A New Training Option at the University of Maryland
By Sheila Weiss Smith, FISPE, and Tracie Jones, B.S.

What do you decide for training in Pharmacoepidemiology, a degree in Pharmacy or Epidemiology? Now students do not have to choose. Doctoral students in the Pharmaceutical Health Services Research program at the University of Maryland can earn degrees in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research and Epidemiology at the same time. How is this possible? Collaboration between the Departments of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PSHR) and Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland affords students this dual-degree option. Doctoral Students in PHSR can earn a Master of Science in Epidemiology concurrently. The program was established to give students advanced training and mentoring in epidemiology and to provide official recognition of that training.

Just how many more years of school will it take? PHSR students with a concentration in Pharmacoepidemiology usually need only two or three additional courses, which can be completed while doing their research. Students in other concentration areas may need to take additional coursework. The PHSR graduate program currently offers four areas of concentration or tracks: Pharmacoepidemiology, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmaceutical Policy, and Behavioral Sciences Research. For more information on the new dual degree program at the University of Maryland, please contact Tracie Jones at tjones@rx.umaryland.edu.

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