Professional Degree: Pharm.D. (Doctorate of Pharmacy)

Undergraduate Course Requirements

Oregon Tech courses fulfilling OSU’s requirements are listed here; other schools are similar but not identical.

1 quarter Microbiology (BIO 345, 5 credits)
1 quarter Cell & Molecular Biology (BIO 342, 4 credits)
1 year Physics (PHY 201/202/203, 12 credits)
1 year Physiology (BIO 331/332/333, 15 credits)
1 year Biochemistry (CHE 450/451/452, 12 credits)
strongly recommended, but can also be taken in 1st year at OSU
Other required courses: Writing – 2 quarters, Math 251, Interpersonal Communication (SPE 111 or 321), Economics 201 or 202, Psychology 201, Advanced First Aid / CPR, statistics (recommended)

Important Sources of Information

Admission Information

  • Most students have a B.S. degree before starting the Pharm.D. program, but the minimum is three years of college study (>120 credits)
    • Quite a few graduates from Oregon Tech’s Biology-Health Sciences program have gone on to the Pharm.D. program at OSU over the past decade
  • Two (up to four) recommendation letters needed, submitted via PharmCAS
  • OSU Admission deadline: December 1st (via PharmCAS, no PCAT required)
    • Early Decision Application possible (deadline Sept 1, a year prior)
    • Final deadlines in December to early January are typical of most PharmD programs.

Regional Pharmacy Schools

  • Oregon: OSU (Corvallis) 
    • offers Pharm.D. degree jointly with OHSU
    • 1st two years at OSU, 3rd year at OHSU, 4th year off campus
  • Oregon: Pacific U (Hillsboro; no PCAT required, not using PharmCAS) 
  • California: UCSF (San Francisco); USC (Los Angeles); (Western University of Health Science (Pomona); Touro University (Vallejo; PCAT required); University of the Pacific (Stockton)
  • Idaho: Idaho State University (Pocatello) 
  • Montana: University of Montana (Missoula)
  • Nevada: University of Southern Nevada (Henderson)
  • Washington: University of Washington (Seattle) 
    Washington State University (Pullman) 
  • Arizona: University of Arizona (Tucson) 
    Midwestern University (Glendale)

Entrance Examinations

  • PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) 
  • PCAT is required by many pharmacy schools in the USA, but NOT by OSU, 
    Pacific U, Western UHS
  • Administered 4 times yearly (Jan, Jun, Aug, Oct)
    Nearest test centers (Pearson Learning) are in Ashland and Eugene
  • Exam sections: Verbal ability, Biology, Reading comprehension, Quantitative ability, Chemistry
  • PCAT test prep

Post-graduate Licensing Information / Requirements

  • 1 year internship (supervised pharmacy practice)
  • National licensing examination
  • Oregon Board of Pharmacy examination
    • Fields: community, clinical, geriatric, administrative, or industrial (sales, marketing) pharmacy or research