Courses - Ph.D.

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.

One year of organic chemistry with laboratory (equivalent to CHEM 624, 625, 626, 627) and at least one course in physical chemistry (equivalent to CHEM 640, 646) and one course in biochemistry (see note below).

Note about Biochemistry
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 curriculum 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).

Year 1

Fall - 1st Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 7104Chemistry of Drug Action 1
CHEM 7403Principles of Organic Reactions
MDCM 8171Responsible Research Conduct
MDCM 8951Research in Medicinal Chemistry
Workshop0Bibliography of Med. Chem (workshop format)
MDCM 7010Biomedicinal Chemistry (enroll if score is <50% on ACS Biochemistry placement exam)

Spring - 2nd Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 7903Chemistry of Drug Action 2
Elective3Elective (see list below, but often Physical Organic Chemistry CHEM 840)
Elective3Elective (see list below, but often Organic Synthesis I CHEM 842)
MDCM 8951Research in Medicinal Chemistry

Summer

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
CHEM 7423Spectroscopy (Structure Elucidation). If the course is not offered, the student registers for 6 in MDCM 895
MDCM 8953Research in Medicinal Chemistry
Exam End of Year Proficiency Exam (EOY Exam)

Year 2

Fall - 3rd Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 8603Principles and Practice of Chemical Biology
Elective3Elective (see list below, but often Organic Synthesis II CHEM 942)
MDCM 8171Responsible Research Conduct
MDCM 8952/3Research in Medicinal Chemistry

Spring - 4th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 7981Literature Seminar
MDCM 8958Research in Medicinal Chemistry

Summer

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 8956Research in Medicinal Chemistry
Exam Comprehensive Oral Examination

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.

Course NumberCredit HoursTitleSemester
MDCM 8161Careers in Chemical Biology (Required for TG)Fall/Spring
CHEM 8403Physical Organic Chemistry ISpring
CHEM 8423Organic Synthesis ISpring
CHEM 9423Organic Synthesis IIFall
CHEM 9802 - 3Advanced topics in Organic ChemistryFall/Spring
BIOL 6883Molecular Biology of CancerFall
BIOL 8182Techniques in Molecular BiosciencesFall
BIOL 9184Modern Biochemical and Biophysical MethodsSpring (even years)
BIOL 9523Introduction to Molecular ModelingFall
BIOL 7543Brain Diseases & Neurological DisordersSpring
PHCH 7153Drug DeliverySpring

Year 3

Fall - 5th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9802Proposal Preparation
MDCM 9994Doctoral Dissertation

Spring - 6th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9996Doctoral Dissertation

Summer

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9993 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Year 4

Fall - 7th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 7991Research Seminar
MDCM 9995 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Spring - 8th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9996 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Summer

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9993 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Year 5

Fall - 9th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9996 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Spring - 10th Semester

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9996 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

Summer

Course NumberCredit hoursTitle
MDCM 9993 or 1*Doctoral Dissertation

* Enrollment in Fewer Than 6 Hours

  • In year 3 and beyond, the minimum enrollment requirements are reduced to 6-6-3 credits for the fall, spring, and Summers (instead of 9-9-6).
  • With the consent of the mentor, after completing 18 post-comprehensive credit hours (typically by the spring of year 4), students may further reduce their enrollment to as little as 1 credit hour per semester/summer until graduation.
  • For this to happen the student must request his/her faculty Mentor (major professor) to submit a written request to Jane Buttenhoff in the department office at jbuttenhoff@ku.edu.
  • Please visit with the MDCM Director of Graduate Studies and/or your advisor if you have questions
  • Students need not complete all five years. Mentors may suggest early Ph.D. defense and graduation in cases of exceptional research productivity.

Academic Standing

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.