Pre-Pharmacy

Following very rapid growth between 2010 and 2020, job openings for pharmacists are expected to increase by around 3% from 2021 through 2031, on par with other occupations. Entry level salaries average around $125,000 depending on the area of the country and the type of setting (e.g. chain pharmacy, hospital, clinic, research facility, etc.).

The path to becoming a pharmacist begins with undergraduate study of biology and chemistry. Many students will complete a full bachelor of science degree typically in biology, chemistry or biochemistry and then move on to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD), the professional graduate degree needed to enter the profession. Some students will be accepted to a PharmD program early prior to finishing college and will proceed to that program before finishing the bachelor's degree. Students should talk with their advisor about the pros and cons of different timelines and discuss which option is best for their own situation.

The PharmD portion of the program is four years so it takes between 6 and 9 years total of schooling to become a pharmacist. Entrance to pharmacy school is competitive - grades in science and math classes during college are an important factor and some pharmacy schools require a standardized admissions test (PCAT) with strong scores. Experience during college also matters. Strong applicants will have worked, volunteered, or interned in a pharmaceutical setting during college. 

UWM offers all of the prerequisite coursework necessary for students to apply to professional pharmacy schools, the "pre-pharmacy" part of student's education. But UWM does not have a PharmD program and students will have to attend another university for that portion of their education. 

We also have dual admission and early admission partnerships with four Pharm.D. schools: Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Concordia University Wisconsin, and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

1. The Midwestern University program offers two options. Track 1 offers dual admission to UWM's pre-pharmacy program and Midwestern University's Pharm.D. program while still a high school senior. In this program, a student would complete two years of science coursework at UWM before completing three and a half years at Midwestern. Application occurs during senior year in high school. Track 2 offers early admission to UWM first-year students on a pre-pharmacy track. Students have up to three years total (counting the first year at UWM) to complete the pre-pharmacy coursework at UWM, which is followed by three years at Midwestern. Application occurs immediately at the end of the first year at UWM. Read more about the dual acceptance program with Midwestern University.
2. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Early Assurance program is available to high school seniors and at all UW campuses that offer the bachelor’s degree including UWM. First-year students at UWM must apply no later than the end of their first semester of their first year. Students who are accepted to the program can transition to Madison’s pharmacy program as soon as all prerequisites are completed whether the bachelor’s degree is completed or not. More information about the program, including the application steps, is available at PharmD Early Assurance (EA) Program – School of Pharmacy (wisc.edu).
3. The 3+4 Accelerated Program with Concordia University allows students who meet the program's requirements to spend three years at UWM and four years at Concordia in their PharmD program and still earn a bachelor's degree. Some Concordia credits will transfer back to UWM and count towards a bachelor's degree in biology from biology. Speak with the pre-pharmacy advisor during the first semester of the first year year to review the specific academic milestones that must be met to join the program.

4. The Early Assurance Direct Admission program with the Medical College of Wisconsin accepts applications from UWM first-year students and sophomores. The deadline to apply is the end of January of a student’s sophomore year. Students accepted to the program must complete three years (90 credits) at UWM with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and then will enter the PharmD program at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Some MCW credits will transfer back to UWM to count for a bachelor’s degree in biology, microbiology, or biochemistry. Interested students should speak with the pre-pharmacy advisor during their first year to review the specific academic milestones that must be met and to determine which undergraduate major is best for them.

All students who indicate an interest in pre-pharmacy on their application for admission will be assigned to a pre-pharmacy advisor. We recommend students begin meeting with this advisor as soon as the first year at UWM in order to plan all needed activities into your college career.

Requirements

Entrance to pharmacy school is competitive and requires strong grades and demonstrated understanding of the pharmacy profession. Due to the variance in admission requirements, it is very important that students consult with the pre-pharmacy advisor every semester regarding which pharmacy schools they are planning to apply to.

Although specific admission requirements may vary among schools, below are some common course requirements among many pharmacy schools:

Other common course requirements include (but are not limited to) the following:

¹

Not every pharmacy school will accept MATH 211.

Concordia University Wisconsin, School of Pharmacy 3+4 Program

The curriculum below is specified for UW-Milwaukee students planning to complete the 3+4 program leading to a Biological Sciences BS from UWM and a Doctor of Pharmacy from Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW). Students must successfully complete at least 90 credits, including UWM General Education Requirements (GER), L&S degree requirements and Biological Science major requirements as specified in the UW-Milwaukee Catalog at the time of admission, as well as the UWM and L&S residency requirements. See your L&S advisor for full information on the 3+4 program, including other conditions to enter the 3+4 program and which CUW Pharmacy courses transfer back to UWM.

Students must have a C or better in all pre-pharmacy coursework and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA in all courses counting toward the Biological Sciences BS at both UWM and CUW.

The following UWM courses must be completed by the time a UWM student starts classes at CUW School of Pharmacy:

Medical College of Wisconsin, School of Pharmacy track

The curriculum below is specified for UW-Milwaukee (UWM) students planning to complete the early assurance direct admission program leading to a Biological Sciences BS, Microbiology BS, or Biochemistry BS from UWM and entry to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Students must successfully complete at least 90 credits, including UWM General Education Requirements (GER), L&S degree requirements, and major requirements based on the selected option as specified in the UW-Milwaukee Catalog at the time of admission as well as the UWM and L&S residency requirements. See your L&S advisor for full information on the early assurance direct admission program, including other conditions to enter the program and which MCW Pharmacy courses transfer back to UWM.

The following UWM courses are required for admission to the MCW School of Pharmacy:

University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy track

The curriculum below is specified for UW-Milwaukee (UWM) students planning to utilize the Reverse Transfer Agreement leading to a Biological Sciences BS from UWM after successful completion of the first year of the UW-Madison PharmD program. Students must successfully complete at least 90 credits, including UWM General Education Requirements (GER) and L&S degree requirements as specified in the UW-Milwaukee Catalog at the time of admission as well as the UWM and L&S residency requirements. See your L&S advisor for full information on the early assurance direct admission program, including other conditions to enter the program and which UW-Madison courses transfer back to UWM.

General Education Requirements (GER)

UW-Milwaukee has General Education Requirements that must be met in order to earn a bachelor’s or associate degree. They include at minimum 30 credits (10 courses) in six categories that are designed to assure basic student competencies and provide a broad body of knowledge as a context for specialization.

Some degree requirements may fulfill GERs. Please review the requirements and consult with your academic advisor.   

Letters and Science Course of Study – Bachelor of Science Degree

Complete 120 credits including 75 credits in the College of Letters & Science, with 36 of the 75 credits in L&S upper-level (numbered 300 or above) courses and 30 of those 36 credits in designated L&S Advanced Natural Science courses.

The College requires that students complete, in residence at UWM, at least 15 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 or above) courses in their major. The College also requires that students complete at least 30 credits overall in residence at UWM. For additional residency and transfer credit limitations, see L&S Undergraduate Policies and Regulations.

Students are also required to complete the University-wide General Education Requirements and the specific L&S requirements listed below.

To complete a major, students must satisfy all the requirements of the major as stated in this catalog. Students who declare their majors within five years of entering the UW System as a degree candidate may satisfy the requirements outlined in any catalog issued since the time they entered. Credits used to satisfy the major also may be used to satisfy other degree requirements.

College of Letters & Science Requirements

The degree requirements in the College of Letters and Science build on the University General Education Requirements to provide a broad base of knowledge as well as an array of skills cited by employers as critical to professional success: critical thinking, problem solving, oral and written communication, ability to work well with others, and adaptability to change.

For the Bachelor of Science (B.S.), students must complete the UWM General Education Requirements as well as these L&S requirements: the International requirement, the Breadth requirement (with extra courses in Advanced Natural Science required), a Natural Science Lab requirement, the Research requirement, and a Language other than English requirement. The International requirement develops student potential for cross-cultural understanding in a globalizing world. The Breadth requirement ensures that students take classes in a wide variety of subjects, across humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The Research requirement calls for students to build critical thinking and oral and written communication skills through conducting an independent research project in their major. The Language other than English requirement further develops student proficiency in a language other than English. And, the requirement that students take an L&S Natural Science lab ensures exposure to and practice with the scientific method in action.

I. Total Credits and Upper-Division Courses Requirement

Students must complete 120 credits including 75 credits in the College of Letters & Science with 36 of those 75 credits in L&S upper-level (numbered 300 and above) courses.

II. L&S Advanced Natural Sciences Requirement

For the Bachelor of Science, students must complete 30 credits of the 36 credits required in upper-division courses in designated L&S Advanced Natural Science courses.

III. Language other than English Requirement

Students doing the B.S. must fulfill a language other than English requirement by successfully completing the second semester of university work or equivalent in one language other than English (including all languages other than English and American Sign Language).

Language courses (including American Sign Language) other than English taken in high school may be used to satisfy all or part of this requirement. One year of high school language equates to one semester of college work. Proficiency tests approved by the Languages faculty may be used to satisfy all or part of this requirement. 

IV. International Requirement

To meet the International Requirement, students must successfully complete some two-course (minimum 6 credits) combination of:

1. Courses with L&S approved international content (see Courses Approved for the L&S International Requirement for course options).
2. Any study-abroad course(s).

Students who graduated secondary school in a country other than the U.S. are exempt from this requirement.

IV. Breadth Requirement

In addition to completing the University General Education Requirements, L&S students must complete the Breadth requirement to obtain deeper experience across our three substantive divisions.

The L&S Breadth requirement calls for 9 credits each in L&S courses designated L&S Humanities, L&S Natural Sciences, and L&S Social Sciences breadth. One of the L&S Natural Science breadth courses must be a laboratory or fieldwork course.

Please refer to the list of Courses Approved for the L&S Breadth Requirement.

 V. The Major

The College requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA in all credits in the major attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA on all major credits attempted, including any transfer work. Individual departments or programs may require higher GPAs for graduation. Some departmental majors require courses from other departments. Students should contact their major department for information on whether those credits will count as part of the major GPA. The College requires that students must complete, in residence at UWM, at least 15 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 or above) courses in their major.

Research Requirement

Within their majors, students must complete a research experience approved by the L&S faculty. A list of courses satisfying the research requirement in each major can be found here.

VI. The Minor

Students are encouraged to consider completing a minor, but it is not required. To complete a minor, the College of Letters and Science requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA in all credits in the minor attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA on all minor credits attempted, including any transfer work. The minor must contain at least 9 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 and above) courses at UWM.