PharmD students have the ability to customize their education with a combination of approved Professional Electives and more broad General Electives. 26 quarter credits of electives contribute to the requirements of the PharmD degree. This generous proportion of elective coursework in the curriculum provides students with the opportunity to investigate individual areas of interest, develop emphasis in their training, and design their own path towards becoming a well-rounded pharmacist health professional.
Current Students: Please see the detailed curriculum information in Canvas (requires UW NetID).
Professional Elective Courses
Professional Electives are courses approved by the School’s Curriculum Committee as directly contributing to a student pharmacist’s learning as a healthcare provider. A diverse mix of Professional Electives are offered by the School of Pharmacy and there are also many offered by other health sciences disciplines. PharmD students are required to take at least 19 quarter credits of Professional Electives. The Professional Elective Database includes all Profesional Elective courses.
Example Professional Electives: Pharmacist Advocacy I: Legislative and Grassroots Affairs; Current Topics in Pharmacy
General Elective Courses
Any 300 level or above course offered at the UW is eligible to fulfill the PharmD program’s General Elective requirement. Students are welcome to take Professional Electives to satisfy the General Elective requirement, but some students choose to take courses outside of the Health Sciences in diverse subjects such as informatics and foreign languages to round out their electives coursework. PharmD students may count up to 7 credits of General Electives (i.e., any UW course numbered 300 or higher taken after starting the PharmD program) to help satisfy their elective course requirement.
Certificates
PharmD students are able to earn certificates through their elective coursework. Learn more on our Certificates page.