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Students who want to
apply to a Pharmacy School may complete most of the prerequisite
courses at Montgomery College.
The State of Maryland has one pharmacy school, the University
of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy (UMB) UMB has two
locations, the main campus in downtown Baltimore and a new
satellite campus at the Universities at Shady Grove.
UMB School of Pharmacy at Shady Grove courses are taught mainly by
streaming video with some lab requirements in Baltimore.
Admission requirements are the same for both campuses of UMB. Both the Main Campus and Shady Grove programs are FALL Entrance
only.
Students may
apply to most Pharmacy Schools after the completion of 65-68
credits. Pharmacy schools require that students submit
scores from the
Pharmacy College Admission Test ( PCAT
). (See a short sample
PCAT test here)
The chart below compares the requirements of
three schools, UMB,
Howard University, and
Shenandoah University,
VA.
If you are planning to apply to more than one
school (always a good idea), then finding courses that are
common to all three
schools may help you prepare. For
other schools, link to All US Pharmacy Schools by State
.
|
Course
|
No.
of Semesters
|
Credits
|
Course
|
Sem.
|
Credits
|
Course
|
Sem.
|
Credits
|
|
English
Comp
EN 102
|
1
|
3
|
English
Comp
EN 101 & 102
|
2
|
6
|
English
Comp
EN 101 & 102
|
2
|
6
|
|
Speech
|
1
|
3
|
Speech
|
1
|
3
|
Speech
|
1
|
3
|
|
Calculus
*
MA 181
|
1
|
3
|
Calculus*
MA 181
|
1
|
3
|
Math
Course
(MA 180 Precalculus or
MA 110 Survey, etc)
|
1
|
3
|
|
Statistics
MA 116
|
1
|
3
|
Statistics
MA 116
|
1
|
3
|
Calculus*
MA 181
|
1
|
3
|
|
Biology
BI 107
|
1
|
4
|
Biology
BI 107 & 108
**
|
2
|
8
|
Biology
BI 107 & 108
|
2
|
8
|
|
Microbiology
BI 203
|
1
|
4
|
** Micro BI 203
may be used in place of BI 108
|
|
|
Microbiology
BI 203
|
1
|
4
|
|
Human
Anatomy and Physiology
BI 204 & 205
|
2
|
8
|
----
|
--
|
--
|
Biological
Sci
Elective
(nonlab OK)
|
1
|
3/4
|
|
General
Chemistry
CH 101 & 102
|
2
|
8
|
General
Chemistry
CH 101 & 102
|
2
|
8/10
|
General
Chemistry
CH 101 & 102
|
2
|
8
|
|
Organic
Chemistry
CH 203 & 204
|
2
|
8
|
Organic
Chemistry
CH 203 & 204
|
2
|
8
|
Organic
Chemistry
CH 203 & 204
|
2
|
8
|
|
Physics
PH 203 & 204
|
2
|
8
|
Physics
PH 203 & 204
|
2
|
8
|
Physics
PH 203
|
1
|
4
|
|
Humanities
and Social Sciences*
|
4-6
|
18
|
Humanities
(Art, Theater, Literature, Philosophy, Music, or
Religion)
|
2
|
6
|
Humanities
Art, Music, History, Language,
Theatre
|
1
|
3
|
|
Micro Economics
EC 202
|
1
|
3
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
Economics
EC 201 or 202
|
1
|
3
|
*
Humanities: journalism, fine
arts, modern language, music, philosophy, and speech
Social Sciences: accounting,
anthropology, computers, economics, geography, history,
political science, psychology, and sociology |
|
|
Social
Sciences (Psychology, Econ,
Sociology, Political Science, History, Education,
Anthropology, or African American Studies)
|
2
|
6
|
Social
Science (Accounting,
Anthropology, Business, Computers, Economics, Geography,
Health, Mgmt, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology or
Statistics)
|
2
|
6
|
|
NOTE: For UMB, Chemistry and Biology courses must be
taken within 5 years of anticipated admission.
|
|
|
Additional
Courses (Statistics, Computer Applic.,
Computer Science, Mathematics above Calculus I,
Medical Terminology, Humanities and/or Social Science)
|
3
|
9
|
Philosophy,
Religion or
Ethics
PL
201,202,203
--------
NOTE: For Shenandoah, Sciences must
be no older than 10 years, unless used in work setting
|
1
|
3
|
| Total
Minimum |
Credits: |
65 |
Total
Minimum |
Credits: |
69 |
|
|
|
www.pharmacy.
umaryland.edu |
|
|
www.cpnahs.howard.edu/
Pharmacy/ |
|
|
http://pharmacy.su.edu |
|
|
*
Competence in the fundamentals of differential and integral
calculus is essential for success in Pharm.D. programs.
Admission to Pharmacy Schools is highly
competitive. Information about the class admitted to UMB
in Fall of 2007
illustrates this:
Statistics for
2007 Entering Class Acceptees
Total completed applications
received - 1,370
Number interviewed - 300
Number accepted - 160
Estimated entering class size - 160
Estimated male - 40%
Estimated female - 60%
Number in-state seats
available for Maryland residents - 95
Number out-of-state seats available - 65
The following Frequently
Asked Questions on the UMB Website may be helpful to you:
Work experience is not a requirement for admission to the PharmD program. However, it can show a commitment to the
field of pharmacy or can demonstrate the well roundedness of an
applicant.
No, only the two years of prerequisites are required for
admission to the PharmD program. In addition, students
with a bachelor’s degree are not given any special
consideration over students who have only completed the
prerequisites. All applicants are on a level playing
field.
Initially, the GPA that is considered in meeting the minimum
requirements is the cumulative GPA calculated by PharmCAS.
Once your application is under review emphasis will be placed on
the grades you received in prerequisite courses. The
Admissions Committee will look at patterns, i.e., whether you
were full or part time, working in conjunction with school, etc.
It is not unusual for students to have one bad semester.
The Admissions Committee will be looking carefully at each and
every application and when a very strong student has a weak
semester the assumption is typically that there were extenuating
circumstances that semester.
No, all applications are given equal consideration.
However, it is important for us to have a diverse class and the
state from which applicants come will be taken into
consideration after the interview process.
Yes, re-application is strongly encouraged.
Every year, qualified students are denied because there simply
aren’t enough available spaces. Take advantage of the
coming year to increase your chances of success in the future
through making your application more competitive. This can
be done through taking further coursework, studying for the PCAT,
taking a PCAT preparation course, joining a professional
organization as a student member, holding an office of a student
organization, or volunteering or working in a pharmacy.
Some general advice from a
recently admitted pharmacy student for students who are
applying to
pharmacy schools or who are considering doing so in the
future:
Make sure you want to go into pharmacy before you
apply. While being a pharmacist might not be the job for the
rest of
your life, pursuing your PharmD is a big commitment. It
is best to find out if it suits you for now through volunteer
or
employment in the field.
Even though it's going
to be competitive to get in, don't psych yourself out. Be
organized and prepared for the process.
Create folders for each school; check off classes as you take them. Organization is key so
you don't miss deadlines.
Also, get experience. Some of my friends experienced
difficult interviews because they lacked pharmacy-related
experience.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to apply
unless you have experience in the field. Be flexible. There are
a number of options you can pursue with your PharmD. Just try
out at least one aspect of the field as a volunteer or paid,
part time intern/employee before you apply. You have to take it
seriously going into the field because people are going to count
on you
for their health.
Visit
the following websites for more information:
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Web Address for this page: www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/Prepharmacy.html
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