Profession Information

The Pharm.D. is a four year program that requires at least two and more likely three years of study prior to admittance. In addition to the required coursework more than half of the Pharm.D. programs now require the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT).

Entry requirements usually include courses in mathematics and natural sciences, such as chemistry, biology, and physics, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

At UW-La Crosse students may also major in chemistry, biochemistry, or biology prior to admission into a Pharm.D. program. With some additional course work to complement the chemistry and biology majors pre-pharmacy admission requirements can be easily met.

With a major in biochemistry no additional coursework is required. You can link to the Chemistry Department or the Biology Department to learn more about the various majors.

A typical course of study at UW-La Crosse for the first two years is provided below.

First Year

Semester I
BIO 105 Introduction to Biology	4 credits
CHM 103 General Chemistry I	5 credits
HIS 101 World History to 1500	3 credits
ENG 110 College Writing I	3 credits
Total	15 Credits

Semester II
CHM 104 General Chemistry II	5 credits
MTH 207 Calculus I *	5 credits
SOC 110 The Social World	3 credits
PSY 100 General Psychology	3 credits
Total	16 Credits

 

Second Year

Semester III
BIO 312 Anatomy and Physiology I	4 credits
PHY 103 Fundamental Physics I	4 credits
CHM 303 Organic Chemistry I	3 credits
ENG 207 Multicultural Lit. of the U.S. †	3 credits
ECO 110 Microeconomics	3 credits
Total	17 Credits

Semester IV
BIO 313 Anatomy and Physiology II	4 credits
BIO 315 Cell Biology or BIO 306 Genetics	4 credits
PHY 104 Fundamental Physics II	4 credits
CHM 304 Organic Chemistry II	3 credits
CHM 305 Organic Chemistry Lab	2 credits
Total	17 Credits

* Dependent upon math placement scores. May need to start in MTH 150 or MTH 151 as a pre-requisite for MTH 207.A score of at least 4 on the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB exam or a score of at least 2 on the AP Calculus BC exam will be accepted in fulfillment of the calculus admission requirement.

† Other courses may satisfy both the ethnic studies /humanities requirement. Other options are ENG 210, ENG 215, HIS 306 or POL 205. ERS 100 counts towards the ethnic studies requirement (not the humanities) and CST 110 counts toward the humanities requirement (not ethnic studies).

If considering University of Minnesota you need the additional following courses MIC 230 - Introduction to Microbiology, ENG 303 - College Writing II, and CST 110 - Public Speaking (if not taken already).

Year by Year To Do List

Year 1- academic year one through first summer

Academic Year 1

(1) Declare Major - options are biochemistry, chemistry or biology. Biochemistry is the most logical choice based upon course requirements for most pharmacy programs.

(2) Courses - do well in all courses. This is by far the MOST important aspect of the first year. Study, study and study some more.

(3) Pharmacy Experience - Find opportunities to shadow pharmacists within various employment settings

(4)Select Pharmacy Programs - start to narrow down pharmacy school choices. This also means keeping track of course requirements to meet admission standards. You should have in mind three categories or tiers of schools.

(a) Top tier schools (this usually means University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota. These schools are the best of the best, ranked high nationally and are extremely competitive to gain admission. Typically, GPA averages ~3.6 - 3.7 , excellent PCAT scores (>80% percentile), strong letters of recommendation, and significant extracurricluar activities and pharmacy experience.

(b) Second tier schools. Schools that you would go to in case Top Tier schools deny accpetance.

(c) Bottom Tier schools - Schools you would only consider if Top and Second Tier deny acceptance. Even though you may have gained admission to this pool of schools you may opt to continue your undergraduate education and re-apply to your first two choices again next year.

Summer Year 1

(5) PCAT- apply in summer to take the exam in the fall - If you have plans to complete coure requirements during the second year you will need to complete the PCAT by the start of the second year.

(5) Letters of recommendation - start to consider whom you might ask to write letters of recommendation. This is a KEY facet to the application process. You will need letters from faculty, personal contact, and a pharmacist.

(6) Work in a pharmacy setting - the is another KEY facet for making yourself more attractive to prospective pharmacy programs. Even volunteering a few hours a week is beneficial.

Second Year -academic year two through second summer

Academic Year 2

(1) Courses - do well in all courses. This is still the MOST important aspect of admission to a pharmacy program. Study, study and study some more.

(2) PCAT - take exam if you intend on applying for admission next fall.

(3) Letters of recommendation - refine your choices for letters. Ask the persons you have in mind if they are willing to write a letter. Prepare materials to send them (ie transcripts, personal statement, resume). Request a letter of recommedation if you will apply to pharmacy programs this fall. DO NOT wait until the week before your application is due to request a letter.

(4) Complete on-line or paper applications- this is a long process and most programs now use PharmCAS to process application materials. Be keen on due dates as prorgams and PharmCAS will NOT make exceptions on later material. This includes Letters of Recommendation.

(5) Prepare secondary application materials if necessary. These are again only requested by the school if you have made the so-called first cut

Summer Year 2

(6) Pharmacy Experience- either continue previous work experience from first summer or find another position to explore different types of careers within the pharmacy field.

(7) PCAT- apply at the end of summer to take the exam in early fall of Year 3 - this route is more common as most students take three years to complete pre-requisite courses.

Third Year - academic through third summer

Academic Year 3

(1) Courses - do well in all courses. This is still the MOST important aspect of admission to a pharmacy program. Study, study and study some more.

(2) PCAT - take the exam in early fall.

(3) Letters of recommendation- refine your choices for letters. Ask the persons you have in mind if they are willing to write a letter. Prepare materials to send them (ie transcripts, personal statement, resume). Request a letter of recommedation if you will apply to pharmacy programs this fall. DO NOT wait until the week before your application is due.

(3) Complete on-line or paper applications- this is a long process and most programs now use PharmCAS to process application materials. Be keen on due dates as prorgams and PharmCAS will NOT make exceptions on later material. This includes Letters of Recommendation.

(4) Prepare secondary application materials if necessary. These are again only requested by the school if you have made the so-called first cut.

(5) If acceptance is denied fine tune courses to complete a major at UW-La Crosse in fourth year. If you declared a major in Year 1 this is of no concern.

*Note - if you gain acceptance into a pharmacy program you will NOT receive a degree fro UW-La Crosse and only from the school attended during the pharmacy program.