Pre-Pharmacy Coursework
A minimum of 70 semester credit hours of pre-pharmacy coursework is required for admission. Approximately 50-60 of those hours should be in required subjects; the remaining credit hours can be elective courses of your choice. Elective courses to consider are Psychology, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communications, Medical Terminology, Physiology and Biochemistry, as well as courses that meet the University of Kentucky University Studies Program general education requirements.
Pre-Pharmacy courses should be completed by the end of the spring semester prior to the desired fall enrollment. Prior approval must be obtained by students wishing to take required coursework after the spring semester. One semester in organic chemistry, physics and either anatomy or microbiology must be completed by the end of the fall semester prior to our application deadline.
See the chart below for the number of semester credit hours required in each pre-pharmacy subject area and the exact courses as offered at the University of Kentucky. Students who wish to complete the pre-pharmacy coursework at another accredited Kentucky college or university should view our Transfer Equivalencies page, which has a list of courses needed at other Kentucky institutions.
The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is required for admission. For more information visit the PCAT page.
You can view sample pre-pharmacy schedules by clicking here: Sample Schedules [pdf]
| Pre-Pharmacy Required Subjects | Number of Semester Credit Hours Required |
UK Pre-Pharmacy Courses |
|
English (Students applying from schools other than UK may take ENG 101 & 102 or equivalent two semesters) |
2 semesters (6-7 semester credit hours) |
ENG 104 & ENG 200+* (required for UK students) |
| Animal Biology & lab |
1 semester plus lab (4 – 5 semester credit hrs.) |
BIO 152 & Either BIO 151 or 153 (bio labs) |
| Microbiology & lab |
1 semester plus lab (4 –5 semester credit hrs.) |
BIO 208 & 209 (lab) (BIO 308 also acceptable; w/ BIO 209 lab) |
| Calculus (Students can choose to bypass Calculus by taking both College Algebra & Elementary Calculus.) | 1 semester (4 semester credit hrs. OR 6 semester hrs.- if taking College Algebra & Elementary Calculus) | MA 113 OR both MA 109 (College Algebra) & MA 123 (Elementary Calculus) |
| Statistics |
1 semester
(3 semester credit hours) |
STA 291 |
| Human Anatomy (Non-UK students may take Physiology or combined A/P courses if Anatomy is not offered at your school.) |
1 semester
(3 semester credit hours) |
ANA 209 |
| General Chemistry & lab(s) |
2 semesters plus labs (8 - 10 semester credit hrs.) |
CHE 105 & CHE 111, |
| Organic Chemistry & labs |
2 semesters plus labs
(8 - 10 semester credit hrs.) |
CHE 230 & CHE 231, CHE 232 & CHE 233 |
| Physics & labs (Algebra-Based Physics) |
2 semesters plus labs
(8 - 10 semester credit hrs.) |
PHY 211 & PHY 213 |
| Microeconomics |
1 semester
(3 semester credit hours) |
ECO 201 |
| Elective Courses | 10 - 19 hours of elective hours, depending on the number of hours earned in your required courses | Electives to consider: Psychology, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Medical Terminology, Physiology, Biochemistry and University Studies general ed courses. |
*English Requirement
Effective Fall 2004, all incoming freshmen and transfer students to the University of Kentucky must take ENG 104, a first-year, 4-credit hour writing course, and ENG 200+, an approved 200-level, 3-credit hour English course taken after achieving sophomore status. For students enrolled at UK PRIOR to Fall 2004 or for non-UK students applying DIRECTLY to the UK Doctor of Pharmacy program and NOT to the University of Kentucky, ENG 101 and ENG 102 (or equivalent) will meet our two semester English requirement. For questions about this requirement, contact the Pre-Pharmacy Advisor at 859-323-2755.
