Applicants for the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Doctor of Pharmacy program must be on track to complete prerequisite coursework before beginning the PharmD program. Coursework may be underway at the time of application, but it must be completed by mid-July of the enrollment year.
PharmD students are not required to hold a bachelor's degree to be eligible, but they must have completed the prerequisite coursework. Applicants must receive a grade of "C-" or better in all prerequisite courses.
To be eligible for admission to the PharmD program, applicants without a bachelor's degree must complete a minimum of 54 semester credits of prerequisite courses at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Applicants with a Bachelor's Degree must complete a minimum of 39 semester credits.
Prerequisite Courses
Prerequisite requirements are measured in semester hour credits. To convert quarter hour credits to semester hours, divide your quarter hours by 1.5. For example, 12 quarter hours = 8 semester hours.
Chemical, Biological & Physical Sciences
33 semester credits, including:
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General Chemistry with Lab | 8 semester credits
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Organic Chemistry with Lab | 8 semester credits
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General Biology with Lab | 8 semester credits
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Human Physiology* | 3 semester credits
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At least 6 additional credits from any of the following:
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Human Anatomy
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Microbiology
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Molecular/Cellular Biology
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Biochemistry
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Physics
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Other upper-division (200-level or higher) courses will be considered on a case-by-case basis
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* Where institutional requirements exist for Human Anatomy as a prerequisite for Human Physiology, or where teh topics are taught in an integrated A&P course, the full course series may be required.
Mathematics
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Pre-Calculus or Higher | 3 semester credits
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Math-Based Statistics | Recommended but not required
Economics
3 semester credits from at least one of the following:
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Microeconomics | 3 credits
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Macroeconomics | 3 credits
Information & Communication Technologies**
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Speech | 3 semester credits
General Education**
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English Composition | 3 semester credits
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Social/Behavioral Sciences | 3-6 credits from the following:
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Psychology, sociology or anthropology
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3-6 credits from the following:
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Humanities
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Art (visual, fine or performing)
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Language
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** These requirements are waived for students who hold a bachelor's degree upon admission to the PharmD program.
Prerequisite Evaluation
We offer a complimentary service to unofficially evaluate your prerequisite coursework to help you determine which prerequisites you have fulfilled and those you have remaining to complete. To take advantage of this service please complete an unofficial (pdf) and follow the instructions below.
For an unofficial course evaluation please send us your completed worksheet and unofficial college transcript(s) by email at pharmd@pacificu.edu.
Recommendations to be Competitive
The Admissions Committee has several recommendations on how to be a competitive applicant. Recommendations that specifically focus on prerequisite coursework include:
- Applicants are recommended to have a 2.7 GPA in three areas: cumulative GPA, science GPA, and last 45 semester credit GPA (most recent coursework). Applicants with a GPA below 2.7 are still welcome to apply and their application will be reviewed.
- A bachelor’s degree is not required but it can make an application more competitive.
- Applicants do not need to have all prerequisites done at the time of application but having most courses, if not all of them, done before applying can make an application more competitive.