Doctor of Pharmacy Admissions

Admissions Requirements

Application

The University of New England School of Pharmacy participates in the Pharmacy College Centralized Application Service (PharmCAS). All applicants are required to apply online through this service.

Degree Requirement

All candidates must complete a minimum of two (2) years of pre-professional coursework from a U.S. regionally accredited institution or international equivalent (minimum total of 61 semester or 91.5 quarter credits).

• All applicants are required to submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Official transcripts should be sent directly to PharmCAS. Please refer to the PharmCAS application for additional information and instructions.

GPA Requirement

• Overall GPA of 2.75 or higher is preferred, as calculated by PharmCAS (inclusive of all coursework taken with no forgiveness for retakes).
• Prerequisite GPA of 2.75 or higher is preferred, as calculated by UNE using the best grade received (if there is repeated coursework).

Prerequisite Coursework Requirements

Course Subject	Course Credits	Course Details
Cellular Biology	4 semester or 6 quarter credits	Lab Required
Human Anatomy or Anatomy & Physiology I	4 semester or 6 quarter credits	Lab Required
Physiology or Anatomy & Physiology II	4 semester or 6 quarter credits	Lab Required Animal Physiology and Exercise Physiology are not acceptable to fulfill this requirement.
General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II	8 semester or 12 quarter credits	Labs Required
Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry II	8 semester or 12 quarter credits	Labs Required
Physics I or Statistics for Life Sciences	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	Lab not required
Microbiology	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	Lab not required
College Calculus	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	College-Level course required
English Composition	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	College-level course required
Social Science	6 semester or 9 quarter credits	One course must be either Introduction to Psychology or Introduction to Sociology. Second course can be in Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, or Political Science
Public Speaking	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	College-level course required
Humanities/Liberal Arts	6 semester or 9 quarter credits	Acceptable courses can be in any of the following disciplines: English Literature, Writing, Foreign Language, History, Cultural Diversity, or Philosophy
Social/Global Awareness	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	College-level course required
General Education	3 semester or 4.5 quarter credits	Course can be in any discipline except for science and/or math

Important prerequisite coursework notes

• All prerequisite courses must be successfully completed with a grade of “C” or better (“C minus” grades are not acceptable).
• All math and science courses should be completed within five (5) years of anticipated enrollment into the UNE Doctor of Pharmacy program. Courses beyond the 5-year limit will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee on a case-by-case basis.
• AP credit is accepted to fulfill prerequisite requirements, as long as the course, subject, and credits are broken down and detailed as transfer credit on the applicants' undergraduate transcript.
• Prerequisite courses in progress or planned should be listed in the application.
• All courses must be successfully completed with official transcripts submitted to the UNE Office of Graduate Admission prior to starting the program.
• After application submission, official transcripts for coursework and/or degrees completed in the fall term should be submitted to PharmCAS for verification during the fall Academic Update period.
• Official transcripts for coursework and/or degrees completed in the spring/summer term should be submitted directly to UNE’s Office of Graduate Admission prior to the start of the program.

All planned or in-progress coursework should be listed on the PharmCAS application at the time of application submission; not doing so will result in the applicant not meeting all admissions requirements and therefore will not be eligible for admission review.

Online courses offered through UNE’s Online Science Prerequisites as well as online courses from other regionally accredited U.S. colleges or universities are acceptable with program approval.

Standardized tests

The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is not required, however it is optional. Applicants may consider taking the PCAT and submitting scores to PharmCAS if, for example, the overall and/or prerequisite GPA is at or near our minimum requirement or if the applicant would like to provide additional support of academic preparedness for the UNE Doctor of Pharmacy program.

Letters of evaluation

Two (2) letters of evaluation are required as part of the application and no more than four (4) will be accepted - submitted directly to PharmCAS*

• We encourage at least one (1) letter from a faculty or pharmacist who can speak to the applicants' ability to be successful in a doctoral-level graduate program and/or work experience

^{*Letters from friends or family members are not acceptable.}

Experience hours

• All experiences can be listed directly in the PharmCAS application.
• Healthcare-related experience is recommended, but not required.

Personal statement

• Please refer to the PharmCAS application for specific writing prompts and additional information.

Interviews

Interviews are required for admission:

• Qualified applicants will be contacted and invited to interview by the Office of Graduate Admission.
• Interviews are done by invitation only.
• Alternate interviewing modalities (including virtual interviews) may be instituted as necessary to address ongoing public health concerns with COVID-19. The Office of Graduate Admissions will be in touch with updates, as necessary.

International Applicants

International applicants and those with foreign degrees and coursework are required to satisfy the following additional requirements:

• Official credential evaluation by World Education Service (WES), confirming degree and grade equivalency to that of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. The completed credential evaluation should be sent directly to PharmCAS. Please refer to the International Admissions section of the UNE website for more information.
• Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate written and spoken fluency through the successful completion of a UNE-approved English language proficiency test for graduate students.
• Applicants should refer to the English Language Proficiency page on the UNE website for specific information on acceptable tests and minimum score requirements.
• Please refer to the PharmCAS application for test score submission instructions.

Other Requirements

Prior to matriculation, accepted and deposited students will be required to complete the following compliance requirements:

• Completion of physical examination with proof of up-to-date immunization status. Please refer to UNE’s Student Health Center for detailed information.
• Satisfactory completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen prior to matriculation, as well as periodically throughout the program (as required by clinical affiliations).
• All students must be able to meet all Academic and Technical Standards of the pharmacy profession.

All materials submitted as part of the application become the property of UNE and will not be returned or released to anyone, including the applicant. This policy includes letters of reference, primary and secondary applications, personal statements, transcripts, and other supporting materials.

Due to continuing developments with COVID-19, some application requirements and processes may change during the cycle for the health and safety of the university, its employees, and prospective students/applicants. We appreciate your flexibility and consideration.

Policy exceptions

• Policies are established to ensure fair and consistent admissions practice for all applicants to the university and its programs.
• All criteria presented in this summary are subject to change per professional accreditation requirements, changes in curriculum and/or other institutional standards, and clinical affiliation requirements
• Exceptions to existing admission policies are rare and made only when it is deemed necessary and appropriate to maintain fair and consistent practice for all candidates, not individual candidates.

Transfer credit

• Transfer credits may be awarded to students who transfer to UNE from another Doctor of Pharmacy program
• The Director of Academic Affairs in the College of Pharmacy, with input from program faculty, will review courses and award transfer credits on a case by case basis

Advanced standing

• Pharmacists holding a pharmacy degree (Bachelor's or higher equivalent) from another country may apply to the Advanced Standing Track (AST). Students accepted into this track will complete the AST Bridge course in a summer term and then matriculate into the second year of pharmacy school in the following fall term.

Experiential learning

• No credit awarded for experiential learning