UW School of Pharmacy Degree Program Adds Expanded Specialty Tracks to Focus on Specific Areas

The University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy Master of Science in Health Services Administration (MSHSA) degree program now includes a list of 18 expanded specialty tracks for the fall semester, enabling students to focus more directly on specific health care areas of interest.

The graduate degree offered through the MSHSA program is tailored for new and midcareer pharmacists, nurses, physicians, social workers and other health care professionals who want to assume leadership roles as department directors, patient safety coordinators and/or directors, regulatory compliance officers, clinical research associates, health outcomes researchers or advance practice pharmacists.

It also will benefit health care workers in fields such as management positions, pharmaceutical sales representatives, medical science liaisons and pharmacy technician educators, as well as new clinical faculty at newly established pharmacy colleges.

Under two main learning track groups in the MSHSA degree program, which include biopharmaceutical regulatory compliance and health care institutional leadership, students now have the option to choose from 18 specialty tracks, which include new topics such as forensic pharmacy, geriatric care systems, health care ethics and equity, and clinical research administration.

“As health care continues to grow in several areas, the MSHSA program now provides new opportunities for students to expand their knowledge, expertise and skills into an even wider range of tracks,” says Elliott Sogol, UW School of Pharmacy director of postgraduate education. “As we see more complex issues facing the health care field, some additional specialization is needed to prepare the leaders of tomorrow.”

These specialty tracks are designed to allow students to fine-tune their programs of study to include specific areas of health care interests that will complement their completed education in the MSHSA degree program -- and better prepare them for new career opportunities.

For example, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the past year, health care delivery has evolved in many ways, including the use of telehealth. Some of the new specialty tracks offered in the MSHSA program help students understand more directly how these health information technologies work and the ethical implications of their use.

For each student who adds a specialty track to his or her program of study, this will be adapted to the standard curriculum and will not affect the student’s scheduled time of graduation. The graduate degree offered through the MSHSA program can be completed in as little as two years of part-time study, and can be extended for up to six years to complete.

For more information and to enroll in the MSHSA program, visit www.uwyohealthadminms.org/.