Program director, Population Medicine, School of Public Health
Lori Wilber

Program liaison, School of Pharmacy
Caroline Sierra

Faculty

The faculty for the combined degrees Population Medicine with Pharmacy Program are drawn from Loma Linda University’s Schools of Public Health and Pharmacy.

Students are selected through a process involving both the School of Pharmacy and School of Public Health. Selection is based on standard admission criteria for the MPH degree in Population Medicine, especially alignment of professional goals with the population medicine program learning outcomes.

The program is designed for pharmacists seeking to improve health on both the individual and population levels. The curriculum includes applied practice of risk assessment and communication, prevention, leadership, health professional well-being, and evidence-based practice.

An MPH degree in Population Medicine pursued as a stand‑alone program requires 56 units in public health and related coursework. In the PharmD/MPH combined degree, required coursework from each program is applied across curricula to reduce the overall unit load while maintaining the full learning objectives of both degrees. Specifically, 9 units of MPH coursework are applied toward the PharmD degree requirements, and 9 units of PharmD coursework are applied toward the MPH degree requirements as outlined below:

First YearUnits
Standard Pharm.D. curriculum 
(Includes SAS 1, which fulfills 4 units of M.P.H. electives)4
M.P.H. coursework 
includes the following course, which fulfills 3 units of Pharm.D. electives) 
PMED 553Population Medicine in Public Health III3
Second Year
Standard Pharm.D. curriculum 
(Includes courses fulfilling 4 units of electives and a religion requirement)5
M.P.H. coursework 
(Includes PMED 551 and PMED 552, which fulfill 6 units of Pharm.D. electives) 
PMED 551Population Medicine in Public Health I5
PMED 552Population Medicine in Public Health II5
PMED 554Population Medicine in Public Health IV5
PMED 555Population Medicine in Public Health V5
Third Year
Standard Pharm.D. curriculum 
M.P.H. coursework 
PCOR 501Public Health for Community Resilience5
PCOR 502Public Health for a Healthy Lifestyle5
PCOR 503Public Health and Health Systems5
Fourth Year
Standard Pharm.D. curriculum 
M.P.H. coursework 
PMED 521Population Medicine I5
PMED 522Population Medicine II5
 Total Units: 57

Completion of a portfolio that includes the Applied Practice Experience and Integrative Learning Experience.

Normal time to complete the program

4 years