Pre-Pharmacy

General course requirements for students planning to attend pharmacy school in Kentucky

  • Two semesters of biology with laboratories
  • Two semesters of general chemistry with laboratories
  • Two semesters of organic chemistry with laboratories
  • Two semesters of English
  • One semester of calculus or a semester of college algebra AND elementary calculus
  • One semester of microeconomics or macroeconomics or accounting
  • One semester of microbiology with laboratory
  • One semester of statistics
  • Two semesters of anatomy and physiology
  • One semester of public speaking

Suggested coursework arrangement:

First semester

  • CHEM 1055 Principles of Chemistry I
  • BIO 1206 Integrated Concepts of Biology: Organisms and Ecosystem
  • FYS 1004 First-Year Seminar

Second semester

  • CHEM 1065 Principles of Chemistry II
  • FYS 1104 First-Year Research Seminar
  • MATH 1304 Calculus I

Third semester

  • CHEM 2155 Organic Chemistry I
  • BIO 1204 Integrated Concepts of Biology, Molecules and Cells

Fourth semester

  • CHEM 2165 Organic Chemistry II
  • MATH 1144 Elementary Statistics

Fifth semester

  • BIO 2014 Anatomy and Physiology I
  • ECON 2024 Principles of Microeconomics

Sixth semester

  • BIO 2104 Anatomy and Physiology II
  • BIO 3046 Microbiology

Course requirements for students participating in 3+4 Pharmacy Program partnership with the University of Kentucky

Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, has a unique partnership with the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Pharmacy in which you can receive both a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Transylvania and the Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky.

As a Transylvania student, you will complete the general pre-pharmacy course requirements for admission to the UK College of Pharmacy, as well as all general education requirements at Transylvania. Through an agreement and partnership with the UK College of Pharmacy, Transylvania students who apply and are accepted into the UK College of Pharmacy pursuant to the terms of the agreement will transfer to the UK College of Pharmacy after completing the required pre-pharmacy courses and 27 units at Transylvania. Upon admission to the UK College of Pharmacy, the equivalent of 9 units of credit (minimum of 27 semester hours) taken from a list of approved courses will be transferred back to Transylvania University as elective credits and the student will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Transylvania University.

Students interested in pursuing this 3+4 program should contact Robin Prichard upon admission to Transylvania University or as early in their academic coursework at Transylvania as possible. To successfully complete all of the pre-pharmacy coursework and general education coursework in three years requires following a recommended sequence of courses with limited room for flexibility.

  • ACCT 2014 Principles of Accounting I*
  • BIO 1204 Integrated Concepts of Biology: Molecules and Cells
  • BIO 1206 Integrated Concepts of Biology: Organisms and Ecosystems
  • BIO 2042 Biologists’ Toolkit
  • BIO 2014 Anatomy & Physiology I
  • BIO 2104 Anatomy & Physiology II
  • BIO 3046 Microbiology
  • CHEM 1055 Principles of General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 1065 Principles of General Chemistry II
  • CHEM 2155 Organic Chemistry I
  • CHEM 2165 Organic Chemistry II
  • ECON 2024 Principles of Microeconomics*
  • HES 1114 Health and Wellness
  • FYS 1004 First-Year Seminar
  • FYS 1104 First-Year Research Seminar
  • GE Area I HES-1114 Health and Wellness
  • GE Area III List A course
  • GE Area III List B course
  • GE Area IV courses (2)
  • GE Area V courses (2)
  • MATH 1144 Elementary Statistics
  • MATH 1304 Calculus I
  • WRC Course**

*UK requires a course in microeconomics, macroeconomics or accounting
**Approved WRC courses: 

WRC 1004 Intro to Communication
WRC 1034 Public Speaking
WRC 2054 Intercultural Communication
WRC 2114 Interpersonal Communication

Kentucky Pharmacy Schools no longer require the PCAT exam. 

Competitive applicants

  • Overall GPA: 3.4
  • Science GPA (biology, chemistry, physics): 3.3

Factors that increase competitiveness:

  • Community service/volunteer work
  • Leadership
  • Strong communication skills
  • Research

Other important considerations:

  • Applicants are encouraged to have pharmacy technician experience
  • UKCOP utilizes a MMI interview format 

In-state schools: