A partnership between Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Master of Science Program in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science was solidified with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

According to an announcement from Samford, students from UAB’s Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science (MBS) program will, upon recommendation from the program’s director, receive priority review of their applications for the McWhorter School of Pharmacy.

The hope is that this partnership will promote the recruitment of talented students to both UAB’s program in MBS and, in turn, Samford’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy.

Renee DeHart, McWhorter’s associate dean for student affairs, said of the partnership, “We’re very excited to establish this pipeline program; this initiative will be mutually beneficial and will help strengthen existing connections between Samford and UAB, as well as providing an outstanding future pharmacy workforce.”

UAB’s M.S. in MBS offers graduates multiple professional education paths which include research in academia or industry, education, scientific policy, science communication, and biomedical sales. With this new MOU, UAB now offers a pathway to pharmacy.

Samford’s pharmacy program curriculum allows for pharmacy students to earn their pharmacy degree in four years, while a fast-track option allows incoming undergraduate students to earn the same degree in only six years.