Prepare for the Pharm.D. program

Get Ready for the Rigors of Professional School

If you have not taken classes for a while, go back to basics and create detailed study plans that incorporate the strategies that have helped you in the past. Be sure to work in time for all of your current responsibilities — they may be different from when you went to college in the past. If you are a current college student, use the academic resources available on your college campus. Take advantage of supplemental instruction, tutoring, writing centers, math centers and your instructors’ office hours.

Discuss Your Work Experience

Whether you come from a health care background or not, your work experience is important. Be prepared to talk about how you created a new program, worked on a team, solved important problems, supervised and developed new talent, grew into your job, cared for people in their time of need or managed budgets. All of these skills relate directly to pharmacy and will give you a leg up on many applicants who have not had a job prior to pharmacy school.

Gain Pharmacy Experience

Working as a pharmacy technician offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a pharmacy. The Missouri Board of Pharmacy and Kansas Board of Pharmacy provide information about becoming a pharmacy technician.

There are two types of pharmacy technician licenses. Most people are registered technicians, whereas certified technicians, overseen by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, work in more specialty roles, especially in hospitals. Please check individual state boards of pharmacy if you plan to work outside of Missouri or Kansas.

Job Shadow a Pharmacist

Observing a health care professional in their place of work can offer an opportunity to ask questions about working within a health care team and helping improve patient outcomes. Because of federal privacy laws, you may not be able to see pharmacists work directly with patients, but you can see other aspects of their work and ask them questions about what they do on a daily basis.

Volunteer

Choose volunteer experiences that give you experience taking care of others in need. Volunteer experiences can assist students with not only becoming a more active member of their community, but also with gaining valuable skills for a career in pharmacy.

Experiences volunteering at a hospital or assisted living center, homeless shelter, food bank or health fair may be particularly helpful as you gain an understanding of the challenges and rewards of caring for people in need. A passion for helping people is absolutely essential for a career in health care.

Study for the PCAT

If you take the PCAT, give yourself plenty of time to study and use multiple methods to study, such as reviewing Pre-Pharmacy coursework, taking practice tests, creating flashcards, using PCAT study guides, and talking with other students who have taken the PCAT about their experiences.

Complete Prerequisites

Some Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits count as prerequisites, depending on the subject and your score. Read more at the Office of Registration and Records. Some AP/IB courses accepted for UMKC undergraduate programs are not accepted by the School of Pharmacy as prerequisites.

If you are transferring to UMKC to complete your Pre-Pharmacy requirements, you will apply to UMKC through the Office of Admissions and follow the Pharm.D. application instructions for current students.

If you are applying to the UMKC Pharm.D. program from another institution, along with meeting with your undergraduate advisor, you should also meet with a UMKC School of Pharmacy advisor to discuss which courses will transfer from your institution and to learn about the Pharm.D. admissions requirements. Please email a copy of your transcript before your appointment.

Review our equivalency sheets for more information about which courses will transfer from your college or university. Coursework from foreign institutions cannot be transferred into our Pre-Pharmacy or Pharm.D. programs.

The UMKC School of Pharmacy does not accept transfers from other pharmacy schools. To attend UMKC, you will have to be admitted as a first-year student and complete our entire curriculum.

UMKC students do not receive preference for admission into the Pharm.D. program.

Schedule a Meeting With a Pharmacy Academic Advisor

It is important for students to meet with a School of Pharmacy advisor in our Office of Student Affairs. An advisor can help you plan your courses in order to complete the Pre-Pharmacy classes in the right sequence, provide you with direction regarding application requirements and help you determine the best timeline for applying to the doctor of pharmacy program.

The academic advisors in the School of Pharmacy work closely with all UMKC Pre-Pharmacy students or any students interested in pharmacy and can assist you with completion of required campus forms, direction on the best resources, help with study-skill strategies and many other questions. Please email or call our office at 816-235-1613.