Admissions Requirements

The UT Health Science Center College of Pharmacy uses a holistic admissions process to evaluate applicants based on academic achievement, professional potential, and personal qualities such as integrity, leadership, and commitment to the profession. Consideration is given to academic performance, interviews, references, extracurricular involvement, and work experience.

Admissions Requirements

All students apply to the College of Pharmacy through PharmCAS. The college invites the most competitive students for on-site interviews, which are conducted in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, or by Zoom. Interviews take place during the late fall and spring.  The college utilizes a rolling admissions process, and students are encouraged to apply early. All admitted students begin the PharmD program in the fall semester. 

• Required hours: Complete 62 semester hours of required prerequisite coursework at a regionally-accredited university or college. Courses in the pre-pharmacy curriculum are not offered at the UT Health Science Center. If you have not completed all prerequisite coursework, you will submit a proposed plan for completion as part of the application process. 
• GPA: Achieve a grade of "C-" or better for each required pre-pharmacy course.
• Letters of Recommendation: Students must obtain 3 letters of recommendation and submit those letters through the PharmCAS application. Committee letters signed by more than one advisor or professor may count as a maximum of two letters of recommendation.
• Students must meet all technical standards for admission and retention which can be viewed in the catalog.

Application Deadlines

The Priority Application deadline for the fall of 2027 is November 2, 2026. The Final Application Deadline is February 1, 2027.

Application Process

Students applying to the College of Pharmacy must complete the central online application through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) provided by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).  A single PharmCAS application to the college is made regardless of desired campus, as opportunities for campus selection is extended only to those in which an admissions offer has been made. Qualified applicants are invited for an on-campus or Zoom interview.

Detailed applicant information is available on our PharmCAS school directory page.

Transfer Admission

The College of Pharmacy is not able to accommodate requests for transfer candidacy and/or advanced standing from students currently or previously enrolled with other ACPE accredited pharmacy programs.

Applicant Privacy

To comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the UTHSC College of Pharmacy must limit conversations regarding individual students and/or their applications. The faculty and staff of the College may not disclose application information, including admission status, to anyone except the applicants themselves.

Applicants may submit their PharmCAS application prior to completing all prerequisite courses. Although a student may be given conditional admission, no student will be enrolled who has not finished all required courses prior to enrollment.

All prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of the spring semester unless granted permission to take summer courses following an offer of admission.

Required Courses

Admission to the College requires the completion of a minimum of 62 hours of pre-professional coursework, distributed as follows: 

Science

NOTE - Not all introductory courses in the sciences, calculus, or statistics will be accepted in fulfillment of pre-pharmacy requirements. All science, calculus, or statistics courses the prospective student pharmacist takes should be courses which are suitable for science majors intending graduate study or for pre-medical/pre-dental students. 

Course	Number of Courses	Number of Semester Hours
General Chemistry	2	8
Organic Chemistry	2	8
General Biology/Zoology	2	8
Microbiology	1	3
Anatomy-Physiology	2	8

Mathematics

NOTE - Not all introductory courses in the sciences, calculus, or statistics will be accepted in fulfillment of pre-pharmacy requirements. All science, calculus, or statistics courses the prospective student pharmacist takes should be courses which are suitable for science majors intending graduate study or for pre-medical/pre-dental students. 

Course	Number of Courses	Number of Semester Hours
Calculus	1	3
Statistics	1	3

Communications Skills

Course	Number of Courses	Number of Semester Hours
English Composition	2	6
Communications/Speech	1	3

Electives

Course	Number of Courses	Number of Semester Hours
Humanities	2	6
Social Sciences	2	6

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Suggested Schedule

Information on Prerequisite Courses

Students unsure whether a particular course will be accepted by the college should contact the admissions office at pharmadmissions@uthsc.edu.

Chemistry (16 hours)

A minimum of 16 semester credit hours of chemistry is required. A minimum of two (2) courses must be in general chemistry, which may include inorganic or analytical chemistry, and two (2) additional courses must be in organic chemistry. Each of these courses must be a complete, standard college-level course for science majors and each must be associated with a lab experience. In instances where students feel uncertain of their preparation in chemistry and wish to take additional work, such courses as advanced analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, biophysical/biological chemistry, or chemical instrumentation should be considered.

General Biological Sciences or Zoology (8 hours)

Courses totaling a minimum of eight semester credit hours in the biological or zoological sciences are required. Each course must include a lab experience. Many students may benefit from additional study in the biological sciences and should consider courses in genetics, cellular biology, embryology, and molecular biology.

Anatomy and Physiology (8 hours)

At least two courses that are accompanied by a lab experience. This may be a two part Anatomy and Physiology series or may be separate courses in Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. Collectively, the courses should be a review of the basic principles of human structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) and their relationship to human disease. If your pre-pharmacy institution requires Comparative Anatomy and/or Physiology for your degree requirement, that will be accepted.

Microbiology (3-4 hours)

The microbiology course may be three or four credit hours and it is recommended that student select a Microbiology course that includes a lab experience if available. This course should be a study of microbes important to man, including human pathogens and diseases. Laboratory work should include methods of culturing, staining, and identification of common microbe forms. 

Calculus (3 hours)

A one semester calculus course with a minimum of three semester credits is required. Calculus courses offered by departments other than math are not accepted to satisfy this requirement and pre-calculus will not satisfy this requirement.

Statistics (3 hours)

The Statistics course should be a research-based course. We accept a general statistics or psychology, education, or business statistics course.

English Composition (6 hours)

Competency in the use of written English is considered essential to the successful study and practice of pharmacy. At least two courses emphasizing writing skills are required. The usual college-level introductory courses in freshman English composition and literature will meet six semester credit hours of this admission requirement. Writing intensive courses are recommended.

Communication Skills (3 hours)

Competency in the use of the English language is essential to successful study and practice of pharmacy. One course with an emphasis on verbal skill is required.

Humanities (6 hours)

At least two courses totaling six semester hours must be taken in the Humanities (e.g., arts, literature, history, language, philosophy). Students seeking the Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science will need to take six semester hours of United States History if they did not take one year of United States History in high school.

Social and Behavioral Science Electives (6 hours)

At least two courses totaling six semester hours must be taken in the Social Sciences (e.g., sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, economics).

UT Health Science Center College of Pharmacy has partnered with several institutions in creating admissions agreements, providing seamless paths for students who plan to pursue their Doctor of Pharmacy degree.  Qualifying criteria may apply.  You can explore the details of these below: