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Undergraduate Catalog
1999-2001


College of Pharmacy

Admission Requirements

Pre-Pharmacy

Students who wish to enter pre-pharmacy at the University of Houston must apply for admission through the Office of Admissions. They must satisfy all admission and scholastic requirements outlined in the Admission, Advising, Orientation, and Registration section of this catalog. It should be emphasized that university regulations limit acceptance of hours from a junior or community college to 66 hours.

Students in Residence at UH

It is recommended that all pre-pharmacy students matriculating at the University of Houston register for Introduction to Pharmacy (PHCA 2100) during either the first or second pre-pharmacy year.

Pharmacy

Admission to the professional pharmacy program may be achieved by three methods:

  1. Students admitted to the university directly from high school with the objective of entering the professional pharmacy program will be considered for early acceptance into that program if they provide evidence of high SAT and ACT scores and rank in the upper half of their high school graduating class. Students must successfully complete two years of the pre-pharmacy program with sufficiently high grades in all science and mathematics courses, take the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), and have a satisfactory personal interview and writing exercise before being given formal admission.

  2. Students who complete the first year of the pre-pharmacy program with a minimum 3.50 grade point average will be considered for early acceptance into the professional pharmacy program. Students must successfully complete all remaining pre-pharmacy requirements with sufficiently high grades in all science and mathematics courses, submit scores from the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), and have a satisfactory personal interview and writing skills evaluation before being given formal admission.

  3. Upon satisfactory completion of the pre-pharmacy program at either the University of Houston or another accredited college, students must submit to the college an application for admission to the professional program. For admission to the professional program, applicants must fulfill the following minimum requirements: completion of at least 66 semester hours of the pre-pharmacy program, which must include all science and mathematics courses; two semesters of English composition; COMM 1331 (Public Speaking); the results from the PCAT; and submission of two letters of recommendation, one from the pre-pharmacy advisor, professor, or committee, and one from a registered pharmacist. In addition, the applicant must have 200 hours of documented pharmacy experience or submit evidence of having gained experience in critical pharmaceutical care areas.

    Students must submit the completed application packet by the application deadline: March 1. Applicants should ensure that official transcripts of all previous academic work are either enclosed with the application or sent directly to the Office of Admissions at the College of Pharmacy from the institutions attended. The college must receive applications by March 1 from students who wish to enter in the fall semester. In deciding on admission to the professional program, the Admissions and Retention Committee will carefully evaluate grades earned in pre-pharmacy courses, scores on the PCAT, letters of recommendation, the results of a personal interview and writing skills evaluation, if administered by the college, and a list of the applicant's community service, honors, awards, and extracurricular activities.

    International Students

    International students applying for admission to the professional program, requiring evaluation of a foreign transcript, must contact the admission analyst in the College of Pharmacy (713-743-1261). International students applying for admission to the pre-pharmacy program at the university, requiring evaluation of a foreign transcript should initiate their application with the university's Office of International Admissions.

    Transfer Students

    Students who take their pre-pharmacy work at other institutions should meet the curriculum requirements for pre-pharmacy as outlined in this section of the catalog. Students are encouraged to consult the dean of the college they are attending for assistance in selecting courses at other institutions. The College of Pharmacy will determine the number of transferable credits according to regulations and policies existing at the time of the students' enrollment. It should be emphasized that university regulations limit acceptance of hours from a community college to 66.

    Educational Programs

    Students entering the pharmacy professional program must meet the specific requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree as stated in the Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements section of this catalog, and the specific requirements outlined in the curriculum in this section.

    Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Degree

    The curriculum for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree includes a minimum 228 semester hours of college work, 156 semester hours of which must be pharmacy courses or the equivalent. Students with course credit for non-pharmacy courses similar to those courses in the professional program may petition for equivalency credit. The degree plan for the Pharm.D. program is shown below under the Pharmacy Course of Study.

    Students must complete nine hours in pharmacy elective courses. Three of the nine pharmacy elective hours may be satisfied by completion of a special problems course (PHAR 5398), which involves a research project with a faculty member in the College of Pharmacy.

    Any student may participate in a Special Problems course if they are in good academic standing in the college and have approval of a faculty member who will supervise their work. Approval is gained through completion of the Undergraduate General Petition form. To participate in a Special Problems course the student must submit a proposal of the work that will be undertaken in this course to the faculty member at the start of the course and must submit a report at the end of the course indicating their accomplishments in the course. A copy of these reports will be placed in the student's academic files. The student cannot be paid for the activities involved in the Special Problems course.

    Pharmacy students are required to comply with all changes in the curriculum made subsequent to the year in which they matriculated. Deletions and additions of courses will be of approximately equal credit so that no student will have an overall appreciable increase of total credits required for graduation.

    The college requires at least four years in residence in the professional program at the College of Pharmacy for graduation. Students transferring from another school or college of pharmacy are required to complete at least the last 30 semester hours of pharmacy and related work in residence at the University of Houston.

    Texas Board of Pharmacy State Registration

    Students graduating with the Doctor of Pharmacy degree are eligible to sit for the Texas State Board of Pharmacy examination and NAPLEX examination.

    Internship Requirement

    Under the Texas State Board of Pharmacy Rules and Regulations, a student is required to register as a student pharmacist-intern prior to performing student internship duties and only after completing at least 30 credit hours of work towards a professional degree in pharmacy. The agreement for registration requires a student to reveal personal history (i.e. conviction of a felony or any misdemeanor other than a minor traffic violation).

    For more information, contact:

    Texas State Board of Pharmacy
    William P. Hobby Building
    Suite 3-600 333 Guadalupe
    Box 21
    Austin, Texas 78701-3942


    Files Archived: October, 2001