public, allows access to health care where it is critically lacking. The pharmaceutical services provided in this changing arena include participating in the drug therapy decision process through recommending therapeutic objectives, selecting the most appropriate drug product to achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes given the patient’s unique characteristics, determining dose and dosage schedule, selecting the drug product source of supply and drug preparation, and monitoring the patient’s response to the therapy so that the patient receives the optimal benefits with minimal adverse drug effects. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy offers the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) with a Concentration in Special Populations with this expanded role of the pharmacist in mind. The effective delivery of essential health care services requires a greater responsibility of the pharmacist and a greater depth and breadth of education to support it. With its state-of-the-art facilities, world class faculty clinicians and researchers, and national reputation for preparing practice-ready pharmacists, students are well trained for today and tomorrow’s health care teams.

The School of Pharmacy accepted its first class into the professional program beginning Fall, 1996. Currently, 155 students are admitted once each year in the fall semester. Students may be admitted to the Amarillo, Abilene, or Dallas campus as first year students. If admitted to the Amarillo campus, students spend their first two years on the Amarillo campus then complete their third and fourth years on one of the regional campuses – Amarillo, Dallas/Fort Worth, or Lubbock. If assigned to Abilene or Dallas, most students will stay at that campus for the duration of their pharmacy education, with some possible rotation experiences at regional campuses. The School of Pharmacy has more than 620 students enrolled in professional and postgraduate programs. The School of Pharmacy employs approximately 94 full-time equivalent faculty, 45 post-doctoral pharmacy residents, and 37 graduate teaching and research assistants; approximately 67 staff serve the students and programs of the School.

The Doctor of Pharmacy program. The School of Pharmacy offers the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) as its primary professional degree. The 4-year professional program requires at least two years of pre-professional studies that may be completed at any accredited college or university. A combined Pharm.D./M.B.A. degree is also offered. Through the School of Pharmacy’s affiliation with the TTUHSC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are also awarded.

Graduates from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy will be eligible to apply for licensure in any state or territory of the United States. Licensure as a pharmacist is administered by boards of pharmacy in each state. Every state and territory requires graduates to complete the North America Pharmacy Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) as well as a state prepared examination on laws and rules for pharmacy practice within the state.

Pharm.D. / M.B.A. Program. The idea of a Pharm.D./M.B.A. program was born in early 2006 in discussions between several faculty at the Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business and the Texas Tech University Health Science Center Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy. The central theme was the need to develop and train the future leaders of the profession. The Health Organization Management concentration within the M.B.A. program matched what the pharmacy faculty believed were the necessary areas of focus to develop strong leaders in health care organizations.

The curriculum is designed to meet the accreditation requirements of business and pharmacy. The curricular design model was determined after reviewing other Pharm.D./M.B.A. programs matched with the teaching schedules and course prerequisites. Rather than adopting the various models currently in use throughout the U.S., the faculty chose to use a dual-degree approach and integrate both programs into a typical 4-year course of study. Since the program was structured to be a dual-degree, it was essential that all of the approved content for both degree plans be met. The Pharm.D./M.B.A. program at Texas Tech is the 31st program in the country and one of the only programs to award the M.B.A. by the time of completion of the Pharm.D. degree. The HOM program at the Rawls College of Business is one of the few accredited programs for health organization management in the country.

Pharm.D. / M.P.H. Program. The Pharm.D./M.P.H. program provides opportunities for selected students to develop their leadership skills in public health pharmacy practice. The mission of the Pharm.D./M.P.H. program is to prepare pharmacy students to meet the increasing demand for pharmacists to lead population health management initiatives within the healthcare systems and at the city, state, and national levels. The TTUHSC Pharm.D./M.P.H. combined degree program allows students who have completed a bachelor’s degree program previously and are admitted into the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program to complete the Masters of Public Health curriculum within a concurrent timeframe. Several courses within the Doctor of Pharmacy program satisfy the requirements for the elective coursework required for the M.P.H. degree program. Students concurrently enroll in both Doctor of Pharmacy and M.P.H. program coursework within the P-3 and P-4 years (3rd and 4th professional years of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program) to complete the requirements of both degree programs. A major final project in the spring of the P-4 year is required for completion of the M.P.H. program.