About the PharmD program

Driven by a commitment to achieve excellence since 1955, the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy trains pharmacists to excel as problem-solvers, innovators and leaders in their career. By choosing University of the Pacific’s three-year accelerated doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program, you become part of our legacy of excellence and leadership.

The skill set and clinical experience gained from our PharmD program opens new doors to the many settings where pharmacists play a key role — from hospitals to pharmaceutical research and development. Through each component of our PharmD curriculum, you learn how to become a pharmacist that leads with excellence.

Learn more about the PharmD application process.

Doctor of Pharmacy
Driven problem-solvers and passionate innovators

Our accelerated, eight-semester doctor of pharmacy degree program is accessible to students with or without a bachelor’s degree. From the first semester, you develop patient-care skills that are integrated throughout the PharmD curriculum, exposing you to the administrative, pharmaceutical, social, behavioral and clinical science aspects of the field of pharmacy. This combination allows you to develop a solid foundation of practical training by gaining patient care experience across a wide variety of settings.

PharmD students in Rite Aid Information Commons
Pharmacy faculty member Marisella Guerrero
ACPE accredited PharmD program

In 2024, following a rigorous review, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) granted Pacific's doctor of pharmacy program an eight-year reaccreditation.

We are success-centered, leadership-focused and have a powerful network of alumni.

PharmD curriculum and co-curriculum

To continue University of the Pacific's legacy of innovation, we launched an updated, redesigned curriculum. As such, we have intentionally integrated active learning techniques in our courses to help you gain the knowledge and skills needed to become a well-rounded, highly competent pharmacist.

Four members of PharmD student committees

What you’ll learn in our doctor of pharmacy program

Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy’s PharmD program curriculum offers an extensive development of clinical case management, interprofessional collaboration and innovative pharmacy practice settings.

Our co-curriculum — which refers to any activities, programs and experiential learning experiences that enhance the PharmD curriculum — offers numerous leadership opportunities, with the ability to provide vital heath care services to community members through health care outreach events like our Medicare Part D Outreach Clinics. Both the PharmD curriculum and co-curriculum:

  • Use evidence-based educational strategies
  • Assure the holistic development of all students
  •  Build on the strengths of prior health care curricula
  • Meet the needs of future graduates and the future of pharmacy practice

Over the course of eight semesters, you immerse yourself in a wide array of pharmacy practice experiences including community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, ambulatory care, internal medicine and other numerous elective options. In semesters seven and eight, PharmD capstone courses solidify concepts, shaping you into a practice-ready pharmacist.

  • Engage in active learning techniques such as team projects, team-based learning, flipped classroom and classroom assessment and pause-for-learning strategies.
  • Develop a solid foundation in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, social-behavioral-administrative and clinical sciences.
  • Hone your skills managing clinical cases and collaborating with interprofessional teams.
  • Immerse yourself in disease topics through the integration of pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and therapeutics.
  • Participate in early and sustained introductory pharmacy practice experiences in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, ambulatory care and health care outreach settings.
  • Learn about an extensive array of advanced pharmacy practice experiences and capstone courses that prepare you for licensure and practice.

The co-curriculum guides the development of all students in a manner that complements the formal curriculum. It provides students with numerous opportunities to participate in activities that lead to further development of professional, leadership, communication, educator, advocacy, collaboration, inclusivity, creativity and innovation and self-awareness skills.

Threee doctor of pharmacy student leaders
CPJE and NAPLEX preparatory program

The Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy is committed to the success of our students. To ensure that each of our PharmD graduates are prepared for their careers, we offer a first-of-its-kind, immersive three-week residential California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Examination (CPJE) and North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) preparatory program. This exciting preparatory program is designed to establish and build upon your strengths through careful practice sessions and engaging reviews.

PharmD admission

To streamline the PharmD application process, the pharmacy admission team provides prospective students with information on how to apply for the PharmD program. To determine if you meet the requirements of the PharmD program, explore the PharmD program prerequisites.

Doctor of pharmacy student with patient in mobile clinic van

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

With our Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) requirements, we bridge an important gap for our students regarding practical experience. The IPPE requirements include 300 hours of combined experience in hospital, community and ambulatory care settings and community outreach. Through the IPPE program, students apply what they are learning in the classroom, becoming better prepared for advanced practice experience during their third year.

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

With our Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) requirements, students are mentored by our Regional Coordinators and a large cohort of dedicated and experienced adjunct faculty and preceptors to gain more than 1,440 hours of combined practice experience in acute care, ambulatory care, hospital, community and other specialty settings. The APPE program transitions students to become practice-ready pharmacists.

The Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) of the PharmD program consists of a total of 300 hours through community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, ambulatory care, and health care outreach and is required in semesters one through five.

  • Community I IPPE: An 80-hour practice-based introductory experience designed to facilitate student learning of the role and responsibilities of the pharmacist and pharmacy intern in the delivery of pharmaceutical care in the community pharmacy setting. 
  • Community II IPPE: An 80-hour practice-based intermediate experience to facilitate student learning of the role and responsibilities of the pharmacist and pharmacy intern in the medication use system in the community pharmacy setting and to expand on the abilities developed in Community I IPPE.
  • Hospital IPPE: A 80-hour practice-based introductory experience to facilitate student learning of the role and responsibilities of the pharmacist and pharmacy intern in the medication use and patient care process in the health-system, with focus on the pharmacy operations, hospital administration, and regulatory and accreditation standards.
  • Ambulatory Care IPPE: A 30-hour practice-based introductory experience to facilitate student learning of the role and responsibilities of the pharmacist and pharmacy intern in the use of electronic health records and population management in the ambulatory care setting.  
  • Health Care Outreach IPPE: A 30-hour introductory experience to enhance the student's understanding, participation, and commitment to improving public health. Community outreach takes place through participation in health fairs, medication therapy management at Medicare Part D outreach events, immunization administration, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, and bone mineral density screening, health education workshops and many more health care initiatives.

 

After the completion of the IPPE, students progress to the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE), completing a minimum of 1,440 hours of APPE in semesters 7 and 8. The APPE includes four core rotations in community pharmacy practice, hospital pharmacy practice, internal medicine, and ambulatory care, with two elective rotations.

  • Internal Medicine APPE: A clinical pharmacy practice rotation with emphasis on the medical management of acute disease states, rational drug therapy, and patient monitoring using the pharmacist patient care process in acute care settings. Students develop and explore their roles as part of an interprofessional healthcare team sharing responsibility with patients, caregivers and other health care professionals. (240 hours)
  • Ambulatory Care APPE: A clinical pharmacy practice rotation with emphasis on the medical management of chronic disease states, rational drug therapy, and patient monitoring using the pharmacist patient care process in ambulatory care settings. Students develop and explore their roles as part of an interprofessional healthcare team sharing responsibility with patients, caregivers and other health care professionals. (240 hours)
  • Hospital Pharmacy APPE: A hospital pharmacy practice rotation with enhanced experience in contemporary institutional practice as well as understanding pharmacy operations and administration, medication and patient safety, quality assurance, program development, communicating with patients and other health professionals, and providing drug information. (240 hours)
  • Community Pharmacy APPE: A community pharmacy practice with enhanced experience in the contemporary community practice, including but not limited to selecting drug products, compounding, dispensing, monitoring and evaluating, communicating with patients and other health care professionals, drug information, public health, and pharmacy operations and management. (240 hours)
  • Electives APPE I and II: Two elective APPEs that allow the student to explore and develop abilities in an area of interest within the health care settings or industry. This experience may be in a variety of biomedical settings including patient care, administrative, health care system, public health, governmental agency, professional organization, research, academic, pharmaceutical company, and other biomedical or health related settings. (480 hours) 

 

Experiential learning

Our 17 clinical experience regions are located across California, from Redding to San Diego. We carefully place you in each of your clinical rotations. Furthermore, to ensure your success during your APPE rotations, a dedicated faculty member helps guide you each step of the way.

PharmD practice settings

By working alongside seasoned professionals, our innovative PharmD program prepares you for the range of settings where pharmacists play a key role in community, health systems, population health and public health. Through the diversification of your education, you gain the hands-on experience you need to hone your clinical and patient-care skills.

A selection of practice settings our PharmD graduates work in include:

  • Academia
  • Ambulatory care
  • Clinical pharmacy
  • Community pharmacy
  • Hospital pharmacy
  • Independent pharmacy ownership
  • Managed care
  • Pharmaceutical industry
  • Public policy/service
  • Specialty pharmacy

Pharmacy fellowships and residencies

University of the Pacific ranks in the top 10 percent nationally in postgraduate residencies for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Resident Matching Program, with many of our PharmD graduates going on to complete residencies or fellowships. Our faculty and alumni are valuable assets for PharmD program students who are interested in pursuing these postgraduate opportunities.

Interprofessional education

University of the Pacific is home to a robust interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum that supports students enrolled in the PharmD program. IPE events occur each trimester where various health professions students are brought together from across the United States.

Through IPE, students:

  • Gain opportunities to engage in traditional case-based learning, simulations, peer teaching, telehealth simulations and gaming techniques such as escape room scenarios.
  • Apply learned concepts and teamwork skills in interprofessional practice experiences during their introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experience (IPPE and APPE).

Colleagues at University of the Pacific’s School of Health Sciences and Dugoni School of Dentistry serve as integral partners for our PharmD IPE curriculum. In addition, we have relationships with various medical and nursing schools throughout the United States to provide well-rounded collaborative experiences for our students. IPE is currently a longitudinal course integrated into the curriculum over six semesters.

 

IPE mission and vision

The mission of IPE at the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy is to prepare students in the doctor of pharmacy degree program for contemporary practice. This is done through a variety of interprofessional opportunities which aim to improve student teamwork and collaboration skills.

The vision for IPE is to develop pharmacists who are practice-ready and contribute medication and health-related expertise to interprofessional teams to maximize patient care.

 

IPE competencies

The Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy has adapted the following four core competencies from the Interprofessional Education Collaborative.

Work with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values.

Use the knowledge of one’s own role and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of patients and to promote and advance the health of populations.

Communicate with patients, families, communities, and professionals in health and other fields in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease.

Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver and evaluate patient/population-centered care and population health programs and policies that are safe, timely, efficient, effective and equitable.

Student Support
Office of Academic Success and Instructional Support

The mission of the Office of Academic Success and Instructional Support (OASIS) is to provide students with the support conducive to academic and career success. Workshops and training are available for individuals, small groups and classes.

OASIS aims to aid PharmD students by:

  • Sharpening memorization skills
  • Learning valuable time management skills
  • Strategizing ways to mitigate the impact of stress
  • Developing an effective, personal learning strategy
  • Incorporating active learning strategies into their study process
  • Learning techniques for developing study materials and preparing for exams

 

OASIS is offered through the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions and is funded by a generous gift from the Chan Family. The impact of the Chan Family’s gift was doubled by the Powell Match program, which was established by a transformative gift of $125 million to University of the Pacific from Robert C. and Jeannette Powell.

The median annual wage for pharmacists was $136,030 nationally and $157,280 for the annual mean wage in California.

Apply to University of the Pacific’s PharmD Program

With classes taught by experienced faculty members at the forefront of groundbreaking pharmaceutical research, engaging courses, CPJE and NAPLEX preparation, and experiential learning opportunities located across the diverse California region, you ensure long term career success as a pharmacist.

Take the first step toward an exciting career in pharmacy by applying to the PharmD program at the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy.

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Doctor of Pharmacy Admission