General Questions
The PharmD is a full-time four-year program.
No. The PharmD program is a traditional, full-time, four-year program.
It typically takes three years to complete the 90 semester hours of pre-pharmacy course work.
We encourage applicants to have volunteer or paid experience working with patients in a pharmacy or health-related setting (hospital, nursing home, etc.). While such experiences are not required, adequate demonstration of your knowledge of the profession is most certainly required.
Foreign pharmacy graduates who wish to practice in the U.S. must complete the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Certification (FPGEC). FPGEC provides a means of documenting the educational equivalency of a candidate's foreign pharmacy education. Foreign-educated pharmacists must earn their professional degree from a five-year curriculum program in order to apply for FPGE Certification. Questions regarding equivalency exams (FPGEC) and licensure for graduates of foreign pharmacy programs should be directed to:
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
1600 Feehanville Drive
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
847-391-4406
Fax: 847-391-4502
Website
The CU SOP has a unique and integrated curriculum; therefore, transfers directly into the program are not accepted. Students from another school or college of pharmacy wishing to attend CU SOP must meet all pre-pharmacy admission requirements. We do not offer advanced standing regardless of previous course work or background. If offered admission, candidates must undertake the entire four-year course of study.
A previous degree does not exempt applicants from completing the prerequisite course work. Please see our page on Applicants with Previous Degrees for more information.
The pre-pharmacy curriculum is essential to preparation for pharmacy school. Calculus and pre-pharmacy science courses taken more than seven years prior to the fall semester when admission is desired must be retaken for a grade, unless the applicant's subsequent academic or work experiences relate directly to the coursework. Requests for a waiver of this policy must be submitted in writing. All requests will be handled on an individual basis.
No. However, 86% of accepted students in 2009 had a degree and 78% had a BA, BS or higher.
Yes. However, remedial and not-for-majors math and science courses will not be accepted to fulfill the pre-pharmacy requirements. Please refer to your community college about university-level transfer courses. Biochemistry I cannot be taken at a community or junior two-year college. It must be an upper division course, with organic chemistry as a prerequisite, taken at a four-year college or university.
Yes. You may need to enroll as a non-degree-seeking student at another institution to complete the requirement.
We do not accept any pre-pharmacy math, science or public speaking courses taken online.
Regular Admission Applicant
Application deadline for the PharmD program is December 1. Be sure to complete your application on PharmCAS AND mail your supplemental application and application fee directly to our office by the deadline.
No. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to avoid heavy internet traffic and technical difficulties on the PharmCAS website at the moment of deadline. No exceptions are made for late or incomplete applications.
No. All application materials must be submitted by the deadline. Supplemental applications must be postmarked by December 1 at the latest. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.
Yes. Applicants must complete all prerequisite coursework by the spring semester of the year in which they wish to begin the PharmD program. Due to the increasingly competitive nature of the applicant pool, individuals who have completed pre-pharmacy courses prior to applying for admission may receive some preference.
You must complete the PCAT by October to meet our application deadline of December 1. Please check with Pearson for exact test dates. However, if you submit your application and PCAT scores and wish to take the PCAT again during the application cycle, we may consider any updated scores as long as they are available, in your file, before admissions decisions are made.
The GPA of accepted students fluctuates from year to year but averages roughly from 3.2 to 3.7.
We calculate all course attempts in determining your GPA even if your current undergraduate institution offers a course forgiveness program. If you did poorly in a required science course, you may want to consider retaking the course in order to improve your prerequisite GPA and chances for admission.
The average composite PCAT score is approximately 76%.
Yes. The Supplemental Application is required and your application will not be complete without one. You can download the supplemental application from early June to December 1 each year. It must be postmarked on December 1 at the latest to be accepted.
Attach an extra Excel or Word document page in the same format and list the rest of your courses.
Notifications are sent out on a rolling basis from October through February.
Some acceptance letters may be sent during the interview process. If you do not hear from us right away, however, don’t panic. All final letters are mailed the first week of April.
Early Decision Applicant
The deadline for early decision is September 1. Be sure to complete your application on PharmCAS and mail your supplemental application and application fee directly to our office by the deadline.
You must complete the PCAT by August for early decision. Please check with Pearson for exact test dates.
To apply for early decision, you must have completed most if not all prerequisite coursework. If you still have classes remaining, please apply for the general application, which has a deadline of December 1.
Early decision applicants can expect to hear whether they are invited for an interview by mid- to late September, with interviews being conducted in October.
Letters and notifications will be sent out no later than October 31.
In most cases, your application will be automatically forwarded to our general applicant pool where you will be considered for admission again. Your PharmCAS application will also be released so you will be able to apply to other pharmacy schools as well.
Due to the nature of early decision, you are required to accept our offer and complete preparations for admission. If you choose to decline our offer, you will not be permitted to apply to any other pharmacy schools for that year. Please find further details at PharmCAS.
You can decline our offer but will not be able to apply to any other pharmacy schools for one year. Please find further details at PharmCAS.
Person Denied
Talk to an advisor at the CU SOP to find out where your application was weak and what you can do to strengthen it.
There is no limit on the number of times you can take the PCAT for our school, although PCAT may require confirmation that you have applied to a school of pharmacy if you take the exam more than five times. We will always take the highest score into consideration.
Applicants required to do a telephone based Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)
This phone interview is an evaluation of your spoken English skills in a conversation-style format that will last about 30 minutes. It will evaluate pronunciation as well as your ability to use all aspects of the English language. A land-line phone (not a cell phone) is required for the OPI so the conversation is clear and the interview can be recorded, allowing the interview to be evaluated thoroughly and accessed for future reference if necessary.
Recognizing that not everyone has access to a land-line phone, please identify one that you will be able to use at your scheduled appointment time at the home or workplace of a friend, relative, faculty member, colleague or employer for this short interview. Please keep in mind that the land-line phone should be located a quiet place that will allow an uninterrupted conversation for 30 minutes. At the scheduled time of your appointment, an SSPPS staff member will call you on the land-line phone number that you have provided, therefore, no long distance phone charges will be incurred to you or the land-line phone number that you are using.
Offered an Interview
All interviews are held on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo. Applicants must interview in person to be considered for admission.
Applicants arrive in the late morning and take a tour followed by an orientation. The essay, interview and group interaction sessions follow.
Remember that you are making an impression for a professional program so appropriate professional dress is encouraged. Please bring comfortable shoes for the tour and refrain from using strong perfume or aftershave because you will be interviewing one-on-one in faculty members’ offices.
Plan to be here from noon until 5:00 p.m. Please note that there may be significant downtime between different parts of your interview process. If you would like to bring a book to read or something to pass the time, please feel free to do so.
Please contact our office as soon as possible at 303-724-2882 if you are unable to attend or if you would like to find out if the session has been cancelled due to weather.
Bring updated official transcripts if you are still completing coursework, and a pen and pencil for the written essay. No dictionaries are allowed during the essay.
Some acceptance letters may be sent during the interview process. If you do not hear from us right away however, don’t panic. All final letters are mailed the first week of April.
You should begin the process by completing the FAFSA as soon as possible starting in January. Do this even though you do not know if you are accepted.
Accepted
Within two weeks of receiving your letter of admission, we ask that you respond via U.S. post with your confirmation form and deposit.
More information will be mailed to you in July.
Yes. A deposit of $1,000 is required.
The deposit is not refundable if you cancel your application within 60 days before the start of classes. However, if you do matriculate, the deposit will be applied to your first semester tuition bill.
By the end of the spring term before classes begin.
June or as soon as final official transcripts are available.
It will be e-mailed to you in August.
Award letters begin going out late April or early May, after the Financial Aid Office has received and processed all necessary documentation. Students must accept, decline, or revise the offered award, otherwise it may be canceled. Please note that additional actions may be required, such as loan entrance counseling and the completion of a master promissory note.
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