Students are admissible to the School of Pharmacy PharmD Program only after the completion of the college-level prerequisites noted below, generally taking three years to complete. Preference may be given to applicants who have earned a BA, BS or higher degree. The courses listed below MUST be taken at any accredited college, university or community college in the United States. Courses must be approved by the School of Pharmacy and must have a passing grade; they cannot be taken Pass/No Pass. The Admissions Committee strongly recommends completion of science and mathematics courses within the last five years.
Students who have questions about the acceptability of their coursework should contact us at uwpharmd@uw.edu.
NOTE: We also have individual prerequisite lists for Washington State schools and some out-of-state schools across the United States.
UW student pharmacists train in our Bracken Pharmacy Learning Center lab
Students who have not completed the prerequisites may apply, provided they will complete any remaining prerequisites by the end of Spring Term.
NOTE: The Admissions Committee highly recommends that sequence courses (General Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry) be completed at one institution.
You may take your prerequisites at different schools; however, you need to be careful with sequence courses, e.g., biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry. If you begin a science series at one school and finish at another, it is possible that all of the required components of the course descriptions may not be met with the result of not satisfying the pre-requisite. The UW School of Pharmacy may ask for syllabi or course descriptions for any course in order to determine if it meets our requirements.
The UWSOP Office of Admissions is unable to complete individual transcript/prerequisite reviews. We encourage you to use our Prerequisite Self Checklist to review your transcripts and acceptable prerequisite courses. Prerequisite Course Self Check
Prerequisite Courses
Quarter Courses
Semester Courses
Anatomy & Physiology
(The UW equivalent is P Bio 375 & 376)Full A&P course sequence OR one standalone anatomy and one standalone physiology course. Labs strongly recommended but not required. Must cover all of the human body.
2 courses
2 courses
Biochemistry
(The UW equivalent is Bioc 405, 406) One semester or two quarters of biochemistry. Labs are not required.
2 courses
1 course
General Biology
(The UW equivalent is Biology 180, 200, 220) Full year biology series. Labs are required.
3 courses
2 courses
General Chemistry
General Chemistry – must complete full series with labs
(The UW equivalent is Chemistry 142, 152, 162) Full year general chemistry series intended for science majors. Labs are required.
3 courses
2 courses
Organic Chemistry
(The UW equivalent is Chemistry 237, 238, 239, 241, 242) Full year organic chemistry series. Labs are required.
3 courses
2 courses
English Composition
(The UW equivalent is Eng 131 and 281 or any two Eng Comp (C) courses) Two courses in English Composition or academic writing. Waived with completion of a bachelor’s degree. ESL courses are not accepted towards the composition requirement.
2 courses
2 courses
Calculus
(The UW equivalent is Math 124 or 112) First course in a calculus series required.
1-2 courses
1 course
Statistics
(The UW equivalent is Stat 220 or 311; Q Sci 381 is also accepted) One course in statistics, statistical methods, or statistical reasoning.
1-2 courses
1 course
Microbiology
(The UW equivalent is Microbiology 301, 302. Microbiology 442 can also be accepted) One course in general microbiology. Lab required.
(The UW equivalent is Comm 220, 270, or 320) One course in interpersonal communication, public speaking, or speech. Waived with completion of a bachelor’s degree.
1 course
1 course
Economics
(The UW equivalent is Econ 200) One course in macroeconomics or microeconomics. A single course that covers both macroeconomics and microeconomics is also acceptable.
1 course
1 course
Humanities Electives
(The UW equivalent is VLPA courses) One humanities course. Examples include but are not limited to art/art history, dance, music, theatre, religion, literature, and classics. Waived with completion of a bachelor’s degree.
1 course
1 course
Social Science Elective
(The UW equivalent is I&S courses) One social science course. Examples include but are not limited to anthropology, (most) gender studies, history, psychology, philosophy, and sociology. Waived with completion of a bachelor’s degree.
