How to become a Pharmacist

College Majors
1

<p>Hi there!
I'm currently enrolled as a freshman Biology major, and was wondering if this could lead me into a career as a pharmacist? I'm a little fuzzy on the requirements for schooling on this career.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think that, in order to practice as a pharmacist, you need a Pharm.D. degree. I'm not sure if this is common at other Pharm schools, but at UT-Austin, you don't actually need a 4 year degree to gain admission to the PharmD program, but you need to have at least completed the courses listed at <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/admissions/crit.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/admissions/crit.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>Based on a couple of friends who have gone to Pharm school, though, I think it's pretty common to finish a 4 year degree in Chem or Bio, possibly with a pre-Pharm concentration if your school offers it, and then go on to get the Pharm.D. degree.</p>

3

<p>Each pharmacy school has a very specific list of classes that must be taken in order to enroll in their school. Many courses are the same, but there are some variations. The first thing would be to look into pharmacy schools and figure out which you might be interested in attending, make sure to get those subjects into your curriculum. You will also need to take the PCAT exam and send your scores along to the school(s) you are applying to. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.aacp.org/issi/membership/schools.asp?action=view&TRACKID=www.google.com/search?source=ig&wh=A&CID=593&DID=4224%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aacp.org/issi/membership/schools.asp?action=view&TRACKID=www.google.com/search?source=ig&wh=A&CID=593&DID=4224&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>That's a list of accredited schools. At the moment, a bachelor's degree is not <em>required</em> for entry to the average pharmacy school, just the list of required classes, and around 60ish hours of coursework that is usually filled by the classes they require. But given the influx of interest in the field, a bachelor's degree is highly recommend anyway. The requirement of the bach is coming in the not too distant future anyway, I believe. </p>

<p>Even if you have a bach, most schools will expect that you have fulfilled <em>their</em> requirements for admission. Try to start including the classes they want early on, to save yourself from having to pile on extra classes just to fulfill requirements after you graduate. Some pharmacy schools leave it broad enough that you can choose your own electives, and the sciences-maths fall naturally into place. You might not have to take anything you might not be planning on anyway, it's entirely up to the school.</p>