Pharmaceutical Chemistry PhD
The department offers two postgraduate programs leading to Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Chemistry degrees. In addition, the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, in cooperation with the Pharmaceutics Department, offers a joint program leading to a Master's degree in Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Preparations.
Program Admission Requirements
In compliance with the unified regulations for postgraduate studies in Saudi universities, applicants must meet the following conditions:
- Holding a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) or a related Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
- Achieving a score of 500 or higher on the TOEFL or an equivalent score on the IELTS exam before starting studies at the first level.
- Passing a personal interview according to criteria set by the department.
Academic Requirements
- Completion of nineteen (19) credit hours of coursework, ten credit hours of common courses offered at the first level and taken by all students in both tracks, and nine specialized credit hours offered at the second level for each track separately.
- Passing the comprehensive exam, both written and oral.
- Preparing an original and innovative research thesis.
Scientific Tracks
- Medicinal Pharmaceutical Chemistry Track.
- Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry Track.
Courses
I. Medicinal Pharmaceutical Chemistry Track
Level One
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 541 PHT | Pharmaceutical Measurements | 3+0 |
| 660 PHC | Physical Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 2+0 |
| 670 PHC | Stereochemistry of Pharmaceutical Compounds | 2+0 |
| 671 PHC | Structural Elucidation Techniques in Medicinal Chemistry | 2+0 |
| 680 PHC | Medicinal Chemistry Discussion Seminar -1 | 1+0 |
Level Two
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 542 PHT | Drug Screening | 2+0 |
| 672 PHC | Drug Compound Design and Synthesis | 2+0 |
| 673 PHC | Chemistry of Heterocyclic Drug Compounds | 2+0 |
| 674 PHC | Mechanism of Drug Reactions and Catalysts | 2+0 |
| 681 PHC | Pharmaceutical Chemistry Discussion Seminar -2 | 1+0 |
Level Three
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 700 PHC | Thesis | - |
II. Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry Track
Level One
Same as the Medicinal Pharmaceutical Chemistry track.
Level Two
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 661 PHC | Modern Developments in Electrochemical Analysis | 1+1 |
| 662 PHC | Modern Spectroscopic Analyses | 1+1 |
| 663 PHC | New Trends in Chromatography and Separation Techniques | 1+1 |
| 664 PHC | Automation in Pharmaceutical Analysis | 2+0 |
| 681 PHC | Pharmaceutical Chemistry Discussion Seminar -2 | 1+0 |
Level Three
Same as the Medicinal Pharmaceutical Chemistry track.
Course Descriptions
Course 541 PHT: Qualitative Pharmaceutical Measurements 3(3+0)
This course focuses on the study of unified principles and training in biostatistics for application in the fields of drug research, toxicology, and related pharmaceutical sciences. The course includes the basics of the normal probability distribution, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, linear and curvilinear regression, correlation analysis, and frequency analysis as applied in drug and toxicology research, and the standards of drug formularies.
Course 660 PHC: Physical Pharmaceutical Chemistry 2(2+0)
This course includes the study of some topics in physical chemistry that help in understanding and interpreting some phenomena related to drugs such as instability, binding to plasma proteins, photochemistry, and drug kinetics.
Course 661 PHC: Modern Developments in Electrochemical Analysis 2(1+1)
Students will study the modern concept of electrochemical analysis methods such as voltammetric methods, microelectrodes, and biosensors, focusing on the applications of these methods in the analysis of pharmaceutical preparations in biological fluids.
Course 662 PHC: Modern Spectroscopic Analyses 2(1+1)
This course includes the study of modern methods in the field of spectral analysis, especially those that require X-ray excitation for both fluorescence and chemiluminescence, with attention to the application of these methods in the field of pharmaceutical compounds and their preparations.
Course 663 PHC: New Trends in Chromatography and Separation Techniques 2(1+1)
This course covers modern methods in the field of chromatography in addition to increasingly used methods, such as capillary electrophoresis methods and their various branches. It also focuses on the pharmaceutical chemical applications of these methods.
Course 664 PHC: Automation in Pharmaceutical Analysis 2(2+0)
This course addresses the integrated basics of automation of devices used in the field of pharmaceutical analysis. The course includes the study of applications of automation in continuous and discontinuous analysis, and the use of computers in automating analytical instruments in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry.
Course 670 PHC: Stereochemistry of Pharmaceutical Compounds 2(2+0)
Study of the stereochemistry of receptors and drug compounds that bind to these receptors, adapting modern developments in chemistry and the spatial forms of active compounds to understand the pharmacological effect and utilize them in the design of modern drug compounds.
Course 671 PHC: Structural Elucidation Techniques in Medicinal Chemistry
The course addresses the modern methods used in elucidating the structural composition of drug compounds and their metabolic pathways and products. It also uses these methods to study how these compounds bind to biological receptors. The course also includes selected recently published research studies in this field to enrich the student's knowledge of the importance of physicochemical properties and their relationship to pharmacological effect.
Course 672 PHC: Drug Compound Design and Synthesis 2(2+0)
The course includes the design of drug compounds using modern theories in chemistry and computer programs in the field of design and construction. It also addresses the construction of drug compounds using modern strategies for constructing these materials.
Course 673 PHC: Chemistry of Heterocyclic Drug Compounds 2(2+0)
This course includes new studies in the medicinal chemistry of heterocycles and linking their effectiveness to chemical and physical properties, in addition to the chemistry of nucleosides of pharmaceutical importance and modifications of their various functional groups, including heterocyclic ring bases and their associated sugars.
Course 674 PHC: Mechanism of Drug Reactions and Catalysts 2(2+0)
An in-depth study of the mechanism of chemical reactions and the identification of the nature and specifications of materials that affect the rate of chemical and pharmaceutical reactions, with a focus on applied methods for deducing the mechanism of reactions of pharmaceutical importance, designing catalysts, and the relationship between chemical structure, pharmacological effect, drug metabolism, and environmental pollutants.
Course 680 PHC: Medicinal Chemistry Discussion Seminar – 1 1(1+0)
The student presents one of the selected topics in pharmaceutical chemistry related to their track and presents a study that is presented in a public seminar in the department.
Course 681 PHC: Pharmaceutical Chemistry Discussion Seminar – 2 1(1+0)
The student presents one of the selected topics in pharmaceutical chemistry related to their track and presents a study that is presented in a public seminar in the department.
Course 542 PHT: Drug Screening
This course focuses on training the student to identify the location and mechanism of action of some drugs affecting different body systems such as: the central nervous system, the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, and the reproductive system.
