Lipscomb University
 

 

QUICK FACTS: PHARMACY

Description:  Pharmacists are the health professionals who serve patients and other health professionals in assuring appropriate use of, and optimal therapeutic outcomes from, medications.  They may work in retail pharmacies, independently-owned pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, or as part of a team of medical professionals treating patients in hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes.  Pharmacists should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Salary and employment opportunties:  Career opportunities in pharmacy are plentiful and predicted to be so for years to come.  The average starting annual salary for pharmacists in 2008 was $112,125.

Education: 

Undergraduate:  The number of years of undergraduate education required by pharmacy schools may be 2 or 3 years, although many applicants to pharmacy school hold a bachelor's degree.

Professional:  The pharmacy curriculum is 4 years, although some schools go year-round to finish the 8 semesters in 3 years.  All pharmacy school award the Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.).

Admissions Requirements: Because some pharmacy schools accept students after years of undergraduate training and others only after 3 years of undergraduate work, the course    requirements for admission vary somewhat.  

Lipscomb College of Pharmacy requires: Biology - 8 hours
  General Chemistry - 8 hours
  Organic Chemistry - 8 hours
  Physics - 8 hours
  Calculus - 3 hours
  Statistics -  3 hours
   
University of Tennessee Health Science Center requires: Biology - 8 hours
  General Chemistry  - 8 hours
  Organic Chemistry - 8 hours
  Anatomy & Physiology - 8 hours
  Microbiology - 4 hours
  Biochemistry - 6 hours
  Immunology - 3 hours
  Physics - 4 hours
  Calculus - 3 hours
  Statistics - 3 hours
   
Grade Point Average: Average GPA in 2010 for students accepted to Lipscomb COP was 3.34; UTHSC was 3.45
Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT): Lipscomb requires a minimum score of 30% in each subcategory.  The minimum accepted composite score is 60%.  The average PCAT score for accepted students in 2009 was 68%.   The average composite PCAT scores for students accepted to UTHSC was 80%.