Degrees and Programs

The University offers the Pharm.D. as the sole entry-level pharmacy practice degree. As described in the mission, this program emphasizes an integrated and problem-based approach to disease management as the core of the didactic, laboratory, and experiential program of study.

The capstone of the Pharm.D. program is a series of seven six-week rotations known as the advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE). Each APPE course requires a minimum of 45 on-site, practitioner-faculty-supervised hours of internship experience a week for six weeks.

The college expects but cannot guarantee that experiential regions will include Austin/Temple/Waco, Dallas/Fort Worth (the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and other area health care facilities), Galveston/Houston (the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and other area health care facilities), the Rio Grande Valley (the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and health care facilities primarily in Harlingen and McAllen), and San Antonio (the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and other area health care facilities). Students assigned to San Antonio spend two years in this region, while students assigned to other regions spend only the final year in the APPE region.

College of Pharmacy students who complete their experiential courses at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are considered part of a joint Pharm.D. degree program and receive a degree awarded jointly by the two institutions. The joint nature of this program is reflected on the student’s diploma.

In completing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree, students also fulfill the internship requirements of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. The final year of APPE courses and several other practice-based experiential courses, beginning in the first professional year, make up the experiential program. The professional experience courses are currently approved by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy to meet its standards for completion of the professional internship licensure requirement. The board reassesses all programs annually.

The Minor

While a minor is not required as part of the Pharm.D. degree program, the student may choose to complete additional coursework in a field outside of the College of Pharmacy. A course may not be counted both toward the minor and toward the 219 hours of work required for the Pharm.D. degree.

Applicability of Certain Courses

Physical Activity Courses

Physical activity (PED) courses are offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. They may not be counted toward a degree in the College of Pharmacy. However, they are counted among courses for which the student is enrolled, and the grades are included in the University grade point average.

ROTC Courses

Courses in air force science, military science, and naval science may be substituted for a total of nine semester hours of non-pharmacy electives by students who complete the 16 to 20 semester hours of required air force science, military science, or naval science coursework and accept a commission in one of the services. These courses may not be counted toward the professional elective requirement.

Correspondence and Extension Courses

Credit that a University student in residence earns simultaneously by correspondence or extension from the University or elsewhere or in residence at another school will not be counted toward a degree unless it is specifically approved in advance by the dean. No more than 30 percent of the semester hours required for any degree may be completed by correspondence, and no pharmacy courses taken by correspondence or extension may be counted toward a pharmacy degree.

Prescribed Work

Students who enter the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program must complete a minimum of 219 semester hours of coursework in the following areas: the core curriculum, additional basic education requirements, professional electives, and pre-professional and professional coursework.

Core Curriculum

Each student must complete the University's Core Curriculum. Because of the intensity and structure of the professional pharmacy curriculum, and because admission to the professional curriculum is highly competitive, the College of Pharmacy strongly recommends that students complete all of the core courses before they enter the college

The following core requirements are usually met by the pre-professional and professional coursework described below: English composition with one writing flag, mathematics, science and technology (parts I and II), and humanities. Students must complete additional coursework to meet the core requirements listed below; the courses in each core area are listed in Core Curriculum.

Requirements		Hours
Additional Coursework
First-year signature course		3
American and Texas government		6
American history		6
Social and behavioral sciences		3
Visual and performing arts		3
Total Hours		21

Transfer students who complete the core curriculum at another public Texas institution of higher education with core completion specified on their transcript and who are then admitted to the Pharm.D. program are considered "core complete" by the University. Core curriculum requirements are waived for students admitted to the Pharm.D. program who have previously earned a bachelor's degree.

Additional Basic Education Requirements

All students must also earn the following skills and experiences flags: writing, quantitative reasoning, cultural diversity in the United States, ethics, global cultures, and independent inquiry. See skills and experiences for more information; courses that carry these flags are identified in the Course Schedule. All skills and experience flags are fulfilled by courses within the professional pharmacy sequence, except for global cultures.

Professional Electives Course Requirement

The student must complete at least two professional elective courses, for a total of at least seven semester hours, on the letter-grade basis. The student must take the courses used to fulfill the professional electives requirement after admission to the professional curriculum.