Community or Public Service:

“Public service is central to the mission of Tulane. It is part of what defines and distinguishes us as a university community. Without public service, a Tulane education would be incomplete.”
— Scott S. Cowen,
President, Tulane University

Tulane became the first national research institution to integrate public service into its core curriculum for undergraduates in 2006. Now, the entire university community, including the schools of Architecture, Business, Law, Liberal Arts, Medicine, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Science and Engineering and Social Work – is committed to public service.

Public service is of particular importance to those entering our one year masters program, because providing a track record of significant public or community service has become a prerequisite for admission to most US medical schools. Students are expected to move beyond the scope of academics and work in a community to improve the health of a population. This is "what medicine is all about".

As a result, a core requirement of our Masters program in Pharmacology is that students provide public or community service averaging at least 1 hour per week, or 15 hours per semester. Tulane has a Center for Public Service that helps connect students with numerous community partners & outreach programs that are active in the New Orleans area. As a part of the pharmacology curriculum, students are required to document their service activities in short essays, posted photos or video clips, and reflect upon the learning garnered from such activities in an online blog or wiki page. In addition, students are also expected to reflect on what they have learned from their academic and classroom activities.

Tulane is setting the standard for public service for the next generation of universities. When you receive a Tulane education, you will get a little something extra from community service activities that most other institutions don't offer. Our students get a unique educational experience that can be found Only in New Orleans. Only at Tulane.

Masters in Pharmacology

A post-baccalaureate program leading to the MS degree in Pharmacology
Designed for those interested in improving their credentials to gain admission to a medical school
Class size is maintained at less than 35 to create a more personal connection between students & faculty
Students in our MS program take the School of Medicine's Medical Pharmacology course along with 2nd year medical students
All other graduate courses are also taught within the School of Medicine by full time Medical School faculty
Successful performance will significantly improve ones credentials for applying to medical school

Objectives

To train students in the principles underlying the discipline of pharmacology
To learn the approach, rationale, and methods required to design and conduct research in pharmacology

Applying to the MS Program

Go to the ADMISSION tab above or applying for the 2012-2013 graduate program
Download a copy of the masters program newsletter
The Deadline for 2012-13 applications is June 11, 2012
Orientation & the first day of class will take place on July 18, 2012

Outcomes

The masters class has consistently performed as well or better than the medical class in our 2nd year School of Medicine's course in Medical Pharmacology, with an average class mean of 88.5±0.5% for the masters students compared to 85.8±0.6% for the medical students between 2001 & 2011 (n=11, P<0.001).

79% percent of the students who graduated from our program between 2000-2010 have achieved their goal of gaining admission into US Medical or Dental Schools or Doctoral programs. These schools include:

Loyola School of Medicine, Chicago
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
University of Colorado
University of Illinois, Chicago
University of Minnesota
University of Nevada
University of Tennessee
University of Texas, Houston
Wake Forest University
Medical College of Georgia
Louisiana State University, New Orleans
Louisiana State University, Shreveport
Albany Medical College
Medical College of Wisconsin
SUNY Upstate School of Medicine
UMDNJ, New Jersey
University of Hawaii
University of Miami
University of Mississippi, Jackson
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas, San Antonio
University of Wisconsin
Uniformed Services Univ of the Health Sciences
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Southern Illinois
University of South Carolina