Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)

Freshman applicants may view the admission requirements on our Undergraduate Applicants page.  

Students with 12 or more college credits may transfer in to the first or second year of the program depending on availability of seats. Courses must have been completed at a regionally accredited college or university with a grade of C or better for transfer. Math and science courses taken more than ten years prior to the anticipated date of matriculation to MCPHS will not be accepted.

While there are no specific required courses for entry into the first year of our program, the admission committee will look for success in any math and science courses you have already taken. If you complete any of the non-math/non-science courses listed below, you may receive transfer credit and your first year course load may be lighter. However, due to the lock-step nature of MCPHS programs, entering the first year of the program with transfer credits will not change the total length of your program. Courses, other than elective courses, may not be moved forward in your schedule. All students transferring in to the first year of the PharmD program must complete all math and science courses at MCPHS and therefore may need to repeat courses previously completed.

Required courses for entry into Year II:

• General Biology I & II with lab(8 credits)
• General Chemistry I & II with lab (8 credits)
• Calculus I & II (6 credits)
• Expository Writing I & II (6 credits)
• American Culture, Identity, and Public Life (3 credits) (Acceptable substitutions include American History, U.S. History, U.S. Government, Western Civilization)

Required courses for entry into Year III:

• Organic Chemistry I with lab (4 credits)
• Organic Chemistry II (3 credits)
• Microbiology with lab (4 credits)
• Interpersonal Communications for Health Professionals (3 credits) (Acceptable substitutions includes Introduction to Speech)
• Physics (3 credits if calculus-based or 6 credits if algebra-based)
• Macroeconomics (3 credits)
• Humanities elective (3 credits) (Acceptable courses include Literature, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Ethics, Religious Studies, Select Fine Arts, Advanced Level Languages)
• Behavioral Science elective (3 credits) (Acceptable courses include any upper level psychology course)
• Social Science elective (3 credits) (Acceptable courses include History, Political Science/Government, Anthropology, Upper-level Sociology, American Studies, Women Studies, Ethnic Studies, Geography, Economics)

Students in the Boston PharmD program may elect to apply for the 5-Year Accelerated PharmD Pathway and complete the professional phase of their degree in three years (instead of four) by transferring to the Worcester or Manchester campus after the initial two years of pre-professional study in Boston. Interested students are eligible to apply in the spring of the second year of the program, provided they have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and submit an internal application of intent. (Students with these qualifications will receive a guaranteed interview at the campus of their choice).

The five-year pathway features a year-round, concentrated curriculum in the professional phase. Upon transferring to the Worcester or Manchester campus, students will enroll in eight classes during the Fall P1 year and complete the PharmD curriculum in a total of 8 semesters that include two summer terms. The transfer process is seamless— MCPHS ‐ Boston students will maintain their existing scholarships.

The Doctor of Pharmacy Honors Program offers highly motivated and academically talented students the opportunity to pursue their professional interests and advance their skills and talents beyond the level possible in the standard PharmD curriculum.

Honors students will:

• Participate in small class seminars with peers that foster the development and improvement of research and presentation skills
• Work closely with faculty members during seminars and research activities
• Be matched with an individual faculty research mentor
• Conduct a research project under the supervision of their research mentor in Pharmaceutical, Clinical, or Pharmaceutical Business and Administrative Sciences

Benefits:

• Enhanced professional and career advancement
• Gain research and presentation skills through seminars and their research project, which help students become stronger professional candidates in their academic and professional pursuits
• Close working relationships with faculty and their research mentor, which have the potential for work that may be presented at conferences or published
• Honors designation at graduation with completion of all program requirements

Total credits to complete degree*: 206

Sixth Year (Fourth Professional Year)

During the final year of study, PharmD students earn 36 credit hours by completing 36 weeks of advanced experiential rotations. The rotations start as early as May and run consecutively through late November or December. The rotations resume in January and finish in May.

Students are required to complete rotations in Inpatient Medicine, Institutional Pharmacy Practice, Ambulatory Care, and Community Pharmacy Practice. Additionally, students complete two elective rotations from areas such as administration, cardiology, community practice, critical care medicine, drug information, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, nephrology, oncology/hematology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, poison information, and psychiatry.

Elective rotations chosen by the student are reviewed by the coordinators of experiential education to determine whether the rotations provide appropriate emphasis and balance to the student's overall program.  Scheduling of the rotations is completed by the Office of Experiential Education and may be modified at the discretion of the coordinator(s).

For students participating in the 5-Year Accelerated PharmD Pathway, please click here to review your curriculum. 

School of Pharmacy-Boston

The School of Pharmacy – Boston (SOP-B) is committed to the development and delivery of quality programs that prepare a culturally diverse student body to become qualified practitioners of patient-centered care, services and research in the pharmaceutical professions while maintaining a multidisciplinary environment conducive to excellence in teaching, scholarship and professional advancement.

Strategic Plan

The School of Pharmacy Boston undertakes planning and evaluation in order to accomplish and improve the achievement of its mission. Long-term planning objectives are articulated in the School of Pharmacy Boston Strategic Plan. 

MCPHS University – Boston School of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program has been given the status of Accredited with Probation by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 135 South LaSalle Street, Suite 4100, Chicago, IL 60603, 312/664-3575; FAX, 312/664-4652, web site www.acpe-accredit.org, for partial or non-compliance with the following standards: Standard No. 18: Faculty and Staff – Quantitative Factors; Standard No. 21: Physical Facilities and Educational Resources; Standard No. 24: Assessment Elements of http://www.acpe-accredit.org/ Section I: Educational Outcomes; and Standard No. 25: Assessment Elements of Section II: Structure and Process. For an explanation of the program’s Accredited with Probation status, consult the Office of the Dean or ACPE.