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University of California San Francisco - School of Pharmacy

pharmacy.ucsf.edu

DESCRIPTION

The School of Pharmacy of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was founded in 1872 as the California College of pharmacy.

This was the first college of pharmacy established in the West and the tenth in the U.S.
The California College of Pharmacy became affiliated with the University of California in 1934.
In 1955, a program of study leading to the professional degree, Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), was established.
In 1966, the School of Pharmacy instituted an experimental decentralized pharmacy service in the patient care area of Moffitt Hospital.
The success of this service encouraged the faculty to adopt a clinical pharmacy program as a new major educational objective of the curriculum.
In 1969, a required clinical clerkship program was instituted which now encompasses the advanced pharmacy practice experiences of the fourth year.
The School is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and the Pharm.D. program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
The campus, located in the center of the city, is only minutes away from Golden Gate Park. Five municipal rail lines serve the immediate area and connect the campus with all other parts of the city. On-campus housing is available on a limited basis.

CURRICULUM

The requirements for the Pharm.D. degree consist of two years of preprofessional study taken at any approved collegiate institution, and four years of professional study normally taken in the School of Pharmacy on the San Francisco campus.

Unlike other programs, ours is an entry-level only program and does not admit students with advanced standing. Rapid change in the pharmacy profession prompted the development of a new curriculum designed to better reflect the evolving aspects of the profession.
First offered in 1998, students are now offered a core basic science and clinical curriculum and the choice of one of three pathways for further study in pharmaceutical care, pharmaceutical sciences, or pharmaceutical health policy and management.
Throughout the curriculum, students apply what they learn to the practice of pharmacy in the total health care of patients. This emphasis on pharmaceutical care is as integral to the program as is the emphasis on life-long learning.
In the first and second years, students master important concepts in science, study mechanisms of drug action and the fate of drugs in the body, and begin to explore the dimensions of pharmacy practice.
During the third year, students shift their attention to clinical focused courses and, increasingly, to courses in their chosen pathway and elective courses.
Direct patient care experiences, called advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), allow students to begin to hone their clinical skills.
The fourth year combines APPEs with pathway specific experiences and electives.

The three pathways are:

Pharmaceutical Care: Through experiences in a variety of practice settings, students strengthen their clinical skills as active members of a health care team.
Pharmaceutical Sciences: Designed to help students develop skills required for clinical and basic sciences research.
Pharmaceutical Health Policy and Management: This pathway provides an emphasis on the principles of health policy, economics, and the application of management techniques through a curriculum that is population-based and research-focused.

PHARMCAS | Application Deadline

Yes - November 01

PCAT

TUITION

2004 State Resident: 15553 Non-Resident: 27798 Fees Mandatory: 1903 Optional: 0
2005 State Resident: 19682 Non-Resident: 319270 Fees Mandatory: 0 Optional: 0
2006 State Resident: 18240 Non-Resident: 30485 Fees Mandatory: 2217 Optional: 0
2007 State Resident: 18456 Non-Resident: 30701 Fees Mandatory: 2421 Optional: 0

ADMISSION REQUIREMENT

Applicants for admission to the School must be eligible for admission to the University of California. This requires a minimum GPA of 2.8. A minimum of 94 quarter/62 semester units of college work is required. These units must include the course work listed below. All of the prerequisites must be completed before beginning the program, but they need not be completed at the time the application is filed.

Required Courses	Qtr Units
English Composition (ESL courses not acceptable)	8
Physics (w/lab in electricity/magnetism)	8
Mathematics (2 calculus w/analytic geometry)	8
General Biology (w/at least one lab)	12
Physiology (whole animal or human physiology)	4
General Chemistry (one year of lecture and lab)	12
Organic Chemistry (one year of lecture and lab)	12
Electives (humanities and/or social sciences)	28
-must include the following 3 courses:
Public Speaking/Debate	4
Economics	4
Social Science*	4

*one introductory course in psychology, sociology, or cultural anthropology Applicants are rated, in part, upon transcripts from previous colleges attended, biographical information, personal essay, and letters of recommendation.

In addition, selected candidates must be interviewed by a faculty member and a currently enrolled pharmacy student, and will be asked to write a short essay on a non-scientific subject to demonstrate skill in the use of the English language.
While sound scholarship is important (the overall GPA of entering students is about 3.58), other qualities may outweigh high grades.
The Admissions Committee is most impressed by evidence that the applicant communicates well, is sincerely motivated, functions well in the community, and gives evidence of leadership ability.
Every effort is made to encourage the enrollment of students with a variety of cultural, economic, and social backgrounds. Applications are accepted only for the fall quarter, and the deadline is the previous November 1.
Applicants must apply through the Pharmacy College Application Service (Pharm- CAS) by submitting the PharmCAS web application accessible at www.pharmcas.org.
The university also requires a supplemental application which may be downloaded from the School of Pharmacy's Web site at http://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/pharmd/admissions/. The filing period is open from early May through the November 1 deadline.