Pre-Pharmacy
About the Profession
Pharmacist are healthcare professionals focused on safe and effective use of medication. Pharmacists work collaboratively with physicians and other healthcare providers; additionally, pharmacists communicate with patients when providing advisement and specialized knowledge related to the use of medicines.
Preparation Starts Now
From the time you begin college, you are assembling a complete dossier with which to apply to pharmacy schools. Applicants are expected to have:
- Completed pharmacy school requirements; some programs require a bachelor's degree in any major
- Achieve excellent grades; overall and science GPAs should, at a minimum, be at a 3.5
- PCAT exam is no longer a requirement as of January 2024; some schools will accept the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
- Letters of Recommendation: academic and clinical
- Involve yourself in sincere, sustained health-related shadowing, volunteer, and research experience
Course Requirements
Start planning as a first year student to meet the following course requirements for pharmacy schools. Below are the courses at SUNY Geneseo that are recommended you complete based on the requirements for University at Buffalo PharmD program:
Course Requirements |
SUNY Geneseo |
Notes |
| One year of Biology |
BIOL 117 and119 BIOL 118 and 120 (labs) |
Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) One lecture with the lab can count as an N/ General Education requirement |
| One year of General Chemistry | CHEM 116 and 118 CHEM 119 and 129 (labs) |
Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) One lecture with the lab can count as an N/ General Education requirement |
| One year of Organic Chemistry | CHEM 211, 213, and 216 (lab | Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) |
| One semester of Biochemistry | BIOL 335 or CHEM 300 |
Pre-reqs for BIOL 335: BIOL 117, 119 and CHEM 211 Pre-reqs for CHEM 300: CHEM 213 and 216 |
| One semester of Microbiology | BIOL 349 | Pre-req: BIOL 222 or BIOL 271 |
| One year of Anatomy and Physiology | BIOL 365 and 366 | Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) |
| 2 semesters of English | INTD 105 and one ENGL course | INTD 105 is the Basic Communication General Education requirement |
| One year of Calculus | MATH 221 | |
| One semester of Statistics | MATH 262 | |
| One course in social behavioral science |
*Check with schools for specific requirements.
It is recommended that course requirements are completed at SUNY Geneseo, but there are instances where a student would need to complete one or two courses elsewhere. If that is the case, it is suggested that coursework be completed at a four-year higher education institution. All course requirements must be taken for a grade and demonstrate mastery, no lower than a C, for most professional schools.
For more information on admission requirements to pharmacy programs, visit American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS), the central application for schools of pharmacy, is also a great resource.