Pharm.D. Degree

In an ever-evolving health care landscape, pharmacy careers span all areas of public and private healthcare and medical research, developing to meet the changing needs of patients. Not only are pharmacists consistently ranked as among the most trusted health professionals in the U.S, but the career offers long term job security and high earnings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health-care is the fastest growing sector in the U.S. Starting salaries for pharmacy related professions range between $75,000 and $110,000 annually.

Career opportunities in pharmacy are many. Visit our 100 Careers in Pharmacy page to explore:

University of Connecticut pre-professional (pre-pharmacy) students typically complete three semesters of prerequisite course work prior to applying to the School of Pharmacy, however, the time in which it takes to complete the pre-professional phase is flexible. The prerequisites for the Doctor of Pharmacy Professional Program also fulfill requirements for additional schools and programs at UConn, as well as meeting the University General Education Requirements that are necessary for earning a bachelor’s degree. The following is a proposed schedule for required pre-professional courses.

First Pre-Professional Year – Fall Semester

First Pre-Professional Year – Spring Semester

Second Pre-Professional Year – Fall Semester

Second Pre-Professional Year – Spring Semester

1. These courses need not be taken in the semester indicated. The high-lighted math and science prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of the spring semester of the year seeking enrollment.
2. It is possible for the W requirement to be fulfilled by courses in content areas 1, 2, or 4.
3. May be filled by any 1000-level sociology, psychology or anthropology course from content area 2.

Environmental Literacy requirement: Beginning fall 2019, students must complete a 3-credit Environmental Literacy (E) course as part of the general education curriculum. Students in the School of Pharmacy may elect to fulfill this requirement during the pre-professional program or after admission to the professional program. The E requirement must be completed prior to the end of P2 and conferral of the B.S. in Pharmacy Studies.

Substitutions

CHEM 1124Q, 1125Q, and 1126Q will be averaged and substituted for CHEM 1127Q and 1128Q.

The same applies for other approved substitutions.

Physics

Physics 1401Q, 1501Q, etc., may be substituted for Physics 1201Q. Taking another physics course, however, (e.g. PHYS 1401Q, 1501Q, etc.) in addition to PHYS 1201Q may be considered repetition of a prerequisite.

AP Work

When AP work is applied toward prerequisites, the number of total prerequisite credits is reduced by the number of credits earned by that AP work.

Rounding for GPA

The School of Pharmacy does not round when calculating grade point averages.  For example, a 2.999 will not be rounded to a 3.000.

The following is the current coursework required of students enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program.  Students must have fulfilled Pharm.D. pre-requisite coursework prior to admission to the program.

Browse the UConn Course catalog for our most up to date Pharm.D. course information.

First Professional (P1) Year – Fall Semester

First Professional (P1) Year – Spring Semester

Second Professional (P2) Year – Fall Semester

Second Professional (P2) Year – Spring Semester

Third Professional (P3) Year – Fall Semester

Third Professional (P3) Year – Spring Semester

Fourth Professional (P4) Year

Fourth Professional (P4) Year Electives (Choose 5 from below list)

At least two of the elective courses must involve direct patient care (indicated by *).

To provide pharmacy students with the opportunity to customize their learning experience according to their interests, there are five specialized learning tracks a student can take in addition to the more traditional path to a Pharm.D. degree. These are the: LEADERS, Pediatric Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Urban Service, and Honors tracks.

LEADERS Track

In the rapidly changing and highly competitive environment of pharmacy practice, the profession of pharmacy is seeking to identify the leaders of tomorrow. The School of Pharmacy strives to help identify and distinguish these leaders prior to graduation, preparing them to serve in these leader roles. The Pharmacy LEADERS Track is intended to expand the breadth and depth of a student’s educations and experiences to develop this next generation of pharmacy leaders.

Pediatric Track

As the practice of clinical pharmacy becomes more competitive, this track is designed to provide the pharmacy student with tools to help them succeed as a pediatric clinical practitioner. It will allow students interested in pediatric clinical pharmacy to have a multitude of pediatric experiences throughout their time as a pharmacy student and graduate as a Pediatric Pharmacy Scholar. Find: more detail on the Pediatric Track

Pharmaceutical Sciences Track

The pharmaceutical sciences track will provide pharmacy students with greater exposure to the pharmaceutical sciences and related research. The track is designed to help students that are considering working as a pharmacist for a pharmaceutical company or planning to pursue a joint Pharm.D./Ph.D. degree. This flexible track allows a wide range of options designed to fit each student’s goals, and is designed for easy integration with existing science minors and the pharmacy honors program.

Urban Service Track

The Urban Service Track is a unique collaboration between the University of Connecticut’s Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dental Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work, the Quinnipiac University’s Physician Assistant Program, and the community. The main goal of the Urban Service Track is to develop a group of health care professionals dedicated to caring for Connecticut’s urban, underserved populations and practicing within interprofessional teams. Each year a group of students from the six professional schools are selected and admitted into the program. These urban health scholars work as a team to learn to solve challenges of health care in urban areas, including implementing community education and outreach programs, providing direct patient care in free clinics, promoting health literacy and cultural sensitivity, and participating in quality improvement initiatives and community-based research. In addition, urban health scholars participate in conferences focusing on health policy and advocacy activities affecting underserved populations. Find: more detail on the Urban Service Track

Honors

Honors students can tailor their learning within the School of Pharmacy's Pharm.D. program and assist with faculty research or focus on a specific specialty such as diabetes, pain management or pharmacy practice. Honors students work directly with a faculty member who guides and accesses each student's progress from beginning through thesis.

University Scholar

The University Scholar Program  is a prestigious program for students who wish to pursue nontraditional programs of study of their own creation. Students can take an interdisciplinary mixture of courses from different units within the university, which can lead to a dual degree, can include graduate studies, and can be tailored to each individual. The University waives the General University Fee for every University Scholar for the remainder of their program. Graduation as a University Scholar is the highest academic honor that the University of Connecticut bestows on undergraduate students.

Joint or dual degree programs allow students to combine their Doctor of Pharmacy degree with select master’s and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs. Application to these programs is usually made during the second professional year.