In the United States, pharmacy students are required to first finish an undergraduate degree that lasts for two years and is referred to as Pre-Pharmacy or Pre-Pharm before they can enroll in a PharmD program that lasts for either four or three years.
- The course can be taken in a variety of formats depending on the region of the country.
- In many educational institutions, the Pre-Pharmacy coursework and the Pharm.
- D course are merged into a single curriculum that lasts either 5 or 6 years.
- Five-year programs combine the traditional two-year Pre-Pharmacy curriculum with an accelerated, year-round curriculum.
The completion of a six-year degree entails the completion of six traditional academic years; hence, students do not need to attend any necessary classes during the summer months. An undergraduate student may have the opportunity to major or minor in Pre-Pharmacy at colleges that do not offer the combined curriculum described above.
At colleges and universities where Pre-Pharmacy is not offered as a major or minor in its own right, students typically major in a related science (such as chemistry) with a focus on Pre-Pharmacy. This means that the curriculum of their particular major is tailored to help them take the PCAT and get into a pharmacy school.
Pre-pharmacy students at each each college follow a distinctly individualized course of study. A general education program would consist of the following subjects: chemistry, either biology or anatomy and physiology, mathematics, English, and a variety of electives.
What is the pre-Doctor of Pharmacy program?
What is a Pre-Pharmacy Major?
Within the pharmaceutical sciences concentration, the Pre-Doctor of Pharmacy program is a non-degree educational aim that may be completed in two years. Although biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics make up the bulk of the curriculum, pre-pharmacy students are also required to take at least one class in composition, economics, and communication.