Career options in pharmacy include academic pharmacy, community practice, government agencies, hospice and home care agencies, hospital and institutional practices, long term care, clinical practice, scientific research, at insurance companies and at mail-order pharmacies.

There are 141 colleges and universities offering accredited professional programs that lead to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree and 1 additional program has pre-candidate status.  A student may also obtain additional certification by doing a residency, or completing a dual degree program.  Some schools offer a Master’s degree or a PhD in a specialized field such as Health System Pharmacy Administration, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics, or Regulatory Affairs.

Pharmacy programs require at least two years of pre-professional (undergraduate) study followed by three to four years of professional study. Most pharmacy students complete three or more years of college before starting a pharmacy program. Some pharmacy schools give preference to students who have earned a bachelor’s degree. Requirements for admission vary. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) publishes annually an admission requirements guidebook entitled the Pharmacy School Admission Requirements (PSAR). You can view concise information about unique features and important details related to admissions requirements and processes for schools through information provided by AACP. You can also find admission information published on each individual school’s website.  The requirements vary by school and each student is urged to be familiar with the requirements of the school/s that they wish to attend. 

Many pre-pharmacy students obtain a Bachelor of Science (B.S) or Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree while completing the requirements for admission to pharmacy school.  Pharmacy schools do not require or prefer a particular undergraduate major, as long as applicants have completed the course requirements and demonstrated proficiency in Biology, Chemistry and Physics and Math as evidenced by their science GPA.

Pre-Professional Health Advising has developed requirements for the Pre-Pharmacy Program based on the pre-requisite courses of 32 pharmacy schools in the District of Columbia and 8 states (CT, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, and VA). The review of pre-requisite courses to develop the requirements for the Pre-Pharmacy Program below was completed in spring semester 2022. You should look at individual pharmacy schools' list of pre-requisites to assure completion of all pre-requisite coursework. Because these courses are pre-requisites to pharmacy programs, pharmacy school admissions committees will use your academic success in these courses as a metric of your ability to achieve success in pharmacy school.

If you have credit for any of the following courses by earning Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge International Exam (CIE), community college credit, or departmental test credit, please read the Non-JMU Coursework for Pre-Requisite Coursework.

To review the required coursework for the Pre-Pharmacy Minor, follow this link to the JMU Undergraduate Course Catalog.

Students will, as part of the application process, be asked to submit a transcript of all college/university course work. The overall grade point average (GPA), as well as the GPA in math and science courses, will often be used in the review of the application. Many pharmacy programs have a minimum GPA requirement to apply to their program. Please refer to individual program prerequisites for details.

Most applications for pharmacy programs will need to be completed during the fall semester of the year the student is applying. Students should have a vast majority of the prerequisites completed by the time of application. Both the chemistry and physics requirements involve yearlong sequences. Students need to carefully plan each semester to ensure that all requirements can be met within the chosen time frame.

This test is offered in July, September, October, January, February and March/April.  It is only required by 10 pharmacy schools in the United States.  Other schools may require that a candidate take the test to boost their application or if the candidate has been out of school for over 5 years. The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) consists of the following content sections: Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Biology, Chemistry, Quantitative Reasoning.

The entire application process lasts approximately 12-14 months, which spans a full academic year. Whether you plan to apply immediately after your 3rd year, 4th year, or after graduation, this timeline begins with preparation in the fall prior to your application submission in late summer. 

PharmCAS opens each year in early to mid July. Although there are 5 regular degree program application deadlines from November to March, you should apply as early as possible due to the application verification process and rolling admission cycle. 

PharmCAS School Directory 

Pharmacy programs encourage or require applicants to have volunteer or paid experience working with patients in a pharmacy or health-related setting (hospital, nursing home, etc). Experience in a pharmacy setting will be an important factor in the admissions process and will demonstrate the student’s familiarity and dedication to the profession. Students are encouraged to begin acquiring this experience as soon as possible.

All pharmacy programs require the submission of letters of evaluation (LOE) as part of the application. Students should establish relationships with faculty within the university as well as with employers in a pharmaceutical work place setting, since letters of evaluation from a professor or health care professional are typically preferred over personal references.