Objective. To provide students with an opportunity to participate in medicinal chemistry research within the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Design. We designed and implemented a 3-course sequence in drug design or drug synthesis for pharmacy students consisting of a 1-month advanced elective followed by two 1-month research advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). To maximize student involvement, this 3-course sequence was offered to third-year and fourth-year students twice per calendar year. Assessment. Students were evaluated based on their commitment to the project's success, productivity, and professionalism. Students also evaluated the course sequence using a 14-item course evaluation rubric. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Students found the experience to be a valuable component of their pharmacy curriculum. Conclusion. We successfully designed and implemented a 3-course research sequence that allows PharmD students in the traditional 4-year program to participate in drug design and synthesis research. Students report the sequence enhanced their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and helped them develop as independent learners. Based on the success achieved with this sequence, efforts are underway to develop research APPEs in other areas of the pharmaceutical sciences. 1 This is typically accomplished by correlating the effects of a drug's physicochemical properties (logP, pK a , acid/base properties, and water solubility) with their pharmacokinetic and consequent pharmacodynamic profile. Additionally, students learn that chemical characteristics and spatial arrangement of functional groups determine physicochemical properties and ultimately drug action through structure-activity relationships (SAR). To assist students in grasping medicinal chemistry concepts, a variety of interactive and active learning measures have been developed by medicinal chemistry faculty in addition to traditional classroom lectures.2-16 A thorough understanding of the chemical basis of drug action allows pharmacy students to recommend safer and more effective alternative agents, identify potential drug-drug interactions, rationalize the basis for clinical recommendations, and ultimately solve clinical problems in order to improve patient care.Students are also exposed to the vital role medicinal chemistry research plays in drug development efforts through a discussion of investigational agents or through individual faculty research presentations. Doctor of pharmacy students may find it difficult to participate in medicinal chemistry research as a result of the academic rigor of the pharmacy curriculum, time constraints, and a lack of structured research opportunities within the curriculum.To provide PharmD students with an opportunity to participate in advanced study in medicinal chemistry research and to alleviate the time constraint on third-year and fourth-year students interested in drug design/discovery laboratory research, we incorporated a 3-course sequence, comprised of a one-month...