Pharmacology Undergraduate Minor Program
The Pharmacology minor at the U-M Medical School Department of Pharmacology aims to introduce undergraduate students to the field of pharmacology. Pharmacology is interdisciplinary, synthesizing fields such as chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, microbiology and pathology to impact human health by understanding and ultimately treating disease.
The Pharmacology minor would complement a wide range of majors across campus including but not limited to biochemistry, biomolecular science, neuroscience, biology, cellular and molecular biomedical science, biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience (BCN), chemistry, microbiology and biomedical engineering.
For More Information
What is Pharmacology?
Why Choose a Pharmacology Minor?
The Pharmacology minor is intended for a variety of students. This minor would be beneficial for students interested in pursuing professional degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine as pharmacology is an integral part of the curriculum in these professional programs. Similarly, this minor would introduce pharmacology to students who may want to pursue MS and/or PhD degrees in Pharmacology or a related field.
It would also be appropriate for students interested in pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry/biotechnology, as it would introduce them to topics relevant to this work. This minor could also benefit students in majors such as biomedical engineering or marketing as it would broaden their scope of understanding of topics related to their field, for example, pharmaceutical sales/marketing or medication delivery systems.
Requirements
Undergraduate students currently enrolled in the schools and colleges below are eligible to add the Pharmacology minor.
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA)
- College of Engineering (effective W2027 – but can start taking Pharmacology courses prior to declaring minor)
- School of Kinesiology
- College of Pharmacy
Regardless of the student’s undergraduate home unit, all minors follow the LSA guidelines on counting courses and credits towards minor prerequisites and requirements:
- Students can use as many courses as necessary to meet minor prerequisites and major requirements [ie if your major requires courses A, B, C & D, these same courses, if applicable, can also be used as the minor prerequisites.]
- BUT students are only allowed to use one course to meet minor requirements and major requirements [if your major requires courses A, B, C & D, only one of these courses, if applicable, can be used towards both the minor and major requirements. No “double counting” more than one requirement major and minor course.]
Below is detailed information on the prerequisites and requirements for the minor.
In addition to the current LSA Policies for Minors:
- Minimum grade of C required in all courses taken for the minor
- All credits must be taken in residence
- PHRMACOL 399 can be repeated and up to 4 credits can count toward the major
Pharmacology Minor Requirements
- BIOL 225: Principles of Human and Animal Physiology (3 cr)
- CHEM 351 Fundamentals of Biochemistry (4 cr) or BIOCHEM 415 Introductory Biochemistry (4 cr)
At least 15 credits required
- Core requirements (9 credits)
- PHRMACOL 310: Pharmacology and Therapeutics (4 cr)
- PHRMACOL 425: Development of New Medications: Pharmacology in Action: (3 cr)
- PHRMACOL 503: Real World Drug Discovery (2 cr) or PHRMACOL 399*: Undergrad Pharmacology Research (1-4 cr) (must take a minimum of 2 credits in one semester for requirement)
Students should take PHRMACOL 310 and PHRMACOL 425 before taking PHRMACOL 503
Choose at least 6 credits
- BIOLCHEM/CHEM 452: Advanced Biochemistry: Cellular Processes (4 cr)
- BIOPHYS 430: Medical Physics (3 cr)
- BIOPHYS 440: Biophysics of Disease (3 cr)
- ENVIRON 310: Toxicology: The Study of Environmental Chemicals and Disease (3 cr)
- MCDB 427: Molecular Biology (4 cr)
- MCDB 428: Cellular Biology (4 cr)
- MEDCHEM 308: Fundamentals of Drug Analysis (1 cr)
- MEDCHEM 309: Applied Drug Analysis (1 cr)
- MICRBIOL 405: Introduction to Infectious Disease (3 cr)
- NEURO 230/PSYCH 230: Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (4 cr)
- NEURO 322/MCDB 322: Principles of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience (4 cr)
- NEURO 336 / PSYCH 336: Drugs of Abuse, Brain and Behavior (3 cr)
- NEURO 431/PSYCH 431: Advanced Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience (3 cr)
- NEURO 433 / PSYCH 433: Advanced Topics in Neuroscience (3 cr)
- PHARMACY 200: Science of Medicines (3 cr)
- PHARMSCI 300: Biopharmaceutics and Biology of Drug Delivery (3 cr)
- PHARMSCI 400: Physical Chemistry of Drug Products (3 cr)
- PHRMACOL 399*: Undergrad Pharmacology Research (1-4 cr)
- PHYSIOL 502: Human Physiology (4 cr)
- STATS 250: Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (4 cr) or STATS 280: Honors Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (4 cr)
*Before registering for PHRMACOL 399, the student and mentor should determine the number of laboratory hours or tasks to be completed for the desired number of credits. One credit corresponds to approximately three hours of laboratory work per week for the duration of the semester. PHRMACOL 399 is graded on a A-E scale. Up to 4 credits of PHRMACOL 399 can count toward the minor.
After agreeing on the number of credits, the mentor should email Sondra Auerbach ([email protected]) to request creation of a PHRMACOL 399 section for the appropriate semester. When a student registers for PHRMACOL 399, the section number identifies the specific instructor or mentor.
Important: Postdoctoral Fellows may serve as PHRMACOL 399 mentors; however, they do not have their own course section numbers. In these cases, the section number used for registration will be that of the Postdoctoral Fellow’s PI. If a Postdoctoral Fellow serves as the mentor, approval from the PI is required.
Declaring the Minor
Prior to declaring the minor, students should:
- Be in good standing with a declared major
- Watch the Intro to the Pharmacology minor video
- Slides from the video
Students interested in declaring the minor should:
- Submit a Pharmacology Minor Declaration Request form
- Ideally, students should submit a request prior to March 1 (Winter semester) or November 1 (Fall semester)
Planning for graduation? Pharmacology Minor Audit Form >
Questions & Appointments
If you have questions, or would like to set up an appointment with an advisor, please email us.
Program Advisors
Sondra Auerbach
Elizabeth M Peckham
Pharmacology
Medical School
