Pharmacy (Pre-Pharmacy)

Undergraduate Programs

Description

Pre-Pharmacy is a pre-professional program. The purpose of pre-professional programs is to provide students with the intellectual and academic backgrounds they will need before continuing their education in degrees not offered at Minnesota State Mankato. Acceptance to professional educational institutions is contingent upon academic performance, so students enrolling in pre-professional programs should be highly motivated and realize they are expected to maintain standards of excellence. Advisors play an important role in guiding the students enrolled in such programs so students are urged to contact the advisor before enrolling.

Policies & Faculty

Policies

The majority of students admitted to a college of pharmacy have completed an undergraduate degree. Students interested in pharmacy often major in Biomedical Sciences (BS), Biochemistry (BA or BS), or Chemistry (BA or BS) because these majors include many of the same courses that are required prerequisites to pharmacy programs. The pre-pharmacy curriculum is designed to meet the prerequisites for admission to many pre-pharmacy schools, however the curriculum is not all inclusive as prerequisites vary between colleges of pharmacy. Therefore, requirements for particular pharmacy schools still need to be taken into consideration before substitutions for these courses are made. The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is required for all applicants to colleges of pharmacy.

Required for Program

  • BIOL 105 General Biology I (4)
  • BIOL 220 Human Anatomy (4)
  • BIOL 270 Microbiology (4)
  • BIOL 330 Principles of Human Physiology (4)
  • CHEM 201 General Chemistry I (5)
  • CHEM 202 General Chemistry II (5)
  • CHEM 360 Principles of Biochemistry (4) OR
  • BIOL 211 Genetics (4) OR
  • BIOL 320 Cell Biology (4) OR
  • BIOL 479 Molecular Biology (4)
  • CMST 102 Public Speaking (3) OR
  • CMST 101W Interpersonal Communications (4)
  • ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
  • ENG 201W Intermediate Writing (4) OR
  • ENG 271W Technical Communication (4) OR
  • ENG 301W Advanced Writing (4)
  • MATH 121 Calculus I (4)
  • PHYS 221 General Physics I (4) OR
  • PHYS 211 Principles of Physics I (4) AND
  • PHYS 212 Principles of Physics II (4)
  • PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychological Science (4) 
  • STAT 154 Elementary Statistics (4) OR
  • STAT 354 Concepts of Probability & Statistics (4) OR
  • MATH 354 Concepts of Probability & Statistics (4)

60-64 credits of coursework including the above are typically required by pharmacy programs. Substitutions for both science and non-science courses should be chosen after studying the requirements of particular pharmacy schools. Please contact a pre-pharmacy advisor.

Contact Information

College of Science, Engineering & Technology
Advising Team:
Biochemistry Majors: T. Salerno, Ph.D. 
Chemistry Majors: M. Hadley, Ph.D., D. Quirk Dorr, Ph.D.; D. Swart, Ph.D.; T. Vorlicek, Ph.D.