Undergraduate Minor

The Minor in Pharmacology & Toxicology is designed to provide a coherent set of courses to introduce science-oriented students to the field of pharmacology and toxicology. The Minor requires completion of 18 credits that can be a subset of the undergraduate requirements of students in the College of Natural Science, Lyman Briggs College, and College of Nursing. The Minor does not have any “unique” courses; that is, course credits used to satisfy the requirements for the Minor in Pharmacology & Toxicology may also be used to satisfy requirements for a student's major. Please consult your major advisor.

Requirements for the Minor

• Please choose from a list of courses available to satisfy the 18 credits required for the Minor (the number of credits, and the semester offered are listed).

Relationship to Degree programs:

The demand for knowledgeable  scientists is increasing rapidly. Both innovative and challenging, the Minor has a strong relationship with the biomedical sciences. Students taking pharmacology and toxicology courses must understand the basic sciences of the human body mechanisms (especially physiology) and chemistry.

This understanding, along with selected professional development courses, will better prepare students for work in a research laboratory, or for entry into graduate school in Pharmacology and Toxicology and other biomedical disciplines, or professional school (e.g., pharmacy, medical, veterinary, dental school, or physician’s assistant, or nurse practictioner ). Students interested in future careers in patent law, government regulations, and medical writing will also benefit. 

Some of the courses available to satisfy the requirements for the Minor are traditional in-class lecture courses, some are online courses, and others are hybrid courses. Some courses are offered both as traditional in-class lecture courses and as online courses.

Admission

Applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate at Michigan State University. Preference will be given to applicants who are studying human biology, biochemistry, physiology, neuroscience, or related sciences.

There is no requirement for admittance into the Minor but most courses are junior or senior level courses with prerequites in biological  sciences and/or chemistry.  The discipline of Pharmacology and Toxicology is an integration of these two fields.   Therefore, a prior knowledge of biology and chemistry will enable better understanding of pharmacology and toxicology.

If you have questions about undergraduate courses or the Minor in Pharmacology and Toxicology, email phmtoxug@msu.edu

To apply for the Minor, please fill out this form.