Pre-Pharmacy

Admission requirements for pharmacy school vary from school to school, but most require about 67 semester hours of required course work from an accredited institution. The pre-pharmacy curriculum at the University of Tennessee (UT) requires 90 semester hours of course work. The required courses are 16 semester hours of chemistry (CHEM 111, CHEM 112, CHEM 311, CHEM 312), eight hours of biology (BIO 111, BIO 113), eight hours of physics (PHY 201, PHY 202 or PHY 210, PHY 211), six hours of English composition (ENG 101, ENG 102), Speech (SPEE 220), Anatomy/Physiology (BIO 213, BIO 214), Microbiology (BIO 203), Statistics (PSY 205), Calculus (MATH 121), Biochemistry (BIO 400 / CHEM 400; BIO 422 / CHEM 422 is also strongly recommended), Immunology (BIO 418), six hours of social science electives (psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science), and six hours of humanities (literature, language, history, philosophy). One year of American History at the high school or college level is required for UT admission. Some students choose to complete the above requirements in a minimum period of time while others apply for admission following the completion of an undergraduate degree. A grade of C or above must be achieved for each pre-pharmacy course and an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher is required. In addition, the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is required by most schools. The PCAT is offered four times a year. PCAT information and applications can be obtained from a Health Professions Advisor. Admission to pharmacy school is very competitive. Satisfactory completion of all pre-pharmacy requirements does not guarantee admission to pharmacy school.