Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration programs are generally administered through college and university healthcare departments. Areas covered under the programs include pharmaceutics, pharmacology, research, drug effects, medical ethics and pharmaceutical sciences.
Diploma in Pharmaceutical Administration, Graduate Certificate in Applied Natural Products, Bachelor degree of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Administration, Master degree of Applied Natural Products, Master in Medicinal Chemistry, Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Administration, Doctorate degree of Pharmacy are types of undergraduate and graduate academic training programs you can enroll in for pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration.
You can also combine your degrees with other degrees like the Master of Business Administration or the Juris Doctorate so you can work as an attorney defending pharmaceutical corporations or so you can manage large pharmaceutical organizations. Part-time and full-time programs are available. It can take up to five semesters to complete graduate certificate and diploma programs if you attend school on a part-time basis. You can also complete pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration programs online or in the classroom. Because pharmacy programs, except for administration degree and non-degree programs, generally require you to complete clinical and laboratory work to graduate, if you choose to enroll in an online college program, you will likely only have to travel to campus or a licensed medical facility or laboratory to complete lab and clinical work. For example, some accredited colleges and universities allow you to complete all of your undergraduate and graduate training online except for your clinical rotations. The rotations are generally completed at medical facilities or at pharmaceutical laboratories.
If you major in pharmacy administration, you will likely take management and marketing and sales courses in addition to core pharmacy courses. In addition to learning about drug therapy, other core courses that are generally required of pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration program students are:
Residences and fellowships are available. If you earn high academic scores (e.g. 3.25 grade point average) you can earn scholarships through college and university honors programs at some postsecondary schools. The more you apply what you learn in the classroom or via online training programs to your work life experiences, the more you expand your skills. You also allow yourself to realize additional benefits as a pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration program graduate. For example, your academic training and work experience provide you with:
Completing pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration programs prepares you to work at a variety of jobs. For example, you can work as a pharmacy technician and report to a licensed pharmacist so that you can process insurance records, dispense prescription medications to patients and compound medications. If you work as a pharmacy administrator you can manage employees who work in pharmaceutical departments. Of course, as a pharmacist you will work with physicians to select the most effective drugs to manage or eradicate certain illnesses. You will also measure and dispense medications to patients.
Jobs for pharmacists are expected to grow by 17 percent from 2008 through 2018 according to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent of pharmacists earned between $92,670 and $121,310 a year as of May 2008. Pharmacy technicians earned between $23,370 and $34,560 a year as of May 2009 according to the Bureau.