Course Information Suite

Programs of Study: Undergrad

Preprofessional Requirements for Pharmacy

Pharmacy is a career requiring a professional degree.  Students are required to complete certain undergraduate prerequisite courses in order to be eligible to apply to pharmacy school.   It is essential for students to research and know the requirements for admission to each of the pharmacy schools to which they apply.  These requirements are listed in the Pharmacy School Admissions Requirements book, published by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).  This resource can be viewed at The Career Center.  Additional information about preparation for pharmacy school can be found at www.aacp.org. 

Pre-Health Advising at The Career Center

Admission into pharmacy school is highly competitive.  The Career Center provides pre-professional advising for students who are interested in pursuing pharmacy as a career.  This includes discussion of prerequisites and expectations of pharmacy schools, preparation in and outside the classroom, details of the application process, and characteristics of competitive applicants.  The Center also coordinates the visits of deans and admissions officers to the campus to provide information about various health professions.

Contact The Career Center at (217) 333-0820 or online at www.careercenter.illinois.edu.

Academic Advising

Since students who are interested in the health professions are expected to enter degree programs of their choice, their academic advising is provided by the departmental offices of the curricula or majors that they have selected.  Academic Advisors can assist students in making sure they are making appropriate progress towards completing their degree at Illinois.

The following chart represents the MINIMUM course requirements to prepare for pharmacy school.  Colleges of Pharmacy may require additional coursework and/or expect students to go beyond minimum preparation.  Students are strongly encouraged to research their specific schools of interest!

Hours Requirements

3

Composition I requirement

3

Advanced Composition requirement

3

Speech Communication
SPCM  101 or 230

4-5

Calculus
MATH 220 OR
MATH 221 OR
MATH 234

8-10

General Biology with laboratory
MCB 150- Molecular and Cellular Basis of Life
MCB 151- Molecular and Cellular Laboratory*
AND
IB 150- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology
IB 151- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Laboratory* OR
IB 104- Animal Biology

 * MCB and IB majors do NOT take MCB 151 or IB 151.  Pre-pharmacy students in any major who choose to take upper level labs do not need to take MCB 151 and/or IB 151.  Pharmacy schools require a minimum of two biology labs. 

10

Physiology & Anatomy with laboratory
MCB 244-Human Anatomy and Physiology I
MCB 245- Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab I
MCB 246-Human Anatomy and Physiology  II
MCB 247-Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab II
4-6 Microbiology with laboratory

MCB 100 - Introductory Microbiology

MCB 100 - Introductory Microbiology Lab

OR

MCB 300 - Microbiology

MCB 301 - Experimental Microbiology

NOTE: Check specific pharmacy school for which course is required or preferred.

8

General Chemistry with laboratory
CHEM 102- General Chemistry I
CHEM 103- General Chemistry Lab I
CHEM 104- General Chemistry II
CHEM 105- General Chemistry Lab II

8

Organic Chemistry  with laboratory
CHEM 232- Elementary Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 233-Elementary Organic Chemistry Lab I
AND
CHEM 332-Elemetary Organic Chemistry II

10

Physics with laboratory
PHY 101- College Physics- Mechanics & Heat
PHY 102- College Physics-E & M and Modern

3

Economics
ECON 102- Microeconomic Principles

3

Social  & Behavioral Sciences  (See General Education Course Lists for options)

3

Humanities & the Arts (See General Education Course Lists for options)