Professional Program


Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Program

The curriculum for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree includes a minimum 212 semester hours of college work, 139 semester hours of which must be pharmacy courses or the equivalent. The Pharm.D. program is a full-time program including some summers. Students with course credit for non-pharmacy courses similar to those courses in the professional program may petition for equivalency credit. Refer to the Graduate and Professional Studies catalog for more information about the program and regulations.

Students are required to complete six hours in pharmacy elective courses and a minimum of 3 individual courses. Three of the six pharmacy elective hours may be satisfied by completion of a selected topics course (PHAR 5197, 5297, or 5397), which involves a research project with a faculty member in the College of Pharmacy.

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 into the professional program are required to complete at least the last 25% of semester hours of pharmacy and related work in residence at the University of Houston.

General Requirements for a Pharm.D. Degree

Students are required to meet the general requirements for a baccalaureate degree, including completion of university core curriculum requirements. See the Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements section of this catalog for details.

Immunization Requirement

All applicants accepted into the University of Houston College of Pharmacy program must present proof of adequate immunization against rubeola (common measles), rubella (German measles), mumps, varicella (chicken pox), and tetanus prior to beginning the first professional year.

The Hepatitis B immunization series must be initiated prior to the beginning of the first professional year and completed by January 31 of the second semester of the first professional year.

A negative TB skin test or chest clearance must be documented no sooner than three months prior to beginning the fall semester and thereafter the documentation must be provided annually to the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Admissions Office.

Influenza immunization is required annually.

Health Insurance

All students admitted into the Doctor of Pharmacy program are required to carry and maintain health insurance coverage while enrolled in the program. The UH College of Pharmacy does not endorse any specific carrier and students can either purchase health insurance through the University of Houston or provide proof of comparable insurance through an outside provider. Students must maintain health insurance coverage by policy that meets or exceeds the coverage provided by the student health insurance offered through the University of Houston.

Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening Policy

All students admitted into the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy program are required to participate in pharmacy practice experiences for graduation. Many hospitals and other health care organizations operating under the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) are requiring criminal background checks and/or drug screenings for all individuals who have direct contact with patients, including pharmacy students placed in early/introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) and/or advanced clinical pharmacy practice experience (APPE) assignments at these sites. As a result of these requirements, a student with disqualifying criminal conviction(s) and/or drug screening results may be prevented from undertaking clinical IPPEs & APPEs that are required to complete the pharmacy program at the University of Houston.

Internship Requirement

Under the Texas State Board of Pharmacy Rules and Regulations, a pharmacy student is required to register as a student pharmacist-intern prior to performing student internship duties and only after successfully completing the first 30 credit hours of coursework 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 the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, William P. Hobby Building - Tower 3, Suite 600, 333 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78701-3942, 512-305-8000. Web site: www.tsbp.state.tx.us.

State Exam/Licensing

Students graduating with the Doctor of Pharmacy degree are eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and the Jurisprudence Exam. Contact the Board of Pharmacy of the state for which you are applying for licensure. The address and phone number to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy is to William P. Hobby Building, Tower 3, Suite 600, 333 Guadalupe St., Austin, Texas 78701-3942, 512-305-8000. Web site: www.tsbp.state.tx.us.

To download the NAPLEX Candidates Review Guide, to to www.nabp.net

Admission to the Professional Pharm.D. Program

The University of Houston College of Pharmacy participates in the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS), a centralized application service that offers the convenience of the one general application for multiple doctor of pharmacy degree programs.

In order to apply online for the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Program go to www.pharmcas.org.

The College of Pharmacy also requires a supplemental application which is provided to applicants by the college after the PharmCAS application is processed.

All admission inquiries for the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program should be addressed to:

University of Houston
Office of Admissions
College of Pharmacy
122 Science & Research Building 2
Houston, TX 77204-5000

or pharmacyadmissions@uh.edu

Internet address: pharmacy.uh.edu/fs/pharmd/admissions.php

Upon satisfactory completion of the pre-pharmacy program at either the University of Houston or another accredited college, students must submit an online application for admission to the professional program directly to www.pharmcas.org.

The applicant with an international transcript would apply to PharmCAS at www.pharmcas.org.

The international applicant would provide an evaluation to PharmCAS performed by one of the following companies:

  • World Education Services, Inc.
  • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
  • Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. - International Education Consultants

All students must complete an online application by the application deadline of January 7. The Pharm.D. application is available online from June 6 through January 7 at www.pharmcas.org.

For formal application to the professional program all applicants must submit the following to PharmCAS:

  1. Complete all math and science courses by June 1 prior to the anticipated fall enrollment. All remaining prerequisite coursework must be completed prior to enrollment into the fall class; however, students may apply for admission while in the process of completing the prerequisite coursework.
  2. Complete and submit an online application, transcript(s) and application fee.
  3. Report PCAT scores.
  4. Submit three letters of reference; one must be from a licensed pharmacist practicing or having practiced in the U.S.A. and one must be from an academic advisor, committee, or professor. The third letter of evaluation should come from a second professor, academic advisor, or supervisor/employer.

The Admissions and Progression Committee will evaluate many factors including grades earned in pre-pharmacy courses, particularly in science and math, PCAT scores, reference forms, the results of a personal interview, profile assessment, if administered by the college, and a list of the applicant's community service, honors, awards, and extracurricular activities to reach an admission decision.


Catalog Publish Date: August 22, 2012
This Page Last Updated: June 20, 2012