Pharmacy Doctorate (Pharm.D.) Program
The Pharmacy program encompasses both the basic and clinical sciences and is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential to the practice of pharmacy. Pharmacists work in concert with the patient and other health care providers to promote health and prevent diseases. This is achieved by assessing, monitoring, initiating and modifying patients' medication therapy to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes.
The pharmacy curriculum consists of a four year professional program leading to the Pharm.D. degree. Students enter the program in pre-pharmacy upon meeting general admission standards of the university and must satisfy all required pre-pharmacy coursework prior to beginning the professional program. Students are admitted to the final four professional years on a competitive basis, and must meet specific admission requirements of the college. The program leads to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.). For admission requirements to the professional program, contact the Dean's Office of the college. Students attending other institutions must maintain frequent contact with the college to determine appropriate course work. The pre-pharmacy course work may be completed at other institutions if course work has been submitted for formal NDSU review and determined to be equivalent to NDSU requirements.
The current entry-level Pharm.D. curriculum is designed to produce graduates with the professional competencies necessary to enter pharmacy practice in any setting to ensure optimal medication therapy outcomes and patient safety, and to satisfy the educational requirements for licensure as a pharmacist. The Pharm.D. degree prepares the student to accept positions in community, hospital, managed care, clinical, and industrial pharmacy. Other potential opportunities include administrative positions in pharmaceutical companies and associations. Teaching and research positions in universities and the pharmaceutical industry are excellent opportunities for those with advanced training in pharmacy.
The college is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
Pre-Pharmacy Requirements
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
- 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 the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| First Year Experience (F) | 1 | |
| Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM) | ||
| Communication (C) | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (R) † | 3 | |
| Science and Technology (S) † | 10 | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts (A) † | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) † | 6 | |
| Wellness (W) † | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D) *† | ||
| Global Perspectives (G) *† | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | May be satisfied with courses required in the major. Review major requirements to determine if a specific upper division writing course is required. |
Pre-Pharmacy Requirements
NOTE: 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.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Pharmacy Requirements | ||
| Selected Core Courses - see footnote for grading and GPA information. | ||
| BIOL 150 & 150L | General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory * | 4 |
| BIOL 220 & 220L | Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) * | 4 |
| CHEM 121 | General Chemistry I (May satisfy general education category S) * | 3 |
| CHEM 122 | General Chemistry II (May satisfy general education category S) * | 3 |
| CHEM 341 | Organic Chemistry I * | 3 |
| COMM 110 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking (May satisfy general education category C) * | 3 |
| COMM 216 | Intercultural Communication (May satisfy general education category B and D) * | 3 |
| ENGL 120 | College Composition II (May satisfy general education category C) * | 3 |
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics (May satisfy general education category B and G) * | 3 |
| MATH 146 | Applied Calculus I (May satisfy general education category R) * | 4 |
| Select one sequences: (May satisfy general education category S) | 3-5 | |
| Introductory Microbiology and Introductory Microbiology Lab * | ||
| General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab * | ||
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R) * | 3 |
| Other Required Core | ||
| BIOC 460 | Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I | 3 |
| BIOC 461 | Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II | 3 |
| BIOL 221 & 221L | Human Anatomy and Physiology II and Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | 4 |
| CHEM 121L | General Chemistry I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | 1 |
| CHEM 122L | General Chemistry II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) | 1 |
| CHEM 341L | Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 342 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences (May satisfy general education category C) | 3 |
| or ENGL 325 | Writing in the Health Professions | |
| MICR 460 | Pathogenic Microbiology | 3 |
| PHYS 211 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PSCI 499 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for Pharmacists | 5 |
| Professional Pharmacy P1 & P2 Years | 69 | |
| Total Credits | 138-140 | |
| * | 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 December 31 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.
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 146
Professional Pharm.D. Requirements
The following professional Pharm.D. requirements that follow are subject to change per department. Students follow the curricula developed by the department and any changes that occur while in the professional program will be communicated to the student by the department.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| P1 First Year Professional | ||
| MICR 470 | Basic Immunology | 3 |
| PSCI 367 | Pharmaceutical Calculations | 1 |
| PSCI 368 | Pharmaceutics I | 3 |
| PSCI 369 | Pharmaceutics II | 2 |
| PSCI 410 | Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (Course is named: Pharmaceutical Biotechnology) | 2 |
| PSCI 411 | Principles of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 412 | Chemotherapeutic/Infectious Disease Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 470 | Pharmaceutics III:Pharmacokinetics (Course name: Pharmacokinetics) | 3 |
| PHRM 340 | Pathophysiology I | 4 |
| PHRM 341 | Pathophysiology II | 3 |
| PHRM 350 | Introduction to Pharmacy Practice | 2 |
| PHRM 351L | Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory I | 2 |
| PHRM 352 | Introduction to Health Care Systems | 2 |
| PHRM 355 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience I: Introduction to Institutional Pharmacy Practice | 3 |
| PHRM 480 | Drug Literature Evaluation (Course called just Drug Literature Evaluation) | 3 |
| P2 Second Year Professional | ||
| PSCI 413 | Endocrine/Respiratory/GI Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 414 | Cardiovascular Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 415 | Neuropsychiatry Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PHRM 450 | Self Care | 3 |
| PHRM 452L | Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory II | 2 |
| PHRM 455 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience II: Introduction to Community Based Patient Care | 3 |
| PHRM 480 | Drug Literature Evaluation (Course name is Drug Literature Evaluation) | 3 |
| PHRM 532 | Infectious Disease | 3 |
| PHRM 534 | Rheumatology/Endocrinology/Gastrointestinal | 3 |
| PHRM 535 | Neoplastic Disease | 3 |
| PHRM 538 | PTDI: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases | 4 |
| PHRM 565 | Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery | 1 |
| CHP 400 | Interprofessional Health Care Practice | 3 |
| P3 Third Year Professional | ||
| PHRM 475 | Pharmacy Practice Management | 3 |
| PHRM 520 | Special Populations | 3 |
| PHRM 536 | Neurology & Psychiatry Pharmacotherapy | 3 |
| PHRM 537 | Renal Disease/Fluid and Electrolytes | 3 |
| PHRM 540 | Public Health for Pharmacists | 3 |
| PHRM 551L | Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory III | 2 |
| PHRM 552L | Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory IV/Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience IV | 2 |
| PHRM 555 | Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience III | 1 |
| PHRM 560 | Specialty Care Topics | 2 |
| PHRM 570 | Pharmacy Practice Improvement and Project Management | 3 |
| PHRM 572 | Pharmacy Law | 2 |
| PHRM 580 | Pharmacotherapy Capstone | 3 |
| P4 Fourth Year Professional | ||
| PHRM 581 | Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience I | 10 |
| PHRM 582 | Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience II | 15 |
| PHRM 583 | Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience III | 15 |
| Total Credits | 146 | |
- To apply to the professional entry-level pharmacy program at NDSU, an application must be submitted on-line to the Dean's Office, Sudro 123, by December 31. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above is required before an applicant will be evaluated. Online application should be available the first week of November.
- The deadline to apply to the pharmacy program is December 31.
- PCAT: We do require the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test). The College requires that students take either the PCAT in July, September, October or November 2016 for students applying for 2017. We will accept PCAT scores from exams taken back three years (July 2013 to November 2016). If you are interested in taking a practice test, Test Prep Review is a free service of a nonprofit group of educators. Their website was created to provide free practice test questions for students in a variety of career situations. Their PCAT practice test, is located at PCAT Practice
- Students not previously enrolled at NDSU must apply both to NDSU and to the School of Pharmacy within College of Health Professions. For an NDSU application, contact the Office of Admissions at 701-231-8643. For International students, contact the Office of International Programs at 701-231-7895.
