Doctor of Pharmacy at University of Pittsburgh

Programme overview

The Doctor of Pharmacy is a four-year, full-time professional programme with a target class of 120 students per professional year. The curriculum integrates science and practice with a problem-based approach, and students personalise their education through electives, professional development and experiential learning that starts in the first weeks of the P1 year.

Faculty: School of Pharmacy | Department: PharmD Program | Duration: 4 years full-time professional programme (preceded by 60-62 credits of prerequisite coursework) | Intake: Fall entry; PharmCAS opens mid-July, regular deadline in March, rolling admission of open-pool applicants beginning in October; target class size 120 | Location: Pittsburgh, PA, United States

What you will study

Anatomy, physiology and biochemistry are part of the PharmD core, taught with a problem-based approach. Experiential learning moves from early patient interactions to caring for complex patients with acute and chronic diseases in community, hospital and transition-of-care settings, and simulation (human patient simulators, virtual and standardized patients) is woven through the curriculum. P4 summer is spent on advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

Career pathways

Pharmacists apply expertise across medication discovery, development and use: patient care, research and industry.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

A bachelor's degree is not required, but all applicants must complete 60-62 credits of defined prerequisites (typically two years of preprofessional study) at an accredited US or English-speaking Canadian institution, each with a C or better for a letter grade: 8 credits general biology, 8 general chemistry and 8 organic chemistry (each a year of lecture and lab), 3-4 credits single-variable calculus, 3-4 credits statistics, 6 credits English composition, and 24 credits of humanities and social science electives (with 6 credits of additional electives). Math and science prerequisites must be finished by the end of spring term of the entry year. Credits from outside the US or English-speaking Canada and WES evaluations are not accepted. Application through PharmCAS; science GPA of 3.0 considered competitive (holistic review); no standardized tests required; three letters of recommendation (at least two from faculty); required remote interview with two faculty (30 minutes) and a writing assessment for invited applicants. Non-refundable $200 deposit on accepting an offer, applied to first-term tuition.

Domestic applicants: USD 38,176 a year (2026-27). Pennsylvania-resident graduate tuition, School of Pharmacy, Doctorate - Professional Practice (PharmD), full-time two terms (fall and spring). Tuition only; mandatory fees and other expenses excluded. Source

International applicants: USD 46,528 a year (2026-27). Out-of-state (non-PA resident) graduate tuition, School of Pharmacy, Doctorate - Professional Practice (PharmD), full-time two terms (fall and spring). Tuition only; mandatory fees and other expenses excluded. Source

Intake: Fall entry; PharmCAS opens mid-July, regular deadline in March, rolling admission of open-pool appli

Duration: 4 years full-time professional programme (preceded by 60-62 credits of prerequisite coursework)

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