Pharmacy

Major Requirements

Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences (Includes Pre-Pharmacy) Requirements

Degree Type: B.S.
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 127-136

University General Education Requirements

A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.

Category C: Communication12
College Composition I
College Composition II
Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Upper Division Writing
Category R: Quantitative Reasoning 3
Category S: Science and Technology 10
Category A: Humanities and Fine Arts 6
Category B: Social and Behavioral Sciences 6
Category W: Wellness 2
Category D: Cultural Diversity *†
Category G: Global Perspectives *†
Total Credits39
*

Courses for category D & G are satisfied by completing D & G designated courses in another general education category.

General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories.

Pre-Pharmacy Requirements

DEGREE NOTES:

  • Student admitted to the Pharm.D. program will earn a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Pharmaceutical Sciences with successful completion of all courses through the second year of the professional Pharm.D. program as well as undergraduate graduation requirements including general education.
  • Selected Core Courses - see information below for grading and GPA information.
BIOL 150
150L
General Biology I
and General Biology I Laboratory *
4
BIOL 151
151L
General Biology II
and General Biology II Laboratory *
4
BIOL 220
220L
Human Anatomy and Physiology I
and Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory *
4
BIOL 221
221L
Human Anatomy and Physiology II
and Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory
4
CHEM 121
121L
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Laboratory *
4
CHEM 122
122L
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Laboratory *
4
CHP 190Critical Thinking, Academic, and Professional Skills for the Health Professions3
COMM 110Fundamentals of Public Speaking *3
ECON 201Principles of Microeconomics *3
ENGL 120College Composition II *3
MATH 146Applied Calculus I *4
MICR 350
350L
General Microbiology
and General Microbiology Lab *
5
PHYS 211College Physics I3
STAT 330Introductory Statistics *3
Biochemistry - select from below: 15 or 6
Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I
and Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for Pharmacists (Limited to Early Admission Pathway (EAP) students)
Organic Chemistry - select from below: 15 or 7
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
and Organic Chemistry II *
Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry (Limited to Early Admission Pathway (EAP) students)
Upper Division Writing - select from below 13
Writing in the Sciences
Writing in the Health Professions
Writing and Professionalization in Pharmacy (Limited to Early Admission Pathway (EAP) students)
Professional Pharmacy P1 & P2 Years72-76
1

 Curricular plan based on traditional admissions path or early acceptance path. Consult adviser for additional information.

Selected Core Courses

Selected core courses will be used for selection criteria to determine GPA used in calculation for admission to the professional program. These courses must show evidence of letter grade, or other means of demonstrating acceptable competency (i.e. AP – CEEB) and MUST be completed by the end of fall semester prior to the admissions deadline to apply to the pharmacy program. Remaining courses, which are required and listed in the pre-pharmacy curriculum, MUST be completed by the end of spring term. The only exception to this is that up to six credits of electives may be completed during the summer term.

Pre-Professional Pharmacy Requirements and Notes

  • All courses listed for pre-pharmacy must be complete in order to apply for the professional program in the last spring semester in which pre-requisite courses are taken.

Degree Requirements and Notes

  • All required courses must be completed with a grade of ‘C’ or above.
  • All students must maintain a semester GPA of 2.0 or above for each semester in the College.  A student who fails to meet this standard for two successive or three non-successive semesters may be terminated from enrollment in the College of Health Professions.

Major Requirements

Major: Doctor of Pharmacy

Degree Type: Pharm.D.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 156

Professional Pharm.D. Requirements

The following Pharm.D. requirements included here are subject to change per department. Students follow the curricula developed by the School of Pharmacy and any changes that occur while in the program will be communicated to the students by the School of Pharmacy. All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or higher or "P" if a pass/fail course.

In addition to curriculum listed below, 6 credits of Professional Elective MUST be completed PRIOR to P4 year. Other changes to curriculum will be conveyed to students as they are approved.

P1 First Year Professional
MICR 470Basic Immunology3
PSCI 367Pharmaceutical Calculations1
PSCI 368Pharmaceutics I3
PSCI 369Pharmaceutics II2
PSCI 410Pharmaceutical Biotechnology2
PSCI 411Principles of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics3
PSCI 412Chemotherapeutic/Infectious Disease Pharmacodynamics3
PSCI 470Pharmacokinetics3
PHRM 301Top Drugs I1
PHRM 340Patient Assessment and Pathophysiology I4
PHRM 341Pathophysiology II3
PHRM 351LPharmacy Practice Laboratory I2
PHRM 353Introduction to Pharmacy and the Health Care System3
PHRM 360Introduction to Drug Literature1
PHRM 455Community Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience4
PHRM 565Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery1
P2 Second Year Professional
PSCI 413Endocrine/Respiratory/GI Pharmacodynamics3
PSCI 414Cardiovascular Pharmacodynamics3
PSCI 415Neuropsychiatry Pharmacodynamics3
PSCI 417Pharmacogenomics2
PHRM 355Institutional Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience3
PHRM 400Top Drugs II1
PHRM 450Self Care3
PHRM 452LPharmacy Practice Laboratory II2
PHRM 480Evidence Based Medicine2
PHRM 532Infectious Disease3
PHRM 534Rheumatology/Endocrinology/Gastrointestinal3
PHRM 535Hematology and Oncology3
PHRM 538Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases4
Interprofessional Health Care Course 11
P3 Third Year Professional
PHRM 500Top Drugs III1
PHRM 520Special Populations3
PHRM 536Neurology & Psychiatry Pharmacotherapy3
PHRM 537Renal Disease/Fluid and Electrolytes2
PHRM 540Public Health for Pharmacists3
PHRM 545LPharmacotherapy Laboratory1
PHRM 551LPharmacy Practice Laboratory III2
PHRM 552LPharmacy Practice Laboratory IV2
PHRM 560Specialty Care Topics2
PHRM 570Pharmacy Practice Improvement and Project Management2
PHRM 572Pharmacy Law and Ethical Considerations3
PHRM 575Pharmacy Practice Management3
PHRM 580Pharmacotherapy Capstone3
Professional Electives 26
P4 Fourth Year Professional
Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I-III
PHRM 576Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I (Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I is name of course)1
PHRM 577Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure II (Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure II is name of course)2
PHRM 578Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure III (Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure III is name of the course)2
Student will choose 8 out of 9 rotations for a total of 40 credits. Each rotation is 5 credits.40
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation I
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation II
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation III
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 4
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 5
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 6
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 7
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 8
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience - Rotation 9
Total Credits156
1

Interprofessional Health Care course currently taught as PHRM 499, a permanent number will be chosen for 2025-2026 academic year.

2

List of professional electives in handbook/Blackboard. Must be completed before P4 year.

 Students applying to the Doctor of Pharmacy Program

  • Applicants who are NOT currently NDSU students must submit official transcripts of all previous academic work to the University's Admissions Office. 
  • Students not previously enrolled at NDSU must apply both to NDSU and to the School of Pharmacy within College of Health and Human Sciences. Visit NDSU's application page to apply.