Five-Year Extended Pharmacy Doctorate (PharmD)
Check out our informational brochure to learn more about everything Pacific University School of Pharmacy has to offer! Have questions and want to interact directly with our faculty or get the inside scoop from our current students? Then don't miss our various opportunities to:
- Chat with some of our PharmD faculty.
- Chat with some of our current students and alumni.
- Learn more about the logistics and benefits of our unique and flexible 5-year PharmD program.
- Hands-on session on role of a pharmacist
- Learn more about opportunities the pharmacy profession can offer.
- Chat with our Experiential Team to learn more about rotation experiences both in the Pacific Northwest and abroad.
To see our scheduled events, be sure to check out our Inquire page. Email PharmD@pacificu.edu or click here to RSVP to one of our upcoming events.
Earn your PharmD without sacrificing your career or personal life through Pacific University’s five-year extended pharmacy doctorate pathway.
The five-year doctor of pharmacy program (PharmD) at Pacific University is the only on-campus, extended PharmD pathway in the U.S. At Pacific, we know students have diverse educational needs and busy lives. This innovative and flexible approach makes earning a PharmD accessible to students who otherwise may not be able to consider a full-time pharmacy doctorate.
The School accepted students into the inaugural class of the five-year, on-campus extended PharmD pathway in the Fall of 2023, and we are currently accepting applications for this pathway. The five-year pathway is fully accredited by the ACPE.
Pacific’s extended PharmD pathway includes four years of didactic coursework and a final fifth year of advanced clinical experiences in a variety of pharmacy settings. The curriculum for the extended PharmD pathway is designed to allow incoming students to work and care for their families while earning their pharmacy doctorate without having to make too many sacrifices. The curriculum has also been structured to enable students to work up to 32 hours a week throughout the first four full years of the program so that they can continue to earn income and maintain health insurance and benefits. Altogether, this unique five-year extended PharmD pathway will enable students to support their families and be less reliant on student loans.
As a student in the five-year extended pharmacy doctorate program, you will be able to:
- Manage less course work and fewer academic demands during each semester. Spreading the pharmacy doctorate curriculum over five years (instead of three) makes it easier for you to concentrate on a lighter course load, while also managing the balance between your academic and personal life, as well as your physical and mental well-being.
- Maintain at least part-time employment throughout the first four years of the program.
- Remain employed with an employer. Some employers may even be able to provide additional support by covering some or all of the cost of the pharmacy doctorate degree in exchange for future continued employment.
- Pay less per semester because the cost of the PharmD degree is divided over five years instead of three. The total cost is the same for both the three-year and five-year pharmacy doctorate pathways.
- Grow in your career to create new partnerships and connections with employers and potentially be retained or promoted by your employer upon graduation.
- Have more time to participate in extracurricular activities, student organization leadership and community service and involvement. Classes are held in the fall and spring semesters, leaving summers free for students to increase their working hours to full-time, pursue internships, or devote more time to their families and personal lives.
- Participate in research projects or other professional activities in the School of Pharmacy.
- Pursue a dual degree, such as the doctor of pharmacy & MS in pharmaceutical science joint degree or PharmD/MBA.