For undergraduate coursework, students need to take prerequisite courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, English, speech or public speaking, calculus, biology and economics. These are also a part of the general requirements that every colleges require for students to get a baccalaureate degree. Pharmacy studies relate mostly to graduate programs with more advanced classes.
Students also need to take electives related to the field of pharmacology in their undergraduate years. Students should enroll in science-related electives, such as psychology, drug abuse, geriatrics, and business or technical writing. Purdue University also suggests nuclear pharmacy and nonprescription drugs as elective choices in their program.
Students take a series of pharmacology courses, which explore prescription drugs and their effects on the body. Students learn the way that drugs treats central nervous, endocrine and cardiovascular systems to how drugs help diseases like cancer. These courses usually are taken by students as part of a four year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program.
There are several fields within pharmaceutical study, so the classes depend on the course that the student chooses. For industrial and physical pharmacy, students take classes in drug delivery systems, biopharmaceuticals, pharmacokinetics and other training in pharmaceutics. Medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology students specialize in analytical medicinal chemistry, computational and biopgysical medicinal chemistry, chemical biology and toxicology courses.