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The PharmD professional program at Western University of Health Sciences is a four year program designed to train students for the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy. Students will need to complete a minimum of two years of preprofessional education at an accredited college or university before being admitted to the Pharm.D. program (see View Requirements).

Program Structure - First Year

The curriculum encompasses both academic and experiential learning. Academic course work in the PharmD program is delivered in two ways. The first year integrates the science foundation courses with laboratory and practice components. Students in the first year will participate in the College's Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) Program. Students will be assigned their first "rotation" in either a community pharmacy or a hospital pharmacy. The experiential learning component (IPPE) gives you an opportunity to put into practice what you are learning in the classroom (*see pharmacy intern license requirement at the bottom of this page).

Students in the first year will take three courses each day (see schedule below). While the Foundations and Self-Care Therapeutics courses will encompass the entire semester and include the IPPE rotation, the science courses will be spread throughout the semester. Foundations & Self-Care Therapeutics courses focus on small group discussion on current issues in pharmacy, lectures on over the counter medications, and team assignments or projects.

First Year Pharmacy Curriculum
Fall Semester

Foundations in Pharmacy Practice - 19 weeks
Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics I - 9 weeks
Immunology - 9 weeks
Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics II - 8 weeks
Pharmaceutics/Biopharmaceutics I - 8 weeks

Spring Semester

Pharmaceutics/Biopharmaceutics II - 8 weeks
Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics III - 8 weeks
Self-Care Therapeutics - 19 weeks
Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics IV - 11 weeks
Pharmacokinetics - 11 weeks
Research Methods & Biostatistics - 1 week

Program Structure - Second & Third Years

The second way that academic course work is delivered is in individual blocks of instructional time, wherein each block builds upon the learning that has occurred in preceding blocks. This method of delivery occurs in the second year and the first half of the third year. This 1½ year period is composed of sixteen blocks, each of which is 15 or 18 working days (3 - 3½ weeks) in duration, with a 3- to 4- day break between blocks.

You will be in class for six hours a day. This total immersion in a subject allows you to achieve mastery in one subject before moving on to the next. Additionally, ample class time is devoted to discussion, student presentations, and peer learning and teaching activities with emphasis placed on both verbal and written communication skills.

The second half of the third year and the entire fourth year is devoted to student rotations in the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE). Students will complete seven six-week rotations and one twelve-week advanced elective.

For a complete listing of the course descriptions and structure for the entire PharmD program, please see the details listed under curriculum.

Typical Day in the Block System

*Pharmacy Intern License Requirement: All students are required to be licensed interns with the California State Board of Pharmacy during all phases of the experiential program (IPPE, APPE, and AE). Students unable to obtain a valid pharmacy intern license will not be permitted to begin any clincial practice experience. Students found not eligible for an intern license by the State Board of Pharmacy will be dismissed from the PharmD program. The California State Board of Pharmacy is a body independent of the College of Pharmacy. The College of Pharmacy assumes no liability for decisions made by the Board regarding the status of a student's intern license.