Mercer University’s Doctor of Pharmacy Program is ranked as a top 5 pharmacy program among private universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. The College offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.). With an enrollment of more than 600 students and a distinguished faculty of basic scientists and clinicians, the College houses six centers focusing on research, teaching, and learning. The College’s creed, “A Tradition of Excellence – A Legacy of Caring,” frames its philosophy of providing excellent academic programs in an environment where every student matters and every person counts.

Videos

Key Faculty

• Dr. Hewitt “Ted” Matthews, dean, senior vice president for Health Sciences
• Dr. Susan W. Miller, chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice
• Dr. Ajay Banga, chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; co-director, Center for Drug Delivery Research
• Dr. Candace Barnett, executive associate dean

• Dr. Gina Ryan, associate dean for administration; clinical professor; director, Pharmacy Continuing Education

• Dr. Nader Moniri, associate dean for research; associate professor
• Dr. C. Lea Bonner, clinical assistant professor; director, Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences
• Dr. Christine Klein, clinical assistant professor; director, Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Recognition & Awards

• The College received a coveted 8 year maximum accreditation term from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in 2014.
• Twenty-nine (29) pharmacy graduates from the Class of 2015 matched for residency, fellowship, and graduate school placements throughout the U.S.
• One graduate student received the prestigious American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-doctoral Fellowship. 
• Kyle Brown, Class of 2016, was elected by his peers to serve as the National Vice President of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) for the 2015-2016 year. 
• Adrian Lawrence, Class of 2016, was elected by her peers to serve as the National Chronic Kidney Disease Chair for the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) for the 2015-2016 year.
• Omeka Sanders, Class of 2015, was selected as the J.B. Hills Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) Chapter President of the Year. Ms. Sanders serves on the SNPhA National Executive Board as the National Power to End Stroke Chair for 2014-2015. Dr. Sanders is currently a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident at Atlanta VA Medical Center.
• Brian Donahue, Class of 2015, was elected by his peers to a second term as National Member-at-large for the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). He also served as the Chair of the APhA-AP Communications Standing Committee and Regional Liaison to APhA-ASP Region 6. Dr. Donahue is currently the Executive Resident in Association Management & Leadership at the APhA Foundation in Washington, D.C. 
• Thomas Sherrer, Class of 2015, was elected by his peers to serve as President of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) National Student Leadership Council for 2014-2015. 
• During the 2014 - 2015 academic year, faculty publications totaled 80 including original research, book chapters, pedagogical articles, and review articles. Faculty and students in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences made 44 research presentations at regional, national, and international scientific meetings. Faculty in the Department of Pharmacy Practice provided 36 platform presentations at local and/or national professional meetings and presented a total of 46 poster presentations.
• Ten percent of the College of Pharmacy faculty serve as members of journal editorial review boards.
• Dean Ted Matthews received the Larry L. Braden Meritorious Service Award from the Georgia Pharmacy Association (GPhA) in July 2015. The Braden Award recognizes the Georgia Pharmacist who, over his or her career, has made extraordinary, invaluable contributions to GPhA and to the practice of pharmacy in the state of Georgia. 

• Dr. Candace Barnett was appointed to the Assessment and Accreditation Management System Advisory Committee of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education - American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
  
• Dr. Ajay Banga served as Session Chair and Member of the Organizing Committee for the 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on Biowaivers and Biosimilars in Raleigh, NC.
• Dr. Martin D'Souza was awarded a sub-contract to develop Nanoparticle Ovarian Cancer Vaccine by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The sub-contract is part of a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from NCI and is through Kiromic Labs of Lubbock, Texas. 
• Dr. Renee Hayslett served as co-chair of the 2014 Teaching Institute, "Practical Technologies for Effective Teaching", Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego, CA. Dr. Hayslett also serves as a member of the Graduate Recruitment and Education Committee (GREC) of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).
  
• Dr Jennifer Knaack serves on the Board of Directors of the Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment and also serves as an on-call scientist, Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• Dr. T. Vivian Liao was appointed the Secretary of the Georgia Area Critical Care Pharmacist Network (GACCPN), and is a member of the American Heart Association Georgia Emergency Cardiovascular Care Regional Committee and Education Committee in the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).
• Dr. Lisa Lundquist serves as chair of the Task Force for Promotion of Academic Careers, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice Section, and also serves on the Education Steering Committee, Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
  
• Dr. Nicole Metzger was appointed to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Advisory Group on Preceptor Development.
• Dr. Nader Moniri serves as a grant reviewer for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, New Investigator Program Diabetes U.K. and for the National Institutes of Health/Center for Scientific Review, Molecular and Integrative Signal Transduction (MIST) Study Section.
• Dr. Gina Ryan serves as a member of the Education Steering Committee, Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Research and Labs

• Center for Clinical Outcomes Research and Education
• Center for Clinical Research
• Center for Drug Delivery Research
• Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
• Clinical Laboratory
• Cell Culture Laboratory
• Mucosal Proteomics Laboratory
• Analytical Development and Stability Testing Laboratory
• Nanosphere Technology Laboratory
• Biochemistry/Cell Biology Laboratory
• Laboratory of Receptor Pharmacology
• Drug Delivery Laboratory
• Transdermal Delivery Laboratory
• Isotope Laboratory
• Cancer Nanomedicine Laboratory
• Pharmacology Laboratory
• Clinical Translational Laboratory
• Center for Drug Design

More information about research at Mercer’s College of Pharmacy is available online at http://pharmacy.mercer.edu/research/. 

Tuition & Other Financial Information:

Doctor of Pharmacy for 2015 - 2016
First, Second, Third Professional Year Students
Tuition per Semester: $17,112 (2 semesters per year)
Technology/Facilities Fee per semester: $150 (2 semesters per year)

Fourth Professional Year
Tuition per five-week Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE): $4,278 (8 APPEs are required)
Technology/Facilities Fee per semester: $150 (3 semesters for the fourth year)

Incoming Pharmacy students with a PharmCAS-calculated cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.75 or higher are automatically eligible for a Dean’s Merit Scholarship ($7,500 for 2016-2017). Incoming Pharmacy students with a PharmCAS-calculated cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.50 - 3.74 are automatically eligible for a Dean's Scholarship ($5,000 for 2016-2017).

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the student need-analysis system is used to determine a student’s financial need. For the Doctor of Pharmacy Program, most students are eligible for a total of $33,000 in Stafford Loans per year. Additionally, Graduate PLUS loans may be obtained up to the cost of attendance. Total Cost of Education includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, personal expenses, and travel expenses.

School History

Mercer University's College of Pharmacy seeks to prepare its professional and post-graduate students to effectively contribute to and improve health care through excellence in patient-centered care and research. The College of Pharmacy had its beginnings in 1903 as an independent college in Atlanta and was first known as the Southern College of Pharmacy.

In 1938 the College was transferred from private ownership to a Board of  Trustees and was operated on this basis until July 1959. At that time, a merger with Mercer University was completed, and the Southern School of Pharmacy became a part of this Baptist-affiliated institution.  

In September 1981, the Southern School of Pharmacy became the first  pharmacy school in the Southeast and fifth in the nation to offer the  Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) as its sole professional degree. The University's first Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was launched by the College of Pharmacy in 1988. Graduate students in the Ph.D. Program specialize in areas of pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, or medicinal chemistry. A dual Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program began in 1993, allowing highly qualified students to obtain both degrees in a shortened period of time. Students in the Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program are able to specialize in an additional area of experimental pharmacotherapeutics.

On July 1, 2006, the Southern School of Pharmacy changed its name to  the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. This name change characterized the College as a nationally recognized institution and provided the infrastructure to add future health science programs. In January 2008, the College began enrolling students in the Physician Assistant Program. In January 2010, the College started the first residency program in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy in the state of Georgia. The College began enrolling students into the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in August 2010.

In July 2013, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences name changed to the College of Pharmacy as the College of Health Professions formed to include the departments of Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, and Public Health and their programs.

With an enrollment of more than 600 students and a distinguished faculty of basic scientists and clinicians, the College houses seven centers focusing on research, teaching, and learning. The College’s motto, “A Tradition of Excellence – A Legacy of Caring,” frames its philosophy of providing excellent academic programs in an environment where every student matters and every person counts. 

Throughout  its long history, the College has developed a tradition of excellence  and a reputation for producing outstanding leaders throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.