In the professional program, students complete 130 hours of required coursework that includes nine semester hours (300 contact hours) of introductory pharmacy practice experiences and 40 semester hours (1,600 contact hours) of advanced pharmacy practice experiences in which students extend their learning from the classroom to various pharmacy practice settings and have opportunities to provide care for diverse patient populations. In addition, 12 semester hours of elective or selective coursework are required.
The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) with an integrated Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.S.) curriculum consists of the undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences program followed by a four-year professional program. Coursework for the first professional year overlaps with coursework required in the senior year of the integrated pharmaceutical sciences program so that students may earn a bachelor’s degree while completing the first professional year of the Pharm.D. program. The bachelor’s degree is earned upon satisfactory completion of all bachelor’s degree requirements which typically occurs after four academic years of study. The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) can also be integrated with a Neuroscience (B.S.) curriculum and Data Science (B.S.) curriculum similarly.
In the pharmacy program, students take yearly longitudinal introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE) for the first three professional years. Each of these IPPE courses are worth one-credit hour and run over the course of two semesters. Students spend 7 contact hours in class and 20 contact hours in the field for these experiences.
During the summer semesters between the first and second professional year and between the second and third professional year, students take concentrated IPPE courses that consist of 120 contact hours in the field (three weeks in length) and are worth three credit hours.
During the advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) in the final year of the professional program, students spend a minimum of 40 hours per week in assigned, University-approved health system pharmacy, community pharmacy, clinical pharmacy and other approved practice sites. APPEs are five weeks long and worth five credit hours each. Both IPPE and APPE requirements are mandated by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
Graduates of the Pharm.D. program have the abilities necessary for entry into post-graduate training programs. Graduates are able to think critically, solve complex problems and communicate effectively to provide high-level, interprofessional patient and population care that is evidence-based, culturally sensitive and includes disease management and promotion of health and wellness. Graduates will also be able to manage medication-use systems to optimize patient safety and system efficacy, advocate for the pharmacy profession and within their communities, apply quality improvement principles to advance the practice of pharmacy including practice models that are economically sustainable, and be consumers of and contributors to research and scholarly works.
The following courses are required in the four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program.
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