Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Careers?
Growing UF Online Master's Program Brings Choices

Rapid growth in enrollment in the University of Florida’s online pharmacy programs bodes well for the growth of Florida’s pharmaceutical industry.

The UF College of Pharmacy offered its first online master’s degree program two years ago, and interest has been so high the college has followed up with three other degree programs, offering six possible concentrations. More than 90 students were admitted fall 2008, four times the number enrolled the year before, said pharmacy professor and online program coordinator David Brushwood, R.Ph., J.D.

Not only that, but the college also has recently announced a partnership with Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., that will allow online students to get a master’s degree in pharmacy from UF and a master’s of business administration from Stetson in significantly less time than would be required to pursue each degree separately.

“If we can be successful at transferring knowledge from our academic institutions to the high achievers in the business world, Florida can become a third focus of national leadership (after California and the Northeast) in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries,” Brushwood said.

The goal of the online programs is to provide an opportunity for working professionals to further their education without having to quit their jobs or relocate to Gainesville.

One recent graduate Scott Mazza, became a clinical adviser for CVS Caremark’s mail service division. He applied for a promotion while completing his master’s in pharmacy regulation and policy, and he said his new degree had a lot to do with his being chosen for the job.

“This master’s was such a unique degree that it gave me an edge,” Mazza said. “I was able to immediately relate the material I learned in school to a number of real-life situations.”

The programs focus on nonclinical issues important to the pharmaceutical industry, such as drug regulation, risk management, economics and ethics. Such considerations are vital to the success of any pharmaceutical company, but the average employee has no experience in these areas, Brushwood said.

While some students have a background in pharmacy, others are people working in the biomedical industry who got their education in areas, such as business or law. These professionals may not have planned to pursue pharmacy, Brushwood said, but now that they are in the industry, they need more specialized education.

“We’re teaching people to do the things they are in fact doing,” Brushwood said. “We teach them what they want, rather than what we think they should want.”

Four full-time UF professors work with the online programs, and much of the teaching is done by experts from around the country who are active professionals in the areas they teach.

Because student and teacher are currently practicing the issues at hand, Brushwood said discussions are often lively and heated.

“This is very different from a normal classroom,” he said. “It keeps us on our toes.”