interprofessional
Pharmacy students at D'Youville learn to work as part of a collaborative healthcare team through Interprofessional Education Labs.
learn moreExperience the professional practice of pharmacy — and get your PharmD in only 6 years.
Overview & Distinctions
Overview
Pharmacists serve on the front lines of medicine as a critical component of patients’ health—whether working in the lab, the community, government, or in a clinical setting.
At D’Youville, we know that dedicated undergraduate students want to earn their professional credentials as quickly as possible. That’s why we’ve developed an Early Assurance Program, which allows our pre-pharmacy undergraduates to earn their Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree in just six years, unlike traditional programs which can take over 8 years to complete.
During the first two years in the Early Assurance program, you’ll take undergraduate classes (60-61 credits) followed by four years of coursework in D'Youville's ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy's Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Why Choose D'Youville?
- Begin supervised pharmacy practice experiences in the first semester of your third year of college (or first year in the professional program)
- Get specialized advisement through the School of Pharmacy and participate in research opportunities only available to Pre-Pharmacy students.
- Studies show that teamwork across clinical specialties improves patient outcomes. D'Youville's unique interdisciplinary education lab offers the opportunity for you to practice treating patients (played by actors) alongside a team of students from 7 other healthcare majors at D'Youville - all under the supervision of a skilled instructor.
- D'Youville PharmD graduates achieve excellent scores on national and state licensing exams; Our graduates report a 100% job placement rate within six months of graduation.
Automatic Merit-Based Scholarships
Early assurance students are eligible for our generous scholarships, which greatly reduce the cost of tuition, room, and board.
When you apply for admission at D’Youville, we’ll automatically consider you for our merit scholarships. Undergraduate scholarships can cover as much as 50% of your tuition, and there is no need to fill out a separate application!
Transfer students can qualify for scholarships, as well. And unlike other schools, maintaining your scholarship is easier at D'Youville because we use a realistic 2.25 GPA requirement to determine your eligibility for merit-based scholarships each year.
Check out the chart below to see if you qualify:
| Scholarships | GPA | Scholarship Amount |
|---|---|---|
| President's | 88+ | $14,000 |
| Founder's | 83 - 87.9 | $12,000 |
| Dean's | 80 - 82.9 | $10,000 |
| Transfer | 3.5+ | $5,500 |
| Transfer | 3.25 - 3.49 | $5,000 |
| Transfer | 3.0 - 3.24 | $4,500 |
| Transfer | 2.75 - 2.99 | $4,000 |
Find more information and additional scholarships on our scholarships page.
Early Assurance
Early Assurance To Direct Admission
About the program
This program gives talented freshmen the advantage of securing a seat in the D’Youville
School of Pharmacy’s (DYCSOP) four-year PharmD degree program after completing two
years of prerequisite undergraduate course work. The Early Assurance to Direct Admission
program offers a significant advantage to those qualifying students by not requiring
the PCAT while guaranteeing a seat within the School of Pharmacy.
How to Apply
Admission to the Early Assurance to Direct Admission program is based on D’Youville’s admission criteria for pre-pharmacy: an 85 high school grade point average and 1080 SAT Math and Evidenced Based Reading and Writing (or 21 ACT).
- Apply to D’Youville through Undergraduate Admissions.
- Indicate Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science, Bachelor of Science in Biology, or Bachelor of Science in Chemistry as your major on your freshman application and also indicate pharmacy as your professional track.
- All qualifying Early Assurance students will be advised by the Office of Admissions and Advisement within the School of Pharmacy.
Program requirements
- The Early Assurance program is restricted to students who enter D’Youville directly from high school.
- All science and math prerequisites are included in the Early Assurance grade point average (GPA), including college courses permitted outside of D'Youville.
- Earn a minimum 3.40 cumulative GPA in all science and math prerequisites by the end of their second and third semesters and maintain this average by the end of their fourth semester.
- Complete all enrolled courses with a grade equal to or greater than C. Repeated grades will not be used in computing the Early Assurance GPA.
- Do not resign from any enrolled course. A grade of “R” on your transcript disqualifies you from Early Assurance.
- Students meeting the above criteria will not be required to take the PCAT.
- Students earning a cumulative GPA between 3.39 and 3.00 in all science and math prerequisites by the end of their second, third or fourth semesters will be required to take the PCAT and score at or above the 50th percentile to maintain their Early Assurance status.
- If a student has a prerequisite Math/Science GPA that is below a 3.0, the student will need to apply via PharmCAS and have a competitive PCAT score. These students will be considered with all other applications received through PharmCAS.
Additional Early Assurance program requirements
Students applying for admission into the Doctor of Pharmacy Program via Early Assurance must comply with the following criteria in order to be eligible.
- All students must submit a PharmCAS application by the fall semester of their sophomore year and designate themselves as Early Decision.
- The D'Youville SOP has established technical standards for Admission, Progression, and Graduation for its PharmD program; Early Assurance students must satisfy said standards.
- All admitted PharmD students must complete a Criminal Background Check from Certiphi.
- All PharmD students must be interviewed in accordance with the American Council for Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) Guidelines. Written communication skills are also evaluated.
Courses Two-Year
Courses Two-Year Track
Once accepted, Pre-Pharmacy students complete the D'Youville courses listed below. Early Assurance and Earned Early Assurance students need to earn a grade of C or better in each course without repeating any class.
| Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|
| Biology I with Lab* | 4 |
| Biology II with Lab* | 4 |
| Human Biomedical Science with Lab (200-level or higher or course equivalent)** | 4 |
| General Chemistry I with Lab | 4 |
| General Chemistry II with Lab | 4 |
| Organic Chemistry I with Lab | 4 |
| Organic Chemistry II with Lab | 4 |
| Physics I with Lab | 4 |
| Calculus I | 4 |
| Statistics | 3-4 |
| English Composition I | 3 |
| English Composition II | 3 |
| Social Sciences and Humanities*** | 9 |
| Public Speaking or Communications | 3 |
| Economics | 3 |
| Total | 60-61 |
* Botany or Zoology with lab and cell biology with lab can satisfy the general biology requirement.
** Two 200-level or higher human biomedical science courses without labs can be substituted for a single human biomedical science with lab. The biomedical science courses that are acceptable include microbiology, anatomy, physiology, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, and/or pharmacology. Microbiology or anatomy and physiology are recommended.
*** Examples of acceptable social sciences are sociology, psychology, history or political science. Examples of acceptable humanities are ethics, philosophy, fine arts, literature, religious studies, and foreign languages.
Practice Experience
Practice Experience
Experiential education is one of the core elements of D’Youville’s pharmacy program. And while pre-pharmacy students do not begin supervised pharmacy practice experiences until they begin the PharmD program, throughout their studies they receive learning and experience which will help them to excel in their clinical experiences as they move into their PharmD studies.
D’Youville’s pre-pharmacy program emphasizes such vital skills as:
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Communication in both written and oral modes
- Time management
- Organizational competencies
The Office of Experiential Education coordinates and manages all aspects of experiential education for the School of Pharmacy once students begin their graduate studies. From introductory rotations to advanced experiences with innovative and progressive pharmacy practices, the Office of Experiential Education works with students, preceptors, and faculty to ensure a highly successful learning experience.
The Office of Experiential Education is willing and able to place students in rotations in pharmacies anywhere within the U.S. and in several international locations as well. Some international opportunities include Haiti, Uganda, Ecuador, Turks and Caicos, London and China.
International exchange rotations will also be available in Australia, Ireland, England and Puerto Rico in the near future.
Careers
Careers
Our program prepares you for general pharmacy practice.
A Pharmacist's role
Pharmacists do a lot more than just dispense medications. Today's pharmacists serve on the front lines of medicine as a critical component of patients’ health—whether working in the lab, the community, government, or in a clinical setting.
Today’s pharmacists act as part of an integrated healthcare team, educating patients on the use of both prescription and over-the-counter medications, advising physicians and other healthcare professionals on the best use of therapeutic medications, and offering advice about drug interactions and side effects.
Pharmacists also participate in the research and development of new drugs, consult on drug manufacture and usage, and inform public health policy in relation to new and existing medications.
Industries & settings
Pharmacists work in a variety of healthcare settings in a variety of roles including:
Community pharmacists working in retail settings dispensing medications, advising patients on drug effects and interactions, and providing primary health care services such as flu and shingles vaccinations.
Clinical pharmacists working in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings. Clinical pharmacists work as part of an integrated healthcare team in the hospital. They provide advice on dosage and timing of medications, efficacy of specific pharmaceuticals and their alternatives, and the role of medications in the treatment of a variety of health conditions and diseases.
Consultant pharmacists providing advice on medications to institutions such as hospitals or health insurance companies. Some consultant pharmacists also provide direct consultation to patients through their own private practices.
Pharmaceutical industry pharmacists working in the pharmaceutical industry in areas ranging from marketing to sales to research.
Job Outlook
Pharmacists are in demand and well compensated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median wage for pharmacists in 2014 was over $120,950.
For more information about the job outlook for pharmacists, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.
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