Doctor of Pharmacy Admissions Prerequisites

To be eligible for admission to the PharmD program, applicants must complete a minimum of 62 semester credits of prerequisite courses at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States.

Note: Required prerequisite coursework does not need to be completed to apply to the PharmD program. To be eligible for admission for a given academic year you need to be able to show that you can complete all required coursework by mid-July of enrollment year.  To matriculate into the pharmacy program, applicants must receive a grade of "C-" or better in all prerequisite courses. 

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 advised 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. 

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 prerequisite worksheet (pdf) and follow the instructions below.

For an unofficial course evaluation please send us your completed worksheet and unofficial college transcript(s) by email, fax or mail.

Office of Graduate & Professional Admissions
pharmd@pacificu.edu | Fax: 503-352-7290

Mailing Address

Pacific University
190 SE 8th Avenue, Suite 181
Hillsboro, OR, 97123

Prerequisite Courses

Conversion of hours | All quarter hours must be converted to semester hours. Quarter hours divided by 1.5 = semester hours. Example: 12 quarter hours = 8 semester hours

Biological Sciences | Minimum 19 semester credits

General Biology with labs | 8 semester credits

  • Year-long series of general biology with labs intended for science majors.

Microbiology (lab not required) | 3 semester credits

Anatomy and Physiology with labs | 8 semester credits

  • Prefer: Human Anatomy, Human Physiology; yearlong series; courses taken at the same institution preferred. Combined A&P courses accepted.

Recommended additional courses | Molecular biology, genetics, cell biology, immunology

Chemistry | Minimum 16 semester credits

General Chemistry with labs | 8 semester credits

  • Yearlong series of general chemistry with labs intended for science majors.

Organic Chemistry with labs | 8 semester credits

Recommended additional course | Biochemistry

Physics | 3 semester credits

General or upper-level Physics with lab

Calculus | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable
English | 6 semester credits

English Composition | 3 semester credits

Other English | 3 semester credits

  • May include composition, literature, creative writing, poetry, etc.
Speech | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable

May include speech, communication, debate

Psychology | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable

General or Abnormal Psychology

Economics | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable

Microeconomics or Macroeconomics

Social/Behavioral Sciences | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable

May include anthropology, geography, government, history, human development, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology

Humanities/Fine Arts | 3 semester credits
2.67 semester credits acceptable

May include foreign language, drama, geography, history, religion, philosophy, literature, performance arts, visual arts

 

Contact Us

Tony Potter | Assistant Director of Graduate and Professional Admissions
503-352-7229 | pharmd@pacificu.edu