Doctor of Pharmacy Program

The Doctor of Pharmacy degree is the highest level of applied professional education offered in pharmacy. It is designed to assure development of clinical skills and judgment with the acquisition of the confidence necessary to assess therapeutic problems and to be an active participant in decision-making processes related to pharmaceutical care. The program is designed to provide a broad spectrum of study in the administrative, biological, clinical, pharmaceutical, and social sciences to prepare the graduate for careers in academic, ambulatory, community, industrial and institutional settings.

Admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy requires preparatory coursework focusing in the areas of biological, chemical and physical sciences, and written and oral communications which need to be completed prior to admission into the College of Pharmacy. Students wishing to pursue a career in pharmacy are encouraged to complete their pre-professional requirements in conjunction with pursuing a four year degree (e.g., toxicology, biology, chemistry, etc.). Pre-professional preparatory coursework may be completed at any accredited university. Students aspiring to complete their pre-professional preparatory coursework at the University of Louisiana at Monroe must meet the admission requirements for the University. Students with a “Pre-Pharmacy” major designation must present a 2.8 cumulative grade point average once they have earned 70 hours to maintain the designation. Students who fail to present a 2.8 grade point average will be required to change their major to LUIO (undeclared) or another major at the 70 hour mark.

Upon completion of the preparatory coursework, students may apply for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program in the College of Pharmacy. Admission to the program is competitive and, at a minimum, is based on cumulative pre-professional preparatory course work grade point average, written and oral communication skills, and scores on the Pharmacy College Admission Test.

Students applying for admission to the College of Pharmacy must meet the following academic requirements:

1. Have a minimum 2.75 cumulative grade point average;
2. Meet the Louisiana Board of Regents’ core curriculum requirements with a grade of “C” or better in each core course;
3. Complete the following course and semester hour requirements with a grade of “C” or better:
   1. Biology
      1. Microbiology with laboratory (4 semester credits or equivalent)
      2. Human or comparative anatomy with lab and human or mammalian physiology with lab (8 semester credits or equivalent)
      3. Cell biology or cell physiology (3 semester credits or equivalent)
      4. Genetics (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   2. Business
      1. Economics (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   3. Chemistry
      1. Inorganic chemistry with laboratories (8 semester credits or equivalent)
      2. Biochemistry (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   4. English
      1. English composition (6 semester credits or equivalent)
      2. Technical writing (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   5. Humanities
      1. Public Speaking (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   6. Mathematics
      1. Calculus (3 semester credits or equivalent)
   7. Physics
      1. General physics with laboratories (4 semester credits or equivalent)
   8. Statistics
      1. Statistics (3 semester credits or equivalent)
4. Meet the technical standards of the College of Pharmacy, and
5. Obtain a competitive Pharmacy College Admissions Test score.

For students attending the University of Louisiana at Monroe for their pre-professional requirements, courses listed online at www.ulm.edu/pharmacy/ will fulfill the College of Pharmacy’s pre-professional requirements. This list along with course descriptions provided in the undergraduate or graduate and professional catalog also provide students attending other state or out of state institutions guidance concerning course content for pre-professional requirements.

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