Procedures for Applying to Non-Thesis Master of Science Programs (RAQA, Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences or Global Clinical and Pharmacovigilance Regulations)
BEFORE YOU APPLY TO THE MS - Attend an Open House (if you have not already done so), or call our Office at 267-468-8559.
To avoid having your application materials get lost, send all application materials to the RAQA Office:
Temple University School of Pharmacy - attn. Admissions
Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Graduate Program
425 Commerce Drive, Suite 175
Fort Washington, PA 19034
QARA2@temple.edu
The GRE exam is not required for admission.
The MS in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance requires an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
If you did not attain a 3.0 GPA or higher at the undergraduate level, you may be considered for admission by completing three RAQA graduate courses and earning a grade of B+ or higher in each of the three courses. One of the three courses must be Food and Drug Law (5592).
Students who hold master's degrees from U.S. accredited institutions (overall 3.0 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale) will also be accepted. If a 3.0 was not attained, those students may pursue three RAQA graduate courses as a non-matriculant. If they earn a minimum grade of B+ or higher in each, they will be accepted. One of the three courses completed must be Food and Drug Law (5592).
Before starting your application for the MS, call 267.468.8559 to discuss the best way to proceed. You may need to take three courses before formally applying. Do not apply before you are eligible to do so, since the application fee is nonrefundable. Please call us for advice before proceeding.
Students with Foreign Academic Credentials: See International Students. Please contact the RAQA Office before submitting your application. If you apply too early or submit the wrong forms or use inconsistent names on your application materials, you may end up paying for two application fees, two WES reports, and other unnecessary expenses.
Procedures for Applying:
Send an application form (PDF) and a check for $75 (payable to Temple University) to the RAQA Office. If you have used different names during your academic history (i.e., a maiden name at an undergraduate school), include a brief letter indicating your past surnames. This will help us to keep your information together, accelerating your application process. We must have these two items first to open a file for you.
You do not need to send all of your application materials together.
Mail the completed form (PDF) with your $75 application fee (payable to Temple University) to:
Temple University School of Pharmacy - attn. Admissions
Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Graduate Program
425 Commerce Drive, Suite 175
Fort Washington, PA 19034.
ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS should be sent to Jean Westbrook at the address listed above.
Questions regarding your application file should be directed to:
267-468-8559 [click-for-email]
Questions regarding your acceptance to the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance MS Program should be directed to:
Graduate Studies Office 215.707.4972 [click-for-email]
When you apply for the MS, you are formally applying to the Graduate School of Temple University. The application consists of:
1. The Application Form (PDF) AND application fee ($75.00).
2. A signed copy of your up-to-date resume or CV.
3. A statement of your professional goals and objectives.
4. Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools you have attended.
- Official transcripts must be ordered from a school’s Registrar and bear an official seal. They must be sent from a Registrar’s Office (or outside transcript vendor, such as "Getmytranscript.com") directly to the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Graduate Program Office in a sealed envelope. Opened copies of official transcripts are not accepted. You can order multiple official hard copy transcripts from www.getmytranscript.com. Some colleges and universities have their own procedures for ordering official hard copy transcripts. Please see item 5 below for Temple's procedures for official transcripts.
- You must order official hard copy transcripts for ALL undergraduate schools you attended, even if you just took one course and then transferred those credits to another institution. If you do not include all transcripts, you will delay your application.
5. An official hard copy transcript from Temple University for any Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurancecourses you have taken.
- Sorry, but we cannot accept transcripts printed from Banner nor can we accept photocopies of your Temple transcript. You must submit an official hard copy transcript that comes directly from a company called Parchment. Please follow these instructions:
6. Two letters of recommendation.
- We suggest you include one reference from your direct supervisor indicating that he/she supports your candidacy in the program. These recommendations must be on company letterhead, or you may use our standardized form (PDF). We cannot accept faxed copies of recommendation or emails. You must send hard copy with original signatures.
- If the person giving a recommendation prefers to write a letter, we suggest these guidelines. The letter must:
- 1) Be on official stationery or company letterhead;
- 2) Contain COMPLETE contact information of the person giving the reference, including company name, address, and phone number;
- 3) Should not exceed 2 pages;
- 4) Must address how well the applicant will fare in Graduate School. (For instance, does the candidate finish things that he/she starts? Is the applicant intellectually curious? Is the candidate likely to succeed in an industry career and will the advanced degree in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance help meet that goal? Is the applicant motivated and capable of handling graduate-level courses while juggling responsibilities at work?)
Letters that are not on official stationery and that do not contain contact information will not be accepted.
7. Students must complete an undergraduate degree before applying to the M.S. in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. If you are finishing your final term as an undergraduate, do not apply until you have completed your degree and received your diploma. This is particularly important for international students. If you submit a WES or ECE course-by-course evaluation before you officially graduate from an international institution, you will be asked to submit a second WES (or ECE) after you graduate, since we must have formal proof that the undergraduate degree was received. Please wait until you graduate to apply and order a WES (or ECE) report; otherwise you will have to pay the agency's fees twice.
There are additional requirements for students who received their degrees outside the U.S.
A. International students are required to submit the Testing of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
- The minimum scores that Temple accepts for the TOEFL are:
- 585 for the paper version (PBT)
- 230 for the computer version (CBT)
- 85 for the Internet-based version (IBT).
We prefer and encourage students to submit the TOEFL. The IELTS may be submitted, but we prefer the TOEFL. The minimum accceptable IELTS score is 6.5. (Only the academic test score is accepted. The general training score is not accepted.)
Even if students demonstrate minimum sufficiency in the TOEFL or IELTS, the School may require them to take traditional classroom courses at Temple University Fort Washington rather than online courses to improve their language skills.
Sorry, but if you have not achieved the minimum TOEFL or IELTS score, your application will not be considered. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Applicants to the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance graduate program must be fluent in written and spoken English. The pharmaceutical industry uses a specialized regulatory language which contains acronyms and unique terminology. Courses in the RA and QA program stress dialogue, and students are often asked to make oral presentations and write papers about regulatory issues facing the industry. Regulatory and quality positions in the industry require strong written and oral language skills.
Exceptions for submitting TOEFL are permitted only if: 1) the student has earned a degree in an English-speaking country; 2) the student has completed a degree from an accredited school in the United States. Individual courses, certificates, or portions of a degree program will not be considered.
B. All international transcripts must be evaluated on a course-by-course basis by organizations such as WES to facilitate the application process.
If you do not use WES, you may delay your application by an entire semester, and your application may be denied.
Temple will accept transcript evaluations from any organization listed on NACES.
Course-by-course evaluations must be original, unopened documents that an Agency sends directly to Temple University. We do not accept photocopies of evaluations or original documents that have been opened. The agency must send the documents directly to Temple. A course-by-course evaluation must be done and state "Control Examination."
Your academic credentials must demonstrate that you have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree and that the overall grade point average for that degree was the equivalent of a U.S. 3.0.
Once accepted into the MS in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance program, international students are responsible for paying additional fees, as delineated by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (Click "Future Students," then Click, "Fees and Tuition.") There is also a one-time matriculation fee.
If you are traveling to the U.S. to study in the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance graduate program, please make sure you review this link.
Special Notes on Applying to the MS:
The Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance graduate program has specific deadlines for applying each semester. The Admissions Committee will only review complete applications. Once you have submitted your application and all supporting documents, contact the RAQA Office (267.468.8559 or [click-for-email]) to verify that your file is complete. Please do not make the mistake of waiting several months, only to find that we never received a transcript or letter of recommendation. If you do not complete your application by the deadline, it will "roll over" for consideration for the following semester. However, if you do not complete your application during that second semester, your application will automatically be "rejected," which will be on your permanent record.
Our application deadlines are:
Fall: Complete Applications must be received by July 1
Spring: Complete Applications must be received by November 1.
Summer: Complete Applications must be received by March 1.
Bringing Transfer Credits into the RAQA Program:
Temple University permits students to bring a maximum of 6 transfer credits (or two courses) into the MS program, but only under the following circumstances:
1. Requests for transfer credits must be made when the student is applying for matriculation into the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance MS program. Under no circumstances will transfer credits be awarded after a student has been officially admitted into the program or is near completion of the degree.
2. All courses being considered for transfer credits must have been taken within the last five years and be from a fully accredited American college or university. Grades in all courses must be "B" quality or greater.
3. Courses being considered for transfer credits must be identical or very similar to courses currently offered in the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance program. The applicant is responsible for providing sufficient documentation that shows this similarity, including an official course description (in an official school catalogue), a copy of the course syllabus (clearly depicting topics covered), and copies of tests or other assignments which demonstrate that the work is equivalent to a graduate-level course in Temple's RA and QA program. Without this documentation, the request for transfer credits will be denied.
4. Transfer credits cannot be earned from industry workshops or conferences (other than specifically delineated KENX conferences). There are no exceptions.
5. Students are permitted to take no more than three courses (or 9 credits) in the RA and QA program before formally applying for admission. Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance courses taken before matriculation may be considered "transfer credits" since the student is not officially admitted to the program. Therefore, additional transfer credits will not be considered if the student has taken more than three Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance courses.
6. Transfer credits in business and business management courses are not accepted.
7. The Graduate Studies Committee will review the request for transfer credits, based on the materials provided by the student. If the transfer credits are approved, the Committee will write a formal letter to the student.
Requests for transfer credits should be addressed to: RAQA Coordinator, Temple University School of Pharmacy - RAQA, 425 Commerce Drive, Suite 175, Fort Washington, PA 19034. The decision of the Graduate Committee to award transfer credits is final.
Waiving Requirements in the MS Program:
A maximum of two required courses may be waived in the Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance graduate program, but only if students have completed identical courses in Regulatory Affairs and/or Quality Assurance at another accredited U.S. institution of higher learning. You must have achieved a minimum grade of “B” (3.0 grade points on a 4.0 scale) and provide a syllabus and other pertinent course materials, demonstrating that the course is identical to a requirement offered in Temple's MS in RA and QA program.
Your request for waiving a required course (Drug Development, Food and Drug Law, GxPs, IND/NDA Submissions, or Quality Audit) must be made when you submit your application for the MS program. Retroactive requests will not be reviewed or granted. Credit will only be given for academic courses taken within the past five years.
The Graduate Studies Committee will send a formal letter indicating whether your request to waive a prerequisite has been formally granted. Students who wish to take Advanced GMPs in lieu of GMPs must demonstrate that they have a minimum of 5 years of active experience in GMPs. An oral test may be administered to demonstrate that the student is familiar with basic GMPs.
When you waive a course, you will be asked to take another elective in its place. Waiving courses does not reduce the number of credits you need to complete the Master’s program; it simply means you have permission to skip a required course and take another elective in its place.