In an online master's program for clinical research

[pharmacologystudent]

Hi, I'm in currently in a master's program for clinical research and my specialization is clinical pharmacology. It's actually The Ohio State University that I'm attending. I was wondering since it is an online program would I have difficulty getting into a PhD program in Pharmacology because of this? I have a BS in Biology from another state school as well. I got a 3.7+_ gpa the first semester in the master's program. I plan to work 2-3 years in clinical research afterwards hopefully getting 1-3 publications.

[peachypie]

Your research (not schoolwork) is a much bigger factor in PhD acceptances than anything else.  Are you working in clinical research now?  If not you should be while you are in an online program.  Also 1-3 pubs in 2-3 years is pretty ambitious of you especially if you haven't published before or haven't been in research already.

[eeee1923]

Just remember clinical research and basic science research are quite different from one another - basically keep that in mind for when you go for your PhD programs.

[pharmacologystudent]

Thanks for the responses! Yeah, I was being ambitious about the 1-3 publications. I have an internship where I'm going to work in clinical research my last semester in the program which is the summer. I'm hoping to impress the person who accepted me as an intern and hopefully get a job somewhere in clinical research. I'm hoping 1 publication isn't too ambitious at least for 2-3 years of working. I know I'm going to work in clinical research but I plan to become a clinical and translational pharmacologist.

 

Would I need basic science research too to get into a PhD Program in Pharmacology? Or would clinical research experience be enough? Even though my program is online the professors teaching my classes are leaders in their field especially in my pharmacology classes. Plus The Ohio State University is a decent university that is one of the better research universities. I really hope it being an online program doesn't hinder my chances at getting into a PhD program. I hope it even helps if I get a pretty good gpa after graduating hopefully.