Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Pharmacy, PharmD


College of Pharmacy  > Pharmacy, PharmD

Today’s pharmacists don’t simply count pills - they’re actively involved in the creation, evaluation and delivery of complex pharmaceuticals and therapeutics that enhance patient health.

UH College of Pharmacy’s Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) program is a four-year professional program that prepares individuals for a variety of areas within the pharmacy profession.

In collaboration with its fellow Texas Medical Center institutions and elsewhere, the college offers a range of clinical research opportunities and practice experiences (APPEs) in oncology, infectious disease, pediatrics, women’s health, critical care, neurology, nuclear pharmacy and veterinary pharmacy.

UH PharmD students also can pursue a variety of unique in-state and out-of-state experiential opportunities, including the FDA, CDC, Indian Health Service in Alaska and New Mexico.

  • Our alumni are successful business owners, executives in highly ranked health systems and corporate operations, and leaders in professional organizations at the national, state and local level.
  • Our full-time and adjunct faculty include nationally recognized teachers and clinicians, published authors in high-impact journals, holders of U.S. and international patents, and basic and translational researchers supported by grants from such prestigious entities as the National Institutes of Health.
  • Our student body includes several national and regional officers of professional organizations, as well as individual and chapter award winners in national organizations and pharmacy fraternities.

The college also offers the combined PharmD/PhD in Pharmacology or Pharmaceutics and PharmD/MBA degree programs; post-graduate fellowship and residency programs in such areas as academia, infectious diseases pharmacotherapy, HIV pharmacogenetics/ambulatory care and community pharmacy; and the Pharmacy Leadership and Administration concurrent two-year MS/PGY1-PGY2 program in collaboration with seven fellow Texas Medical Center institutions.

To view detailed information about our admission requirements, go to our PharmCAS schoolpage.

To download/view PharmD program flier and course of study, please click here.

To download/view ACPE PharmD Program Quality Indicators, please click here

The University of Houston College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60602-5109, 312/664-3575; FAX 312/664-4652.

For more information, please visit http://www.uh.edu/pharmacy/prospective-students/pharmd/.

Admission Requirements


All prospective PharmD program applicants are encouraged to review the PharmD Prerequisites (.pdf).

For thorough information about our admission requirements, go to our PharmCAS schoolpage. The PharmCAS schoolpages are helpful to easily compare our admission requirements against those of other PharmD programs.

There are four basic admission requirements for the PharmD program:

  1. Complete the required PharmD prerequisite courses

All PharmD prerequisite courses are necessary for admission to the College of Pharmacy. The UHCOP Admissions Committee will look at an applicant’s overall prerequisite GPA, which includes all of the courses on the list. Applicants must receive no less than a “C” (2.0) in all prerequisite courses in order to be considered for admittance.

In addition, the math and science courses from our prerequisite list are averaged, and this number becomes the student’s math and science GPA. Both the prerequisite GPA and math/science GPA are extremely important for the student’s application. Students should plan their course schedule such that they complete the math and science prerequisites no later than the spring semester prior to entry into the program. No math and science courses may be taken the summer prior to beginning the PharmD curriculum. The Admissions Committee must have the math/science GPA to consider for admittance. Non-math/science courses may be taken that summer, however.

Although most students take between 2-3 years to complete the prerequisite courses, the math and science prerequisites must have been taken with the last five years for a student to be competitive in this area.

Other information concerning prerequisites:

  • Grades of repeated courses are averaged;
  • Although there is no minimum prerequisite GPA, it is preferred that applicants have a 2.50 or higher in their prerequisite and math/science prerequisite GPAs.    
  • The average prerequisite GPA for the 2018 entering pharmacy class was 3.51.
  • The average math/science prerequisite GPA for the 2018 entering pharmacy class was 3.41.
  1. Take the PCAT exam

The Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) is a required exam for admission to UH College of Pharmacy. Students should take the PCAT during September of the year before they want to start pharmacy school or earlier and have PCAT send their scores directly to PharmCAS.

For the 2019 application cycle, the February 2019 PCAT will be the most recent PCAT scores that will be accepted by the UH College of Pharmacy.

There is no minimum PCAT score, although a composite score of 50% or better is preferred. In addition, it is recommended that students score in the 60% or above range in the science subtests of the PCAT (i.e. Biological Processes, Chemical Processes, Quantitative Reasoning). The average composite PCAT score for the 2018 entering PharmD class was 75%.

  1. Obtain three letters of reference

The college requires that students submit 3 letters of reference with their application to PharmCAS:

It is recommended that letters come from the following sources:

  • licensed pharmacist practicing or having practiced in the U.S.
  • college professor
  • employer
  • supervisor
  • teaching assistant
  • pre-health advisor
  • faculty advisor

Letters of reference from the following source may be conditionally accepted:

  • health care professional

Letters of reference from family or friends are NOT accepted.

We require that the reference fill out the letter of reference forms through PharmCAS. The person may submit an attached letter if he/she chooses.

  1. Participate in community service

Volunteer/community service is required for all applicants to the program.

Degree Requirements


Credit hours required for degree: 212.0

Degree Plan

Note: The following degree plan applies to students entering the Professional Pharmacy Program (PharmD) between Fall 2015 and Fall 2017.

The curriculum for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree includes a minimum of 212 credit hours of college work, 140 credit hours of which must be pharmacy courses or the equivalent. Students with course credit for non-pharmacy courses or pharmacy courses from another college/school of pharmacy similar to those courses in the professional program may be petitioned for equivalency credit. The degree plan for the PharmD program is shown below under the Pharmacy Course of Study.

Electives

Students must complete six hours (a minimum of three elective courses) in pharmacy elective courses. Three of the six pharmacy elective hours may be satisfied by completion of a Selected Topics course (PHAR 5198, 5298, 5398). Any student may participate in a Selected Topics course if he/she is in good academic standing in the College and have approval of a faculty member who will supervise his/her work. Approval is gained through completion of the General Petition form.

To participate in a Selected Topics course, the student must submit a proposal of the work that will be undertaken in this course to the faculty member at the start of the course and must submit a report at the end of the course indicating their accomplishments in the course. Copies of these reports will be placed in the student’s academic files.

Credit Hours

Pharmacy students are required to comply with all changes in the curriculum made subsequent to the year in which they matriculated. Deletions and additions of courses will be of approximately equal credit, so that no student will have an overall appreciable increase of total credits required for graduation.

Hours in Residence

The college requires at least three years in residence in the professional program at the college of pharmacy for graduation. Students transferring from another school or college of pharmacy are required to complete at least 25% of the semester hours of pharmacy and related work in residence at the University of Houston.

For more Information

For more information, please consult the UHCOP PharmD Student Handbook (.pdf).

PharmD Curriculum for Classes Entering Prior to Fall 2017


First Year


Second Year


Spring Term

14.0 Credit Hours

Summer Term - Required Electives (minimum of 3)

10.0 Credit Hours

Third Year


Fall Term

13.0 Credit Hours

Summer Term

12.0 Credit Hours - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

Fourth Year


Fall Term

18.0 or 19.0 Credit Hours - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

  • Credit Hours: 6.0
  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience IV Credit Hours: 6.0
  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience V Credit Hours: 6.0
  • Credit Hours: 1.0 (taken only one semester)
  • Seminar offered in Fall and Spring semesters. Students are required to complete one semester.

Spring Term

12.0 or 13.0 Credit Hours - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience VI Credit Hours: 6.0

  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience VII Credit Hours: 6.0

  • Credit Hours: 1.0 (taken only one semester)
  • Seminar offered in Fall and Spring semesters. Students are required to complete one semester.

Curriculum for Classes Entering in Fall 2018 and Later


First Year


Second Year


Third Year


Fall Term

16.0 Credit Hours

  • PHAR 5237 - Integrated Module-Imm/rheum/derm Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 5263 - Module-related skills lab III Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 5338 - Integrated Module-ID I Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHAR 5339 - Integrated Module-ID II Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHAR 5340 - Integrated Module-Heme/Onc Credit Hours: 3.0
  • Credit Hours: 3.0
Spring Term

15.0 Credit Hours

  • PHAR 5161 - Module-related skills lab IV Credit Hours: 1.0
  • PHAR 5276 - Law 2 Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 5243 - Complex Problems Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 52XX - Elective Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 52XX - Elective Credit Hours: 2.0
  • PHAR 5341 - Integrated Module-Neuro Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHAR 5342 - Integrated Module-Psych Credit Hours: 3.0
Summer Term

12.0 Credit Hours

Fourth Year


Fall Term

18.0 Credit Hours

  • Credit Hours: 6.0
  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience IV Credit Hours: 6.0
  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience V Credit Hours: 6.0
Spring Term

12.0 Credit Hours - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience VI Credit Hours: 6.0
  • PHAR 56XX - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience VII Credit Hours: 6.0