The School of Pharmacy Admissions Committee evaluates the whole student in seeking the best candidates, but you must meet our minimum academic requirements. Once it has been determined that you have met the requirements, your application is reviewed to consider each applicant's overall preparedness for the pharmacy profession, your ability to meet the rigors of the program and your skill sets, including decision-making, caregiving and communication abilities, for working with health professionals and patients.
*Cumulative College GPA > 2.00
*The UMKC School of Pharmacy considers all grade points and credit hours when determining cumulative GPA, including repeated grades.
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.
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.
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.
Some Advanced Placement (AP), 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.
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 contact our office by phone at 816-235-1613 or email.