Courses
Requirements for degrees in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry place a strong emphasis on organic and medicinal chemistry with flexibility for additional emphasis in various aspects of biochemistry, pharmacology, or other aspects of the biological sciences.
Safety Training
Students are expected to comply with all mandated training required by the KU Department of Environment, Health and Safety and the Department of Medicinal Chemistry; this may take the form of research seminars, hands-on training, and/or online training. Students also must complete appropriate safety training specific to a research laboratory before they are allowed to begin laboratory work.
Foundation (Prerequisite) Courses
Students enter the medicinal chemistry Ph.D. program with a variety of undergraduate backgrounds. All graduate students must present evidence of credit in the following foundation courses. Ideally these courses will have been taken prior to entering the graduate program; if not they must be taken as early in the graduate program as practicable.
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Organic Chemistry with Lab |
2 semesters |
|
Physical Chemistry |
1 semester |
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Biochemistry |
1 semester |
*A one-semester survey course in biochemistry is acceptable if the student received a grade of B or better in the course OR if the student scores a 70 or better on the ACS Biochemistry placement exam given to entering graduate students in the fall (one try only will be allowed). If neither of these applies, the student will take one semester of biochemistry through the Department of Medicinal Chemistry (MDCM 701).
At the end of the first semester, continuance in the program is dependent upon satisfactory academic program progress.
Ph.D. Program Requirements and Typical Scheduling
The curricula presented below represent the minimal programs of required courses for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Where the student can demonstrate having had comparable coursework experience elsewhere, a waiver can be requested by the student. The faculty of the department has the option to waive individual requirements at its discretion. A terminal thesis-based M.S degree may be offered to students who complete all the required coursework for the Ph.D. degree but then elect not to complete that program. A Non-Thesis M.S. degree is awarded automatically to students upon completion of the Oral Comprehensive Exam (see below).
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MDCM 710 |
5 cr. |
Chemistry of Drug Action-I |
Fall year 1 |
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CHEM 740 |
3 cr. |
Principles of Organic Reactions |
Fall year 1 |
|
MDCM 801 |
1 cr |
Issues in Scientific Integrity (offered in even years) |
Fall year 1 (or 2) |
|
MDCM 790 |
3 cr. |
Chemistry of Drug Action-II |
Spring year 1 |
|
Elective #1 |
3 cr |
(See the list below, but often Physical Org. Chem.) |
Spring year 1 |
|
Elective #2 |
3 cr |
(See the list below, but often Organic Synthesis-I) |
Spring year 1 |
|
CHEM 742 |
3 cr. |
Spectroscopy |
Summer year 1 |
|
MDCM 860 |
3 cr. |
Principles and Practice of Chemical Biology |
Fall Year 2 |
|
Elective #3 |
3 cr. |
(See the list below, but often Organic Synthesis-II) |
Fall Year 2 |
|
MDCM 980 |
3 cr. |
Literature Seminar & Research Proposal Preparation |
Spring Year 2 |
|
MDCM 800 |
1 cr. |
Research Seminar |
Fall Year 3 |
Suggested Elective Courses
A minimum of 9 credit hours of electives, composed of any combination of approved elective courses is required. Listed below are the suggested elective courses for our graduate students.
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MDCM 775 |
3 cr |
Chemistry of the Nervous System |
Spring (even years) |
|
MDCM 785 |
2 cr |
Natural Products of Medicinal Significance |
on demand |
|
MDCM 950 |
2 cr |
Adv. Topics / Industrial Medicinal Chemistry |
Spring (odd years) |
|
MDCM 816 |
1 cr |
Careers in Chemical Biology |
every semester |
|
CHEM 840 |
3 cr |
Physical Organic Chemistry I |
Spring |
|
CHEM 842 |
3 cr |
Organic Synthesis I |
Spring |
|
CHEM 942 |
3 cr |
Organic Synthesis II |
Fall |
|
CHEM 980 |
2-3 cr |
Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry |
Fall / Spring |
|
BIOL 688 |
3 cr |
Molecular Biology of Cancer |
Fall |
|
BIOL 750 |
3 cr |
Advanced Biochemistry |
Spring |
|
BIOL 809 |
4 cr |
Grad. Molecular Biosci. for Medicinal Chemists |
Fall |
|
BIOL 818 |
2 cr |
Techniques in Molecular Biosciences |
Fall |
|
BIOL 918 |
4 cr |
Modern Biochemical and Biophysical Methods |
Spring (even years) |
|
BIOL 952 |
3 cr |
Introduction to Molecular Modeling |
Fall |
|
PHCH 725 |
3 cr |
Cell Biology |
Spring |
Continuance in the program is dependent upon satisfactory overall progress during the various stages of study. To be in good academic standing, in addition to satisfactory research performance (e.g. research productivity, work ethic, good citizenship etc.), a student must also maintain a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher throughout the duration of the graduate program.
Minimum Enrollment
Minimum enrollment for the Fall and Spring semesters is 9 credit hours each, with a minimum of 6 hours being required in the summer. It is emphasized that these are minimum enrollment figures. Students are expected to take all courses stated in the departmental curriculum even if that means taking more than the minimum hours a given term. In particular each student must be continuously enrolled in at least 1 hour of thesis or dissertation research each term (MDCM 895 or 999), regardless of other coursework, throughout his or her tenure in the graduate program.
Comprehensive Written Examination
This required examination comes at the end of the Spring Semester of year 1 and is based directly on all the required coursework taken during year 1 in the program (Fall and Spring semensters). A score of 70% or above is deemed passing and qualifies the student to continue in the program. A score of 50–69% qualifies the student for one additional attempt at passing, which must occur before the beginning of the fall semester of year 2. A score of <50% is considered a failing grade, and will generally result in immediate dismissal from the program.
Seminars
The graduate program requires the preparation and presentation of two seminars in the departmental seminar series. The first seminar, presented during the first-half of the Spring semester of year 2, is a literature based seminar and is part of the ‘Literature Seminar & Research Proposal Preparation’ course (MDCM 980). Each student suggests three topics of contemporary medicinal chemical significance, from which the course coordinator selects and assigns one for the student to develop into their literature seminar presentation. The second seminar is a research seminar (MDCM 800) presented during the Fall semester of Year 3, and is meant to highlight the research progress of the student.
Original Research Proposal
As part of the ‘Literature Seminar and Proposal Preparation’ course (MDCM 980), during the second-half of the Spring semester of year 2, students are also required to prepare an original research proposal (in NIH format), and submit it to the faculty for evaluation. This proposal is based on the same as their literature seminar (see above).
Comprehensive Oral Examination
Upon successful completion of the first two years of coursework and other related requirements, a faculty committee comprised of four Medicinal Chemistry faculty and one outside faculty member conducts a comprehensive oral examination of the student. Successful completion of the oral examination results in the student attaining the status of Doctoral Candidate. To be eligible to serve in the examination committee, all the members must hold graduate faculty status (regular/dissertation/special/ad hoc), as stipulated by the Graduate Studies office. A non-thesis M.S. degree is automatically awarded to all students after the successful completion of their oral comprehensive examination.
Research Requirement
Graduate degrees (Thesis M.S. and Ph.D.) in Medicinal Chemistry are research-based degrees. As such, they are only awarded after the recipient has made a significant, in-depth contribution of new knowledge to the field, in the form of research publications and the M.S. Thesis or the Doctoral Dissertation. Generating the substance of this contribution typically requires that the student devotes significant time and energy to their research problem.
Research Rotations and Research Advisor
All incoming graduate students are required to perform two research rotations during the first semester. If any student enrolls for the preceding summer session (optional), a third rotation can be completed. The purpose of these rotations is to help the student transition from an undergraduate to a graduate department, and to expose them more deeply to the research activities and research groups in the department.
Assignment of research advisors, both for rotations and the final research group assignment, are done taking into consideration the student’s preference of research advisor, as well as the availability of funding and research space in the groups of choice.
Student Self-Assessment
All students in their 3rd year or later are required to complete a yearly self-assessment of their goals and progress toward meeting them. This document helps to guide students who are no longer taking classes and assists Departmental Faculty in tracking individual student progress in the graduate program.
Dissertation Defense
The final requirements for the Ph.D. degree are the preparation and defense of a dissertation based upon the original laboratory research conducted by the student. The average time needed for graduation is about five years, rarely less but occasionally longer depending on the particular research project(s) undertaken and the aggressiveness of the student in pursuing his/her own research. In certain circumstances, a Thesis M.S. degree involving the preparation and defense of an original thesis can be awarded.
