Graduate Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology
Our graduate program is among the largest and strongest in this country. Although relatively young, our department has achieved national recognition in graduate education and research. Many of our graduates have prominent positions in academia, government, and industry.
The predoctoral training program leading to the awarding of the Ph.D. degree requires four to five years. The program is research-intensive with a focus on training in the scientific method, striving to minimize the number of required courses in medical biology and pharmacology/toxicology.
Interdepartmental Research
Many of the graduate students participating in laboratory research are in other programs on campus. If you are a student in another MSU graduate program who is interested in pursuing research related to pharmacology and/or toxicology, you are encouraged to directly contact those Department faculty who are currently conducting research in your area of interest.
Undergraduate Research
There are opportunities for undergraduate research in the laboratories of department faculty throughout the year. The role of a student in a research project depends on many factors including the nature of the project and the time commitment which that student can make. However, students may progress to a point of experimental design, data collection and interpretation sufficient to become an author on a publication in which the student’s work is included. Students may be involved in research projects as unpaid volunteers or as paid laboratory aides. Also, following the academic calendar, students can undertake research for credit (through PHM 480).
Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Faculty of the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology enthusiastically welcome inquiries from students who wish to spend the summer in a laboratory on MSU's East Lansing campus doing research. There is no formal application process. Instead, interested students can browse the faculty pages on this website and those with whom they would like to work, and whose research programs encompass the student’s own interests.. First contact should be via e-mail, accompanied by a brief letter of intent, including their reasons for applying to that particular faculty member, and a resume.