PharmD Applicants Not Enrolled in Drake Pre-Pharmacy FAQ

Students who complete their prerequisite coursework at another regionally accredited institution or in a major other than pre-pharmacy at Drake may apply to our PharmD program by meeting the following requirements.  Please note that these are the requirements applicants must meet in order for their applications to be considered complete.  Meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission to the PharmD program.  These requirements can also be found on our PharmCAS School Directory page. 

• Submit an application through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS).
• Complete the required Drake-specific questions within the PharmCAS application.
• Complete at least 2 years of undergraduate coursework (approximately 64 credit hours).
• No minimum GPA is required, although 3.0 (as calculated by PharmCAS) is considered competitive.
• Complete (or be in the process of completing) the prerequisite coursework outlined on the CPHS Admissions website.  All required courses must be completed by the end of the summer term prior to entering the PharmD program.

Drake University's Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program operates on a rolling admission process.  We will interview and admit students until the P1 class is full and a sufficient number of applicants have been identified for the wait list.  We recommend submitting application materials early in order to ensure your application is processed and considered in a timely manner.  Students with strong applications and academic credentials will be invited to complete the second phase of the admission process, which includes a scored on-campus interview and a scored writing assessment.  All admission materials, including your PharmCAS application (www.pharmcas.org), must be submitted in order for your application to be considered complete. 

• Submit an application through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS).
• Complete the required Drake-specific questions within the PharmCAS application.
• Complete at least 2 years of undergraduate coursework (approximately 64 credit hours).
• No minimum GPA is required, although 3.0 (as calculated by PharmCAS) is considered competitive.
• Complete (or be in the process of completing) the prerequisite coursework outlined on the CPHS Admissions website.  All required courses must be completed by the end of the summer term prior to entering the PharmD program.

In the first phase of the admission process, applicants are evaluated on the strength of their PharmCAS application and overall GPA.  Students with strong applications and academic credentials will be invited to participate in the second phase of the admission process.  Some applicants who meet the minimum requirements may not be invited to participate in the second phase of the admission process.

The second phase of the admission process includes an admission interview.  In-person and virtual interview options are available.

During the interview, applicants will be evaluated on their strengths in the following areas:

• Motivation for pursuing a career in Pharmacy
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Values and ethics aligned with those of the profession
• Maturity
• Leadership experience and potential
• Desire to learn and improve
• Professionalism 

Admission interviews are held throughout the year.

Students must be admitted to the PharmD program prior to applying for any of the dual degree programs.  Students generally learn about and apply for the dual degree programs during the P1 year.  Students apply to the College of Business and Public Administration (MBA and MPA), School of Education (MSLD), Law School (Law), Des Moines University (MPH), or Drake Online (MS HIA) directly in order to enroll in these dual degree programs.  For more information about our dual degree programs and to see a sample curriculum for each, please see our Dual Degrees and Concentrations website.

NO PCAT REQUIRED!

Please visit our PharmD Admissions website for a complete list of required prerequisites.

Physics is not a required prerequisite for admission consideration.

Students do NOT need to have all prerequisite coursework completed prior to submitting an application for admission into the PharmD program.  However, all math and science prerequisites must be completed by the end of the spring semester prior to enrolling in the PharmD program.  English and public speaking prerequisites must be completed by the end of the summer term prior to enrolling. 

Drake University will not evaluate a prospective student's transcript to determine if the student meets the required prerequisites.  Students who have questions about specific courses they have taken (or intend to take) may contact the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences via email at dupharm@drake.edu and provide the following information about the course: 

• Insitution where course was taken (full name and location)
• Course title
• Course number
• Semester and year course was taken (fall/spring/summer and year)
• Course description (provide a direct link to the course in the school's course catalog or copied directly from the school's course catalog)
• Course syllabus

Students must complete (or be in the process of completing) the prerequisite coursework outlined on the CPHS Admissions website.  All required courses must be completed by the end of the summer term prior to entering the PharmD program.  Students may enroll at Drake to complete any unfinished prerequisites, however there is no special consideration given to students who complete their prerequisites at Drake.  Prerequisite courses may be completed at any regionally accredited institution.  Students should consider enrolling at Drake because they feel it’s the right college for them and wish to earn a Drake degree, whether it is a pharmacy degree or not.  Students should not enroll at Drake only to try to increase their chances of entering the pharmacy program.

Drake will accept a course if credit is earned through Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or GCE Advanced Level examinations.  Admitted students should have official score reports sent directly to the Drake University Office of the Registrar.  Students will be notified upon receipt of official records from the examining body and if it meets minimum score standards.  

Students who wish to fulfill prerequisites using Advanced Placement (AP) scores must earn a 4 or higher on the AP exam.  Please see Drake University's AP Credit policy or contact the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at (515) 271-3018 for more information.  

Credits earned through an individual institution’s placement examination will not be accepted for credit.  Students who have completed a prerequisite via an individual institution's placement exam will need to complete the course.

It is generally a good idea to retake biology, chemistry, and/or math courses if they were completed more than seven years ago.  We recommend students retake courses that they took more than seven years ago because retaking these courses may help you better prepare for the demands of the coursework in the PharmD program.

To learn more about transferring courses from a community college, please visiting our Transfer Credit website.