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Thank you for your interest in the Pharmacology graduate program at UNC Chapel Hill. Our department, together with all of the other Basic Science Departments in the Medical School and the Biological Sciences Divisions in Biology and Chemistry, participate in a joint recruitment and first year graduate program called Biological & Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP). You can read more about the program and the participating faculty at http://www.med.unc.edu/bbsp.

Rather than applying to a single program, under this admissions structure you effectively apply to all 12 participating programs at the same time. If admitted into the BBSP, you would have no formal commitment to any one program; thus, during your first year, you will have the freedom to choose your own coursework and lab rotations. At the end of your first year you will choose a thesis adviser and join one of the participating PhD programs, where you will complete the rest of your studies at UNC. Your PhD will be in the department or curriculum that you chose at the end of your first year.

Please note that while this program provides you with plenty of flexibility for taking courses and rotating in labs in multiple departments, you may also focus your studies and lab rotations in the Pharmacology Department. Thus, while it may take you a year before you can formally join Pharmacology, you can begin to fulfill the requirements for our program right away.

How to Apply

We encourage applications from individuals regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

If you are interested in applying to Pharmacology, follow the link to the BBSP admissions website, fill out an online application, and select Pharmacology as your interest. If your interests are broader, you can select up to five areas of interest. None of these selections locks you in to any department or program. You can also enter the names of faculty you are interested in.

The BBSP application instructions provide information about admission requirements, application fees and deadlines, financial support and international student applicant requirements. Please read this before filling out an application so that you will have all the necessary application materials ready to upload when you submit an application.

MD/PhD Program Students (MSTP)

Students in the Medical Sciences Training Program (MSTP; i.e. MD/PhD) will continue to enter the program at the end of the second year of Medical School. An example of the curriculum for MD/PhD students can be found here.