Pharmacists are healthcare professionals and medication experts who play a crucial role in keeping patients safe and healthy by ensuring that medications are effective, safe, and tailored to individual needs. They are the gatekeeper between the drugs/medications and patients, specifically making sure that it was correctly prescribed, letting patients know how to take their medications, and ensuring prescribed/over-the-counter drugs are not harmfully interacting. Pharmacists, as the professional advisor on medication/drugs, often work with other healthcare professionals to advise and educate.
For more information, see the AACP's Top Ten Reasons to Become a Pharmacist and Student Center.
Pharmacy Preparation
- Timeline
1. Obtain a Bachelor’s degree and complete all pre-pharmacy requirements, including prerequisites, the Graduate Records Examination (GRE), and experiences (4+ years)
2. Attend an accredited pharmacy school (4 years) and earn a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree
Optional: pursue residency to receive additional training (2 years)
3. Pass the national exam, North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX)
4. Become licensed in the state you wish to practice
5. Maintain certification & complete Continuing Education (ongoing)Upon matriculation into pharmacy school, there are additional steps students must complete in order to obtain licensure or professional certification. These steps vary by field and by school, and may include board examinations, supervised clinical hours, background checks, or other school-specific milestones. Once you are in your graduate program, your graduate program advisor will provide guidance on the post-graduation next steps.
- Pre-Requisites
Prerequisite courses are the academic foundation that most schools require students to complete before beginning pharmacy school. No matter which major you choose, you will need to fulfill the specific science and non-science prerequisites set by each school. Always review and cross-check the requirements of your major with the prerequisite coursework for your chosen pharmacy schools to ensure you are completing both UCD requirements as well as the requirements of your professional schools.
While HPA has developed a suggested prerequisite chart from a sample of schools, prerequisite coursework and entrance requirements will vary by school, hence it is important to check individual schools' websites to familiarize yourself with their exact prerequisites.
Program Prerequisites
Courses to Take at UC Davis
Most schools require:
General Chemistry
CHE 2ABC OR CHE 4ABC
General Biology
BIO 1 & 2 & 3 AND BIO 1L & 2L
Organic Chemistry
CHE 118ABC
Physics with Lab
PHY 7AB OR PHY 9AB
Microbiology with Lab
MIC 102 AND MIC 103L
Biochemistry
BIS 102 AND BIS 103
Human Physiology with Lab
(NPB 101 & NPB 101L) OR (NPB 110C & NPB 101L)
Human Anatomy with Lab
(EXB 106 & EXB 106L) OR (CHA 101 & CHA 101L)
Statistics
STA 13 OR STA 100
Calculus1
MAT 17AB OR MAT 21AB
Psychology
PSC 1
Economics 2
ECN 1A OR ECN 1B
Public Speaking
CMN 1
English
Combination of writing-intensive ENL and UWP courses
Some schools may require:
Physics with Lab
PHY 7AB OR PHY 9AB
Human Anatomy with Lab
(EXB 106 & EXB 106L) OR (CHA 101 & CHA 101L)
Biochemistry
BIS 102 AND BIS 103
Psychology
PSC 1
Sociology
SOC 1 OR SOC 3
English
Combination of writing-intensive ENL and UWP courses
Prerequisite Chart Footnotes:
1. While most pharmacy schools require 1-2 quarters (or unit equivalent of 1-2 quarters) of calculus, MAT 17B or MA 21 is a prerequisite for PHY 7A and MAT 21B is a prerequisite for PHY 9A. Students are also highly encouraged to check their major requirements as the whole series may be required for their major.
2. Some pharmacy schools may have specific recommendations on which economics course (e.g. macro-economics or micro-economics) is preferred.HPA Recommendations:
1. Complete all prerequisite courses for a letter grade, not P/NP.
2. Earn a “C” or higher in all prerequisite coursework. Some schools may require no lower than a B in any of your prerequisite courses.
3. Maintain a minimum undergraduate and science GPA of 3.0 or higher. A competitive GPA will likely be higher for most schools.Please also note that pharmacy schools do accept community college work in varying degrees, some accept all transferable work, some a certain amount of units, and others accept a very limited amount. If you have any questions about your major, prerequisite courses, or grade/GPA concerns, you are encouraged to make an appointment with one of HPA Staff Advisors.
- Exam
The Graduate Records Exam (GRE) may be required by most pharmacy schools and it is strongly recommended to be taken prior to applying. You can speak with a HPA Staff Advisor about your specific timeline. Check each individual school’s admissions webpage that you are applying to to see if they require it.
Please note: The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is not a course-dependent test, meaning there are no specific UCD courses you need to take to prepare. The best way is to give yourself time to study the test by buying test prep books or taking a test prep course.
To learn more about the standardized exam and preparing for it, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Standardized Exams and HPA’s Test Prep Events & Resources.
Applying to Pharmacy School
- Choosing Schools
There are over 140 pharmacy schools in the U.S. Check out the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) list of accredited U.S. pharmacy schools.
There are a variety of factors that go into choosing which pharmacy schools to apply to, including degree awarded, location, environment (i.e. urban), tuition, class size, focus or mission statement, etc. Spend some time researching schools online and create a spreadsheet that tracks the factors most important to you. On average, pre-health profession students apply to 5 to 6 pharmacy schools. HPA also recommends meeting with an advisor to discuss your school list.
- Application System
Applicants typically apply the year before they matriculate into the pharmacy school and Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) is a centralized application system that is used by most pharmacy schools. To learn more about PharmCAS, visit the webpage Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS). Students are encouraged to refer to the PharmCAS Applicant Help Center for additional guidance on how to complete their applications. Some schools will have applicants participate in PharmCAS and will also have applicants complete an application through their own internal graduate school applications, while other programs do not use PharmCAS at all. HPA recommends for applicants to carefully review the application process of each individual school that they are applying to.
The PharmCAS opens in mid-July and closes in June of the following year; these dates may vary for schools who are not utilizing the PharmCAS. While PharmCAS closes in June, participating schools of PharmCAS may have earlier deadline dates, which are the deadlines applicants should be submitting by. These deadlines may also vary by schools or some may admit students on a rolling basis; please check your individual schools for specific dates. If that is the case for your school of choice, be sure to submit your application early, but only when you are ready. Come see an advisor at Health Professions Advising to review your application.
Schools and application systems may have specific guidelines about what is considered a completed application, and these components may vary based on the application system and/or individual school. Some examples include but are not limited to submitting the application fee and receiving letters of recommendations and official transcripts. Students are responsible for ensuring their applications are complete, submitted, and verified by the application deadline.
To learn more about applications and application timeline, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications and Application Timelines.
- Personal Statement
- The prompt and/or character or word count may vary per year. HPA recommends applicants begin drafting their personal statement in advance of the application opening. It is very common for applicants to write multiple drafts before they finalize their personal statement. To learn more about approaching personal statements, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Personal Statements.
- Experiences and Activities
Experiences and activities help students learn more about their motivations, interests, and goals, and to explore the field of pharmacy. What you do with your time helps define who you are in your application. Whatever you choose to do, be sure you are dedicated, passionate about it, and understand your motivation for pursuing it. It is important that you balance your co-curricular activities with your academics to ensure you are maintaining strong academic performance while still engaging meaningfully outside the classroom.
While pharmacy experience is not necessarily required, many students work in a pharmacy before applying. Pharmacy technicians help pharmacists dispense prescription medication to customers or health professionals. To be a pharmacy technician in California, you must be certified by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board by passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE). You can be trained for this exam through specialized on-the-job training such as PRCB or ExCPT certification programs or through an educational program.
Check out the additional resources for becoming a pharmacy technician:
- HPA’s Allied Health Fields
- How to Become a Pharmacy Technician Guide
- Insider's Guide to Acing the PTCE Exam
- PTCB’s Recognized Education/Training Program Directory
- NPTA’s Become a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)To learn more about experiences and various on- and off-campus opportunities, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Experiences. UC Davis students are also encouraged to subscribe to HPA Today (HPA’s newsletter).
Letters of Recommendation
Letter of recommendation requirements vary by health professional schools. For many health fields, HPA recommends two lecture-based science instructor recommendations (this excludes research PI), one lecture-based non-science instructor, and additional letters from your co-curricular experiences. This can include a research PI, mentor, volunteer coordinator, professional you shadowed, etc. Your specific school list will determine what letters you may actually need.
Most pharmacy schools may require that one of your references is from a pharmacist or supervisor from an experience outside of school.
To learn more about the etiquettes for letters of recommendation, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Letters of Recommendations.
Supplemental Applications
Supplemental applications (or secondaries) may be required for some pharmacy schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. Supplemental/secondary applications may include additional fees and/or essays. To learn more about supplemental applications, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications.
Interviews
Interviews may be required for some pharmacy schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. To learn more about preparing for interviews, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Interviews and HPA’s Interview Week.
More questions? Check out the frequently asked questions or schedule an appointment with an advisor.