Pharmacology and Toxicology

Toxicology as the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biological agents on people, animals, and the environment. It complements the study of pharmacology, which examines the beneficial effects of chemical and biological agents. Toxicologists are scientists trained to investigate, interpret, and communicate the nature of hazardous effects. Toxicology is an interdisciplinary science, integrating information from biology and virtually all of its subspecialties (e.g., genetics, endocrinology and molecular biology) as well as math, physics, and chemistry and its subspecialties (e.g., analytical, organic, and clinical chemistry).

You Might Like this Program If...

• You want to translate detailed knowledge of biology and biochemistry into a form that benefits human and ecological health as well as policy decisions
• You want to study how new drugs are discovered and evaluated for health benefit as well as potential toxic responses
• You appreciate that human-made chemicals released into the environment impact the ecosystem and want to understand how you define and manage safety

The fields of pharmacology and toxicology are by nature interdisciplinary biomedical sciences, drawing upon the foundations and approaches of cell biology, systems physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics. A primary objective of pharmacology is to investigate fundamental aspects of cellular and molecular regulatory mechanisms for the purpose of understanding how drugs act and in order to develop new drugs for treatment of disease. Toxicology examines how chemical agents produce adverse effects on the organism, and studies mechanisms by which these materials contribute to cancer, neurological diseases, metabolic disorders and many other diseases and conditions. Our program is truly unique. One of the only eight majors in toxicology and pharmacology in the United States, it is the only one that blends molecular/cellular and environmental studies of toxicology and pharmacology.

• Physical, Biological and Toxicology Competencies: Students will exhibit specialized competencies in toxicology and pharmacology based upon a solid grounding in the physical and biological sciences.
• Research Experience: Students will have access to meaningful research experience and the professional development that accompanies such training including the ability to formulate a research question and design experimental procedures.
• Collaborative Learning, Critical Thinking and Communication: Graduates will demonstrate collaborative learning, critical thinking, and research skills, as well as skills to communicate effectively to professional and lay audiences.
• Career planning and advancement: Graduates will be prepared to succeed in industry, government, academic research, and in graduate and professional study.
• Ethics and Toxicology Outreach: Students will apply ethical principles in conducting scientific research and apply their expertise to a broader health and societal context.

If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

• Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
• Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

Concerns over drug safety, environmental quality, and occupational exposure to chemicals all lead to a high demand for specialists. Our major in Toxicology is one of only a handful of such programs in the United States. Graduates distinguish themselves with focused courses in toxicology and pharmacology while retaining the freedom to choose from a wide variety of courses in biomedicine and biotechnology.

Thanks to the specialization students can obtain in toxicology and pharmacology, there are plentiful employment opportunities for graduates after four years. Some of these opportunities include research positions in biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms, government or international health and environmental agencies, and academic research laboratories. Career possibilities can be found in the pharmaceutical industry, the biomedical industry, government laboratories, academic research and education, and private research organizations.

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

The Toxicology major can provide excellent preparation for professional and graduate programs. The major helps prepare students for graduate school in all biomedical and life science fields, including toxicology, pharmacology, biochemistry and cancer research. The direct relevance of the course work to human and animal health strongly attracts students interested in medicine and related fields, while the emphasis on biotechnology allows students to continue their education in professional programs including law and business.

Professional Resources

• Society of Toxicology
• National Institute of Environmental Health
• National Toxicology Program
• Toxipedia