Undergraduate

Pre-Pharmacy

The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) is the most commonly pursued degree for the profession of pharmacy. Pre-requisite course work (pre-pharmacy) may be taken at UNCG before a student applies to one of over 100 pharmacy schools in the United States. There are four pharmacy schools in North Carolina: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell University , High Point University, and Wingate University.

Most pharmacy schools will state that an undergraduate degree is not required for entry into their PharmD programs. While true, we strongly recommend that students complete a degree for several reasons. First, if pharmacy school does not work out, or you end up not enjoying the program, you will still have earned a college degree. Secondly, most students in pharmacy school, likely more than 80% in some cases, already have a degree. There is a certain degree of rigor that it takes to complete an undergraduate degree, and those skills will translate well to Pharmacy School. All in all, while you may complete most prerequisites in three years, you are strongly encouraged to finish your undergraduate degree; we predict that you will not regret doing so in the future.

The typical pre-pharmacy student at UNCG is pursuing a degree in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology, and/or Psychology. Regardless of your degree track, it is important to make sure you are taking extra courses that will specifically prepare you for admission into pharmacy school. What these courses are will depend on the degree track you are pursuing. Our strong suggestion is that you contact the admissions office at one (or several) of the local pharmacy schools and see what they recommend for their programs. All of these schools have open houses and other events, periodically, to explain their curriculum and the ‘flavor’ of their programs; you are strongly advised to take advantage of these opportunities. This will also give you an opportunity to talk one-on-one with people who are intimately familiar with the profession of pharmacy.