Frequently Asked Questions
We accept 60 students per class, and begin once per year during the fall semester.
Starting this admissions cycle (2021-2022), we will no longer be requiring the PCAT. Those who have already taken the PCAT may include it in their application, but it will neither positively or negatively effect the outcome of one's application.
You do not need to have your Bachelor’s Degree, provided you have completed the following:
- Your general education requirements
- The prerequisite requirements
Please note that if you wish to apply for the PharmD/PhD pathway, you must have your Bachelor’s Degree.
We will look through any application with a 2.75 undergraduate GPA and above. We calculate a GPA using the prerequisite courses required for our program, and your overall undergraduate GPA.
Your overall Bachelor’s Degree GPA must be a minimum of 3.0. However, the average GPA for the last few admitted classes has been a 3.5. The admissions committee will look through any application with a 2.75 undergraduate GPA and above.
We do not have a set minimum for volunteer hours, as we value consistent and ongoing volunteer work over a certain number of hours. An applicant with consistent volunteer work [post high school] demonstrates compassion and concern for the community.
Pharmacy experience is very valuable and highly recommended prior to applying; however you do not need to be a pharmacy technician in order to apply. Some other ways of getting pharmacy experience is through job shadowing or working as a clerk. If for whatever reason you cannot get direct pharmacy experience, a position [paid or unpaid] that involves patient exposure is also valuable.
Yes, we have a wonderful Pre-Pharmacy club that meets about once per month throughout the fall and spring semesters. For more information, please email the current offers at uofuprepharmclub@gmail.com
Yes, we accept out-of-state students. Out-of-state students are not at any particular disadvantage, as state of residency is not a factor for admission.
Yes, international students may be admitted to the University of Utah College of Pharmacy under the same requirements as domestic students, with the following additions to their application:
- A translation of any and all coursework completed outside the United States by World Education Services [WES]. The translation MUST be a complete translation of coursework, not just a degree translation and it MUST be completed by WES.
- A TOEFL exam [with a minimum score of 80iBT] or IELTS exam [with a minimum score of 6.5].
It is rare, but we will accept transfer students provided they are willing to comply with all of our policies and procedures. The Graduate School may only accept up to 6 transfer credits, and so transfer students may be required to start over at the beginning of the P1 year.
Students interested in transferring will be asked to submit information to the Student Affairs department and the Dean of Student Affairs, who may verify all materials and pass them along to the Admissions Committee for a final review and vote. Information to be submitted includes, but is not limited to, reason for requesting a transfer, a current resume or CV, undergraduate transcripts, current PharmD program transcripts, course syllabi for any PharmD courses completed, and PCAT exam score [if applicable].
No, you may have up to three outstanding prerequisites in the spring semester after you apply. For example, if you apply in Fall of 2017 to begin in the fall of 2018, you may have three prerequisites pending in the Spring of 2018. Your grades for these courses MUST be submitted no later than July 1st. If you are given an offer to join the class before your prerequisite grades are posted, that offer will be contingent on your completing the course with a passing grade.
No, your graduation with your Bachelor’s Degree may be pending in the spring semester after you apply.
Courses may be taken at any REGIONALLY ACCEREDITED institution. If a community college near you is regionally accredited, then we are likely to accept courses taken at that institution.
If the courses are the same in title as our prerequisites, then they are most likely the same courses and should qualify. If you are unsure of a course [for example, your school offers a “Comprehensive Vertebrate Anatomy” course and you want to know if that will count for “Human Anatomy”], please send a course description or syllabus to PharmD.Admissions@pharm.utah.edu and we will submit the question to the Admissions Committee for approval
You may take two semesters of an Anatomy/Physiology combined course instead of taking one semester of Anatomy and one semester of Physiology.
- If our prerequisite is for one semester of a subject [i.e. 1 semester of Microbiology, or Microbiology I] you must take a course of the subject that is 4-6 credit hours [i.e. 1 Microbiology course that is 4-6 credit hours]
- If our prerequisite is for one year of a subject [i.e. 2 semesters of General Chemistry or General Chemisty I & II] you must take 2 quarters of the subject that are both 4-6 credit hours [i.e. 2 quarters of General Chemistry or General Chemistry I, II where each course is 4-6 credit hours]
All prerequisite courses must be passed with a C or better (a C- is not considered a passing grade).
- We will always take the 2nd grade.
- For example: a course is taken three times [1st attempt = D; 2nd attempt = C-; 3rd attempt = B] we will note that the prerequisite requirement was fulfilled by the third attempt [B grade], but will use the 2nd attempt [C- grade] when calculating the prerequisite GPA.
To assist you with your financial planning and to view tuition and fees for fall semester, please go to the University of Utah Income Accounting & Student Loan Services webpage: http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/income/tuition/college-of-pharmacy/. Books will be in addition to the tuition and fees listed here
We currently offer a Dean’s Top-Ten Scholarship for applicants who rank in the top-ten of our applicant pool after interviews, Legacy scholarships (for students whose parents or grandparents attended the University of Utah College of Pharmacy), and a new scholarship is available to the 10 highest ranked out-of-state students in the top 50% of the applicant pool which will allow cover the difference between nonresident and resident tuition and fees during the first year in the PharmD program. Additionally, there are scholarships available to top students who submit their applications early in the cycle. These are offered on a case-by-case basis.
To learn more about scholarships, visit our Financial Aid page.
Our program does not directly assist with housing, and students are encouraged to find their own place to live in the Salt Lake City area. For more information, please contact the University of Utah Housing Office.
- Yes, students are required to bring their own computer systems for academic use.
- A tablet is acceptable for note-taking; however, a laptop is required to take Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) exam electronically. Tablets are not compatible with this testing system; regardless of brand or operating system.
- We don't have a preferred manufacturer to recommend, but due to new HIPPA requirements, all student computers/tablets require data encryption (more information about this will be provided during Orientation). It has been our experience that older Mac systems are much less compatible than PCs
- Please keep in mind the following potential issues:
- Make sure the computer has a current supported operating system, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Mac OS/X Mavericks. (Windows XP, Windows 98, NT and Mac OS 9 are not recommended nor are supported at the University of Utah)
- Wireless Network capable (b/g/n, WPA2 compliant).
- You are responsible to back-up your data, either by encrypted USB Memory Stick or an encrypted External Hard Drive system.
- An encrypted USB Memory Stick will be provided for students at orientation.
Yes, the deposit is $500. You will be required to pay this deposit within a month after your initial offer has been made. This deposit will be applied to your first semester’s course fees or reimbursed back to you thanks to our First Year Free program covering the cost of the entire first year of tuition. This process is all subject to change.
Personal check, cashiers check, money order, or online deposit.
- All prerequisite courses must be complete and documentation provided (official transcripts sent directly to the Graduate school – unofficial copies to Student Affairs is sufficient).
- All health and immunization requirements must be complete and documentation uploaded in RxPreceptor [includes a two-step TB skin test, MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis B, and tetanus-Diphtheria with Pertussis].
- Your background check must be completed and uploaded [in PDF form ONLY] to RxPreceptor.
No, in fact as soon as you have been admitted into the College of Pharmacy, you should begin searching for and applying to internship programs. Tell them your internship license is in process.
No, but a student must provide documentation of starting the three-shot series. The series MUST be completed within the first year of the program.
If a two-step TB skin test has not been completed in the past 12 months, two separate two-step TB skin tests must be completed within 2 months of admittance. The second two-step TB skin test must be placed no sooner than 7 days after the first two-step TB skin test was placed.
Students may be required to get one two-step TB skin test done on an annual basis.
If student has had a prior positive TB test, student must provide documentation of a negative chest x-ray completed within 3 years of admittance.