Pharmacy
Major Requirements
Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences (Includes Pre-Pharmacy) Requirements
Degree Type: B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 127-136
University General Education Requirements
A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category C: Communication | 12 | |
| 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 Credits | 39 | |
- *
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.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 190 | Critical Thinking, Academic, and Professional Skills for the Health Professions | 3 |
| COMM 110 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking * | 3 |
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics * | 3 |
| ENGL 120 | College Composition II * | 3 |
| MATH 146 | Applied Calculus I * | 4 |
| MICR 350 & 350L | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab * | 5 |
| PHYS 211 | College Physics I | 3 |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics * | 3 |
| Biochemistry - select from below: 1 | 5 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: 1 | 5 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 1 | 3 | |
| Writing in the Sciences | ||
or ENGL 325 | Writing in the Health Professions | |
| Writing and Professionalization in Pharmacy (Limited to Early Admission Pathway (EAP) students) | ||
| Professional Pharmacy P1 & P2 Years | 72-76 | |
- 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.
| 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 | 2 |
| PSCI 411 | Principles of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 412 | Chemotherapeutic/Infectious Disease Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 470 | Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PHRM 301 | Top Drugs I | 1 |
| PHRM 340 | Patient Assessment and Pathophysiology I | 4 |
| PHRM 341 | Pathophysiology II | 3 |
| PHRM 351L | Pharmacy Practice Laboratory I | 2 |
| PHRM 353 | Introduction to Pharmacy and the Health Care System | 3 |
| PHRM 360 | Introduction to Drug Literature | 1 |
| PHRM 455 | Community Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience | 4 |
| PHRM 565 | Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery | 1 |
| P2 Second Year Professional | ||
| PSCI 413 | Endocrine/Respiratory/GI Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 414 | Cardiovascular Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 415 | Neuropsychiatry Pharmacodynamics | 3 |
| PSCI 417 | Pharmacogenomics | 2 |
| PHRM 355 | Institutional Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience | 3 |
| PHRM 400 | Top Drugs II | 1 |
| PHRM 450 | Self Care | 3 |
| PHRM 452L | Pharmacy Practice Laboratory II | 2 |
| PHRM 480 | Evidence Based Medicine | 2 |
| PHRM 532 | Infectious Disease | 3 |
| PHRM 534 | Rheumatology/Endocrinology/Gastrointestinal | 3 |
| PHRM 535 | Hematology and Oncology | 3 |
| PHRM 538 | Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases | 4 |
| Interprofessional Health Care Course 1 | 1 | |
| P3 Third Year Professional | ||
| PHRM 500 | Top Drugs III | 1 |
| PHRM 520 | Special Populations | 3 |
| PHRM 536 | Neurology & Psychiatry Pharmacotherapy | 3 |
| PHRM 537 | Renal Disease/Fluid and Electrolytes | 2 |
| PHRM 540 | Public Health for Pharmacists | 3 |
| PHRM 545L | Pharmacotherapy Laboratory | 1 |
| PHRM 551L | Pharmacy Practice Laboratory III | 2 |
| PHRM 552L | Pharmacy Practice Laboratory IV | 2 |
| PHRM 560 | Specialty Care Topics | 2 |
| PHRM 570 | Pharmacy Practice Improvement and Project Management | 2 |
| PHRM 572 | Pharmacy Law and Ethical Considerations | 3 |
| PHRM 575 | Pharmacy Practice Management | 3 |
| PHRM 580 | Pharmacotherapy Capstone | 3 |
| Professional Electives 2 | 6 | |
| P4 Fourth Year Professional | ||
| Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I-III | ||
| PHRM 576 | Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I (Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure I is name of course) | 1 |
| PHRM 577 | Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure II (Essentials for Pharmacist Licensure II is name of course) | 2 |
| PHRM 578 | Essentials 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 Credits | 156 | |
- 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.