Preparing for Admission to Pharmacy School

Coursework

Note: Most pharmacy schools have a minimum GPA requirement of 2.75-3.0, but keep in mind that even with this minimum, admission is competitive, so most admitted students will have a much higher GPA (>3.5 or 3.75). The following guidelines represent a summary of the coursework required to be admitted at most pharmacy schools. Course guidelines from individual schools may be more stringent. For more information, contact the pre-professional advisor or visit individual school websites.

Courses required by most (>50%) PharmD programs:

Principles of Biology I (BIO 135)
Principles of Biology II (BIO 140)
Anatomy and Physiology I (BIO 270)
Anatomy and Physiology II (BIO 275)
Microbiology (BIO 210)
General Chemistry I (CHEM 151)
General Chemistry II (CHEM 152)
Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 251)
Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 252)
General Psychology (PSY 190)
Calculus I (MATH 120)
Statistics (MATH 220)
Physics I (PHY 111 & 112)
Physics II (PHY 113 & 114)
Economics (BA 160 &/or 161)-check programs!
Human Development (EDU 142)
English Composition (ENG 101 & 102)
Public Speaking (COMM 105)

Courses required by some (15%-49%) PharmD programs:

Biochemistry (CHEM 330)
Calculus II (MATH 200)
Social science coursework*
Psychology (PSY 190)*
Behavioral Science coursework*

*72% of PharmD programs require at least one of these three: check individual programs for guidelines

Other recommended or required courses vary, but may include: General Genetics (BIO 283), Immunology (BIO 375), and Cell and Molecular Biology (BIO 381), or courses included in UIU General Education

Additional courses to earn a major if you complete all the required courses listed above, your general education courses (and earn 120 total credit hours):

Biology

General Genetics (BIO 283)
Evolution (BIO 340)
Cell and Molecular Biology (BIO 381)
Scientific Literature Skills (BIO 201)
Thesis I (BIO 398)
Thesis II (BIO 498)
2 hrs approved electives

Experience

PharmD program admissions routinely use experience in a pharmacy setting as a selection criterion. You should seek out opportunities to gain this experience in either paid or unpaid settings. You may earn credit for some experience as a part of BIO 303: Experience in Health Careers.

Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT)

Many (~67%) pharmacy schools require you to take the PCAT. The PCAT contains seven sections: Verbal ability, Biology (general, micro, A &P), Reading Comprehension (science related), Quantitative ability (algebra geometry probability and statistics, pre-calculus and calculus), chemistry (inorganic and organic) and written essay questions(sentence formation, usage and mechanics). More information about the PCAT is available at http://www.pcatweb.info/.

Application Timelines

Application deadlines vary from October to April for the following academic year, with most in December-February. Many schools participate in a centralized application system, PharmCAS, which is located at http://www.pharmcas.org/.