Preprofessional Requirements
The School of Pharmacy offers a four-year, full-time professional pharmacy program leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD). Students are required to complete a minimum of 60-62 credits of defined academic prerequisites (typically two years of pre-professional study) before entering the professional program. Students may apply while these courses are in progress.
All prerequisite math and science courses must be completed by the end of the spring term of the year of entry to the professional program. All remaining courses should be completed by the end of the spring and must be completed prior to the fall term of entry to the professional program.
All preprofessional courses must be taken at an accredited institution in the US or English-speaking Canadian institutions for a letter grade. Some prerequisites may also be met through Advanced Placement (AP) Tests offered through The College Board or International Baccalaureate courses. Dual enrollment and college in high school credits may also be considered to fulfill the preprofessional courses.
The following DO NOT meet prerequisite requirements unless otherwise specified:
- Courses graded as Pass/fail
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits
- Courses completed at institutions outside of the US or Canada (English-speaking institutions); WES evaluations are not accepted
- Courses in which a letter grade lower than a C was earned
Overview of Academic Prerequisites:
The linked descriptions are from courses at the University of Pittsburgh Oakland campus and are provided as a guide. Courses will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee for acceptability on a case-by-case basis.
- 8 credits General Biology – must include 1 year of lecture and lab
- 8 credits General Chemistry– must include 1 year of lecture and lab
- 8 credits Organic Chemistry – must include 1 year of lecture and lab
- 3-4 credits Calculus - must be 1 course in calculus covering the derivative and integral of functions of a single variable.
- Acceptable courses at Pitt: MATH 0220, 0230, and 0240 (Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1, 2, and 3).
- Business calculus (MATH 0120, MATH 0125, MATH 0126) will NOT be accepted unless accompanied by the Bridge to Calculus course (MATH 0205).
- 3-4 credits Statistics – must be 1 course in descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Acceptable courses at Pitt: Applied Statistical Methods (STAT 1000), Basic Applied Statistics (STAT 0200) or Statistics and Probability for Business Management (STAT 1100)
- 6 credits English Composition – must be 2 English composition courses, excluding workshop, technical or ESL courses.
- English writing (ENGWRT) courses are acceptable to meet this requirement.
- Courses designated as "W" or writing intensive courses may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
- 24 credits of Electives in the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
- Technical, professional, math, and science courses are NOT eligible to meet the requirements for electives in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
- 3 Courses (at least 9 credits) Humanities from departments below:
- Africana Studies
- Classics
- Communication
- English
- Film Studies
- Foreign Language Departments
- History of Art & Architecture
- History and Philosophy of Science
- Linguistics
- Music
- Philosophy
- Public Service
- Religious Studies
- Studio Arts
- Theatre Arts
- 3 Courses (at least 9 credits) Social Sciences from departments below:
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
- Geography
- Global Health
- History
- Jewish Studies
- Law, Criminal Justice, and Society
- Legal Studies
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Urban Studies
- Neuroscience courses (Pitt only): Brain and Behavior, Drugs and Behavior
- 2 Courses (at least 6 credits) Additional Elective Courses may include:
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
- Natural Sciences
- Astronomy
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Geology and Planetary Science
- Neuroscience
- Physics
- Calculus 2 or 3 (would be in addition to the Calculus requirement listed above
- Statistics (STAT 1151, 1152, or any 1200 course would be in addition to the Statistic requirement listed above.)
- Pharmacy (PHARM 0178)
NOTE: Anatomy Physiology and Biochemistry are part of the PharmD core Curriculum; therefore, they are NOT eligible to be use as prerequisites.
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses and Credits
Preprofessional courses must be successfully completed prior to entry into the professional program. The director of PharmD admissions, assistant dean of students and School registrar must approve any exceptions to this policy.
Transfer of 60-62 prerequisite credits (preprofessional course requirements): After acceptance into the PharmD Program, a student’s academic records (transcripts) and credits must be transferred directly to the School of Pharmacy. The prerequisite courses are included in the credit requirements for graduation from the PharmD Program.
These credits may be transferred from the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Oakland campus, from a University of Pittsburgh regional campus, or from an accredited US or select English-speaking Canadian institutions to the School of Pharmacy. All prerequisite courses must be taken for a letter grade. The grade earned must be C or better to be considered successfully completed and allow transferable from institutions other than the University of Pittsburgh.
Advanced Placement (AP/IB) Courses and Credit: The School of Pharmacy also accepts credits earned through Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credits based on the criteria established at the primary institution where prerequisite courses were completed.
The complete list of AP/IB courses from the University of Pittsburgh are found at
(www.as.pitt.edu/undergraduate/advising/pdf/apcredit.pdf).