ADVISING
INFORMATION FOR PRE-PHARMACY
Important Facts
- Most
Pre-Pharmacy students major in Chemistry or Biology.
- It is
important that students meet with the Pre-Pharmacy advisor (Dr. Kumpaty)
to ensure all requirements are being met.
- Students
should not take BIOLOGY 120
- Most students
enter the program with math requirement satisfied
- There is no
such thing as a Pre-Pharmacy major
- This program
prepares students for entrance into the Pharm D program in UW-Madison
School of Pharmacy
- The average
GPA for students admitted to pharmacy school is 3.5-3.6 /private school
pharmacy programs require a GPA of 3.0.
- Students who
may not do well in the pharmacy sequence may consider the chemistry,
biology or integrated business major.
Pre-Pharmacy Check Sheet
This document is
not legally binding; it is intended only to give guidance in planning
one's program. The actual sequence of courses taken will vary according
to student's backgrounds, course availability and other factors.
Name:___________________ ID #______________________
The minimum requirements for the Pharm.D. program include
completion of a set of prescribed pre-pharmacy requirements (usually completed
in two to three years of undergraduate work) followed by four years of the
professional Pharm.D. curriculum. A
The following list of courses are the core
requirements required by the
Core Requirements Math/Science Credits
Biology-141 General Botany 4
Biology-142 General Zoology 4
Chem-102 Introductory Chemistry 5
Chem-104 Introductory Chemistry 5
Chem-251 Organic Chemistry 3
Chem-252 Organic Chemistry 3
Chem-261 Organic Chemistry Laboratory 2
*Math-253 Calculus I 5
Math-254 Calculus II 5 (recommended only)
Physcs-140 Principles of Physics I** (or) 5
Physcs-141 General Physics 5
* (Calculus requirement is content-based. Please review the handout for list of required topics)
** Phys 180, 181 Physics for Scientists
& Engineers I-II ( credits 5 + 5)
English-102 Freshman English 3
Econ-201 Economics (micro) 3
Sociology-240 General Sociology (or) 3
Anthropl-110 Introductory Anthropology (or)
Anthropl-218 Cultural anthropology (also counts towards ethnic studies)
Psyc-211 Introductory Psychology (or) 3
Psyc-355 Social Psychology
*** Ethnic studies 3
Additional course work: Sufficient to result in
a total of at least 62 transfer credits by the time of enrollment in the
Pharmacy college admission test (PCAT): The PCAT is required for Pharm.D. applicants. For the Pharm.D. early decision application process, the PCAT must be taken no later than January of the year of application. For the Pharm.D. standard decision application process, the PCAT must be taken no later than January of the year of application. PCAT scores below the fiftieth percentile will be viewed with particular concern by the Admissions Committee.
If a Pharm.D. applicant submits two or more sets of PCAT scores, the Admissions Committee will view all sets of PCAT scores but will use the highest set when considering the applicant for admission.
PCAT Testing Information for 2008-09: www.pcatweb.info
PCAT registration forms and informational booklets are available starting in early August from Madison School of Pharmacy Student Services Office (608-262-6234)
* Please note that PCAT scores taken prior to October 2005 are not accepted for applicants seeking admission for Fall 2008
Additional Information
All pre-pharmacy students are encouraged to take the following additional courses, which are graduation requirements, if there is room left in their fourth semester.
Three credits of history of any kind.
Two credits of humanities electives (modern history is not a
humanities course in
a. Students who qualify for Math 253 do not need to take Math 152. The required course is Math 253.
b. Economics 202 is the prerequisite of 201(micro). Students can take 201 without this prerequisite. See your advisor.
Pharm.D. Professional electives policy: Students may not count as Pharm.D. professional electives any courses which were taken before entrance into the school of pharmacy.
Admission to pharmacy school is very competitive. The average GPA for the students admitted to pharmacy school has been between 3.7 ¨C 3.9 for the last few years. Two grade point averages are calculated. A cumulative grade point average and a grade point average in the required math-science courses.
Application process:
Pharm.D. application materials for the 2008-09 academic year will be available on Madison School of Pharmacy website in mid-September, 2008.
Select Admissions/Pre-School of Pharmacy Information/Application Materials
Entry Level Pharm.D. Program
Standard decision application process: Admission for Fall 2008, All application materials must be postmarked by November 1, 2008. On-line application will be made available by October 2008.
** Please note that the school of pharmacy does not participate in the pharmacy college application service (PharmaCAS)
For the Pharm.D. application, four recommendation letters are required: two recommendations from instructors of recent college-level math/science courses: one recommendation from an instructor of a recent college-level liberal arts course; one recommendation from a recent employer or a coordinator of volunteer service.
Course loads: In
order to strengthen their applications for admission and demonstrate their
preparedness for the rigorous demands of
For additional information, please refer to the