MS Translational Pharmacology is designed for students and clinicians with a bioscience or animal science background. The program is offered 100% online in an asynchronous format by the Ohio State College of Medicine Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology and in collaboration with the Ohio State colleges of Pharmacy and Nursing.
This multidisciplinary curriculum is designed for recent graduates and professionals interested in a career in clinical and translational pharmacology, specializing in clinical trial design or preclinical toxicology and safety pharmacology studies. Choose from one of two specializations: Toxicology and Safety Pharmacology or Clinical Pharmacology and Clinical Trial Design.
*Please note the online MS Translational Pharmacology degree is not a lab-based program.
Currently accepting applications for Spring 2027 admission through October 5, 2026. Classes for Spring begin January 2027.
The MS Translational Pharmacology program prepares graduates for careers in drug development. The program has a translational pharmacology focus – bridging across “the discovery, development, regulation and use of pharmacologic agents to improve clinical outcome and inform optimal use of therapeutics in patients.
The Clinical Pharmacology and Clinical Trial Design Specialization focuses on the application of pharmacological principles in clinical research, connecting the gap between laboratory science and clinical practice. Research team members assist clinical pharmacologists to study biomarkers, pharmacokinetics, and genetics; design and evaluate clinical trials; and investigate adverse reactions and drug interactions in patients in drug studies.
Graduates with this master’s degree may find rewarding clinical research career opportunities as clinical trials administers, project managers, quality assurance specialists, and in pharmaceutical sales. Graduates already holding a doctorate degree may leverage this master’s degree to advance their careers as clinical investigators, research scientists, clinical pharmacologists, or medical affairs specialists in the pharmaceutical industry, contract research organizations, clinical research organizations, and academic medical centers.
On completion of the coursework in this track, students will have attained basic competencies as defined by the Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency.
In the Toxicology and Safety Pharmacology Specialization, students learn to improve the discovery, development, and safe use of biologically active substances by identifying, monitoring, and characterizing potential undesirable effects in preclinical studies. Toxicologists and safety pharmacologists plan, conduct, and report the results of in vivo and in vitro tests of drugs on cardiovascular function, respiratory function, and central nervous system behavior prior to the introduction in humans.
Graduates may find entry- and mid-level opportunities as study coordinators and directors, quality assurance specialists, laboratory animal resource managers, and project/program managers. Graduates already holding a doctorate degree may leverage this master’s degree to advance their careers as research scientists in organizations conducting preclinical drug studies.
On completion of the coursework in this track, students will have attained basic competencies as defined by the American Board of Toxicology and the Safety Pharmacology Society.
