At the College of Pharmacy–Glendale, we combine problem-based learning with hands-on experiences in the specialty areas you need for professional success. The programs of instruction our faculty develop include extensive education in the pharmaceutical, administrative and clinical sciences, as well as direct practice experience — all of which help you become a more disciplined and critical thinker.

Department of Pharmaceutical Science

Department Chair:

Volkmar Weissig, Sc.D., Ph.D., M.S., B.S.

Professor of Pharmacology

Professor of Biomedical Sciences, College of Graduate Studies

Co-Director Nanomedicine Center of Excellence

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences subsumes several specialty areas: pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, natural products/pharmacognosy, and physiology/pharmacology.

Pharmaceutics is that area of pharmacy associated with designing various dosage forms for delivery of drugs; determining drug storage and stability; and evaluating the effects of administration and formulation factors on the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs in humans.

Medicinal chemistry is a science that is unique to pharmacy because it is a hybridization of the physical, chemical, biochemical, analytical, and pharmacological principles employed in explaining the mechanisms of drug action and drug design. The application of principles associated with medicinal chemistry provides the professional undergraduate student with a firm basis for his/her career in pharmacy.

Pharmacognosy is that pharmaceutical science concerned with the biological, chemical, and therapeutic uses of drugs obtained from plants, microbes, and animals.

Pharmacology is a branch of science that deals with the study of drugs and their actions on living systems and how drugs work in the body.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is to empower students with the foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills essential to the practice of pharmacy. In turn, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences encourages faculty to strive for excellence in critical inquiry and to contribute significantly to the University in service both within and outside of the College.

Department of Pharmacy Practice

Department Chair:

Shareen El-Ibiary, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS

Professor of Pharmacy Practice

The Department of Pharmacy Practice is comprised of faculty who provide education in the administrative and clinical sciences, as well as experiential education in real-world pharmacy practice settings.

Required courses in the administrative science area include an introduction to career development and current pharmacy topics, a survey of the health care system, professional practice management, and pharmacy law and ethics.

Required courses in the clinical science area include topics in the area of nonprescription medications, drug literature evaluation, pharmacotherapeutics, and a professional skills development longitudinal series of courses that emphasize communication skills and the patient care process.

Experiential rotations required during the program provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge acquired in didactic courses to interprofessional practice. The experiences are designed to promote the development of technical, cognitive, and decision-making skills that are necessary for the contemporary practice of pharmacy in a variety of practice environments. 

Mission

The mission of the Department of Pharmacy Practice is to prepare and empower pharmacy students and pharmacists to become competent providers of pharmacist care in all practice settings. This mission is achieved through a combination of innovative didactic coursework, experiential training, mentoring and scholarship in partnership with students and pharmacy practitioners. The Department serves the interprofessional healthcare community through the development and evaluation of innovative pharmacy practice models that promote the role of the pharmacist as an integral member of the healthcare team.