For graduate students who have an adequate level of general pharmacological knowledge (assessed at the first meeting with the Graduate Advisor), there is considerable flexibility in the choice of graduate courses each student takes. A mixture of courses from within and outside the Department can be selected, with input from the supervisor, the supervisory committee, and the Graduate Advisor.
There are two compulsory courses for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students:
- PCTH 514 (Graduate Seminar)
- PCTH 548F (Research Methods in Pharmacology).
The selection of graduate courses by Master’s students will be guided by the program requirements stipulated by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as follows: “The minimum course requirements are 30 credits, of which at least 24 must be numbered 500 to 699. A maximum of 6 credits at the undergraduate level in courses numbered 300 to 499 may be counted toward the requirements of a Master’s degree”. The 30 credits include the 12 M.Sc. thesis credits. The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies allows M.Sc. students to carry a maximum of 6 credits of undergraduate courses towards the 30-credit requirement.
PCTH 502 – Drugs and Intercellular Communication (including Neuropharmacology)
Lectures, discussions and assigned reading on the actions of drugs on the production, release and cellular effects of hormones and neurotransmitters. Given in odd-numbered and alternate years.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
PCTH 512 – Experimental Design and Analysis in Pharmacology
A series of lectures, tutorials and exercises designed to improve student skills in the design and statistical analyses of pharmacological experiments. Given in odd-numbered and alternate years.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
PCTH 514 – Graduate Seminar
All graduate students are required to participate in this 1 credit graduate program (by attending the weekly sessions and giving one presentation per year) which consists of graduate student presentations, external speakers, and information sessions relevant to graduate studies. Faculty members are expected to attend these sessions to provide constructive feedback to the presenters. For presentations given by first year students, a topic can be assigned by their research supervisor in their area of research, or they can present work done previously or present on a topic they reviewed in literature.
All students approaching the completion of their graduate program are required to give a full seminar on their work to members of the Department prior to their M.Sc. or Ph.D. thesis defense.
PCTH 548F – Research Methods in Pharmacology
Course Structure: Five discrete modules cover aspects of generic research methods common to Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Note that Modules 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 will run concurrently in the Fall and Winter, respectively, but in alternate weeks so that it is possible for students to take both modules at once, if desired. Module 5 is compulsory for ALL students.
PCTH 548a-e (directed studies) – restricted courses (registration by the Dept)
(A maximum of 6 credits in directed studies is allowed for each academic year).
Procedure for enrolment:
- Find a supervisor for your directed studies project.
- Prepare and send a brief proposal with the name of the project supervisor to PCTH Graduate Director (or through Graduate Secretary) for review and approval.
- Once approved, the Dept will enroll you in the course.
- At completion of the project, write up a report and send it to the project supervisor for a score (%).
- Project report should include Introduction, methods, results and discussion. A 10-page document should suffice.
- Ask the project supervisor to send the report with a score (%) to PCTH Graduate Director for review and approval.
- Once approved, the Dept will upload a score (%) to the course.
- Data from directed studies cannot be used for a graduate thesis/dissertation.
*PCTH 548a (941) is a restricted course for Dental graduate students only and PCTH 548F (001) for 1st year PCTH graduate students only – both are given in lectures.
| Section No. | Course Name | # of Credits | Winter/Summer Terms(s) | Course Details | Course Coordinator(s) |
| 001 | PCTH 502 | 4 | Given in odd-numbered and alternate years – Winter Term 1 | Lecture course | TBD |
| 001 | PCTH 512 | 3 | Given in odd-numbered and alternate years – Winter Term 2 | Lecture course | Dr Dormuth |
| 001/101/201 | PCTH 514 | 1 | All winter terms (1 credit by completion of a graduate program) – section no. 001 for both terms; section no. 101 for student plans to complete in Term 1 and section no. 201 for new student starting in Term 2 | Seminar | Dr Bernatchez & Dr Laher |
| 002 | PCTH 548a | 2 | Both Winter Terms | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-thesis literature search | Dr Bernatchez |
| 941 | PCTH 548a | 2 | Summer, both terms (held in alternate even-number year, e.g. 2022, 2024 etc.) | Lecture course-reserved for Dental Graduate students only | Dr Preston/ Dr Pang |
| 003 | PCTH 548b | 3 | Winter Term 1 only | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-thesis research project | Dr Bernatchez |
| 941 | PCTH 548b | 3 | Summer both terms | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-Thesis research project | Dr Bernatchez |
| 001 | PCTH 548c | 3 | Winter Term 2 only | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-Thesis research project | Dr Bernatchez |
| 004 | PCTH 548d | 6 | Winter both terms | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-Thesis research project | Dr Bernatchez |
| 005 | PCTH 548e | 3 | Winter term 2 only | Directed Studies in Pharmacology – Non-Thesis research project | Dr Bernatchez |
| 001 | PCTH 548f | 4 | Winter both terms (started since 2010W) | Lecture course compulsory for 1st year PCTH graduate students | Dr Barr/ Dr Kramer |