[1] Introduction
Depending on the professional institution, the prerequisite course work for pharmacy school ranges from approximately 70 to 90 credit hours. These include basic science and mathematics courses as well as humanities courses. Because pre-pharmacy at UCA is a non-degree program, students are strongly encouraged to also work toward a regular four-year degree while completing pharmacy entrance requirements.
In Arkansas a four-year professional program is available at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) School of Pharmacy in Little Rock and at Harding University in Searcy. The pre-pharmacy program for UAMS is currently a minimum of 69 hours, whereas the program for Harding is 64 hours. The successful student will receive a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree upon graduation from pharmacy school.
The following courses are those offered at UCA which specifically fulfill the requirements for admission to UAMS. A student seeking admission to Harding also needs CHEM 4320 Biochemistry and MATH 2311 Statistical Methods I, but does not need PHYS 1410. A student who decides on a school other than UAMS or Harding should contact that particular school to find out the pre-professional course requirements.
Pre-Pharmacy requirements do change, and, hence, frequent consultation with the advisor is strongly encouraged.
[2] Required Courses
Core Courses
[Note 1]
Biology (12 hours): BIOL 1440 Principles Biology I and BIOL 1441 Principles Biology II; BIOL 2411 Microbiology or BIOL 3420 General Microbiology [Note 2].
Chemistry (16 hours): CHEM 1450 and 1451 College Chemistry I and II; CHEM 2401 and 3411 Organic Chemistry I and II.
Mathematics (4 or 5 hours): MATH 1491 Applied Calculus for the Life Sciences or MATH 1496 Calculus I.
Physics (4 hours): PHYS 1410 College Physics 1
Non-Core Courses
English/Communication (9 hours): WRTG 1310 Introduction to College Writing and WRTG 1320 Academic Writing and Research and one of the following: WRTG 3300 Creative Writing, WRTG 3310 Technical Writing, ENGL 2305 World Literature I (or higher literature course), or COMM 1300 Principles of Communication.
Economics/Accounting (3 hours): ECON 1310 Modern Political Economy, ECON 2310 Global Environment of Business, or ACCT 2310 Principles of Accounting I.
Selectives (minimum of 9 hours, minimum of 3 classes): BIOL 2490 Genetics, BIOL 3402 Cell Biology, BIOL 2405 Human Anatomy & Physiology, BIOL 3411 Pathophysiology, BIOL 3420 General Microbiology [Note 3], CHEM 3520 Quantitative Analysis, CHEM 4320 Biochemistry, MATH 1497 Calculus II, MATH 2311 Statistical Methods I or PSYC 2330 Statistical Methods, PHIL 2305 Critical Thinking or PHIL 2310 Introduction to Logic, PHYS 1420 College Physics 2.
Humanities electives to bring total to at least 69 credit hours.
Note 1:
CORE Courses: no more than 8 hours of CLEP, AP credit, and/or credit by examination; NON-CORE: no more than 12 hours of CLEP, AP credit, or credit by examination.
Note 2:
Requires BIOL 2490 Genetics as a prerequisite.
Note 3:
Cannot be used as part of the Biology 12 hours and as a Selective.