About the Department
Pharmacy Administration is a dynamic field that applies approaches from management science, economics, and the social sciences, to issues in healthcare that relate to pharmacy, pharmacists, and pharmaceuticals. Research in pharmacy administration may be theoretical or applied research and is often interdisciplinary in nature, encouraging collaboration across the health sciences and other fields. Researchers in pharmacy administration may initiate studies of new or existing pharmaceutical products and services; pharmaceutical policy; medication compliance; rational drug use; drug distribution; socioeconomic and cultural issues related to drug use; evaluate health care intervention in terms of economic, humanistic and clinical outcomes; pharmacist-patient communications; and the role of pharmacist in managed care. As educators and researchers, a key role of scholars in pharmacy administration is to bridge the academic experience of professional program students with tools to confront and adapt to issues faced by pharmacists in practice. The dynamic nature of the health care system and the role of the pharmacist and pharmaceuticals are such that the definition and scope of pharmacy administration as a discipline will continue to evolve.
The UIC Department of Pharmacy Administration provides opportunities for advanced study and research in the social, behavioral, and administrative sciences and in pharmaceutical education. Research emphasis within the department is directed toward strategies for evaluating and improving the quality of patient care on the basis of economic, clinical, and humanistic outcomes; safe and rational medication use; engagement of public policy related to pharmaceutical services and agents; and the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative instructional methodologies to enhance pharmacists' abilities to provide pharmaceutical care. This research is facilitated through strong relationships with government agencies, managed care pharmacy groups, health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and national and international university-based researchers. Thus, the Department of Pharmacy administration supports the educational, research, service and entrepreneurial goals of the university by drawing from the areas of communications, decision and information sciences, economics, education, law, management, marketing, psychology, public health, public policy, sociology, and urban planning.
The faculty of the Department of Pharmacy Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the largest and most diverse faculties of Pharmacy Administration in North America. Along with the full-time members, adjunct faculty members from government, industry and pharmacy practice, as well as other colleges at the University, provide complementary expertise. Various libraries, computer facilities, research laboratories, and a 424-bed teaching hospital are located on campus. The University of Illinois Medical Center is situated within the West Side Medical Center, one of the largest concentrations of health resources in the nation. The College of Pharmacy is part of the University's Health Sciences Center, which contains Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Applied Health Professions, as well as the School of Public Health. The atmosphere is one of a strong intellectual community of scholars and students within which to pursue graduate education.
Prospective graduate students in Pharmacy Administration may anticipate that one of the four degree programs will correspond closely to their educational objectives:
- Master of Science (M.S.) in Pharmacy.
- A joint program option for currently-enrolled Pharm.D. students at the UIC College of Pharmacy. The M.S. program requirements can be pursued as electives during the four-year Pharm.D. studies.
- The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Pharmacy.
- Master of Business (M.B.A.) with specialization in Pharmacy Administration. This degree program is administered by the College of Business Administration.
These four programs (M.S., Ph.D., M.B.A., Pharm.D/M.S.) offer opportunities for individualized work to meet the special needs of each prospective student. Because many courses are common to all four programs, most of the credits from the M.S. or M.B.A. may be applied toward the Ph.D. degree requirements.