Pre-Pharmacy

​​Pharmacists dispense prescription medications to patients and offer advice on their safe use.

Careers within the pharmaceutical field are diverse and provide many opportunities for challenging and rewarding service. There are eight specialty areas:

  • Ambulatory Care Pharmacy
  • Critical Care Pharmacy
  • Nuclear Pharmacy
  • Nutrition Support Pharmacy
  • Oncology Pharmacy
  • Pediatric Pharmacy
  • Pharmacotherapy
  • Psychiatric Pharmacy

Admission requirements for pharmacy school

From the time you begin college, you are assembling a complete universal application to apply to these professional schools. Pharmacy schools will review your application as a whole; you can work with your advisors to provide a competitive application.

Education and training

Pharm.D. programs generally take 4 years to complete. The courses offered are designed to teach you about all aspects of drug therapy. In addition to receiving classroom instruction, you will spend time working with licensed pharmacists in a variety of practice settings.

College major

You are not required to select a particular major in order to be eligible for admission to a pharmacy program.  In selecting a college major, consider how you will satisfactorily complete the prerequisite courses for your designated pharmacy program(s), in addition to the college/university's degree and major requirements. Work with your academic and/or pre-pharmacy advisor to plan your course schedule.​

You have the option to choose from a wide variety of pre-pharmacy undergraduate majors to prepare you for a pharmacy program. Suggested undergraduate majors include Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology​, Psychology, and Neuroscience.

GPA

Most programs look for a minimum undergraduate cumulative 2.5 GPA but the average GPA for matriculates is a 3.5 cumulative and a 3.6 in the sciences. Keep in mind these numbers are averages and various schools can have their own averages that are higher or lower. Also, these averages are climbing higher each year and admission to pharmacy schools is more competitive than ever. Be sure you take your studies seriously and put in the proper time for reading, studying, and review for each course.

Job outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data regarding careers in pharmacy can be found here.