Graduate Certificate in Drug Discovery

The Graduate Certificate in Drug Discovery in the School of Pharmacy at Temple University provides current pharmaceutical professionals and pharmacy students the opportunity to enhance their credentials and skills in drug discovery. Industry employers actively seek candidates who have an understanding of the processes involved in drug discovery. 

This 12-credit Drug Discovery Certificate is fully online and is a combination of asynchronous and synchronous course content.

Drug Discovery

Drug discovery involves the research process that identifies new therapies and delivers them to clinical trials. The process comprises multiple stages including target identification, hit identification, lead optimization and preclinical testing. Multiple scientific disciplines such as molecular biology, genetics, chemistry, molecular modeling and bioinformatics are employed to advance novel therapies capable of improving patient outcomes. 

Drug Discovery Certificate Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of the program, you will  

• learn the techniques required for pursuing the process for drug discovery;

• develop a systematic understanding of how drugs and medicines are discovered;

• expand your professional network; and 

• become a highly marketable professional. 

Program Format and Curriculum

The Graduate Certificate in Drug Discovery is fully online with asynchronous and synchronous components. The program is 12 credits and can be completed in a minimum of one year. 

The program comprises four courses. See the course requirements.

Through the curriculum, students will 

• have a clear understanding of the early-stage drug discovery process for small molecule therapeutics;
• understand and critically evaluate current literature on early-stage drug discovery programs;
• have hands-on experience and expertise to conduct noncompartmental analysis of pharmacokinetic datasets;
• understand late-stage discovery experiments and lead molecule progression in small molecule therapeutics programs;  

• understand and critically evaluate current literature on late-stage drug discovery programs; and  

• develop technical and report writing skills, including data analysis, interpretation and hypothesis development.