About the PharmD application process
Ready to begin your PharmD journey at the University of the Pacific? You're in the right place. Earn your doctor of pharmacy in three years—with or without a bachelor’s degree—as long as you have completed at least 68 units in specific prerequisite courses.
To best support you, we’ve provided a list of steps to get started on your PharmD application or finish one you're already working on. Wherever you’re at in the application process, our pharmacy admission team is ready to assist you!
- Final application deadline: February 1, 2024
- The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is not required
Take the next step
Take the next step
Four steps to complete your PharmD application
Step 1: Review PharmD admission requirements
Before starting your pharmacy school application for the PharmD program, it is recommended that you review the admission requirements. The PharmD admission page includes admission requirements and eligibility information for transcripts, AP/IB/CLEP scores and TOEFL or IELTS scores.
If you have not yet received your evaluations, transcripts or official test scores, you will still be able to submit your PharmCAS application.
Step 2: Complete the PharmCAS application
The University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy utilizes the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS), a centralized application service that allows prospective students to submit one general application for several doctor of pharmacy programs.
You must submit the following components in your PharmCAS application:
- One essay
- Transcripts
- World Educational Services International Credential Advantage Package*
- AP/IB/CLEP test scores*
- TOEFL or IELTS score*
- Application fee
*If applicable. International students should review the international applicants’ requirements below.
Submit your PharmCAS application
Step 3: Complete the University of the Pacific supplemental PharmD application
The Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy requires the following additional supplemental information below:
- An essay of 500 words or less that briefly explains why you wish to attend University of the Pacific.
- Two letters of recommendation sent to PharmCAS using the PharmCAS Letter of Recommendation rating form. These letters may be from anyone you choose (family or friends are not acceptable) and should reflect your academic ability, communication skills, analytical skills, extra-curricular activities, work and/or volunteer experiences and personality characteristics. A recommendation from a professor or pharmacist is NOT required but highly recommended.
- Visa information*
Please note the supplemental PharmD application requires a digital signature. By electronically submitting your supplemental application, you acknowledge the information you have provided is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge and that you have attended no institutions other than those listed in the application.
*If you are a permanent resident, please upload a copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card in the document section of the application. If you are in the process of applying for permanent residency or are applying/approved for DACA, please upload a copy of your latest correspondence with USCIS.
All applicants will be required to authorize the completion of a lawful criminal background check by signing an authorization form within 10 days of placing a confirmation deposit. Final admission decision and possible clinical placement may be based upon the information thereby obtained. The applicant is responsible for the cost of the background check.
Step 4: Wait for your PharmD application decision
After submitting all of the required pharmacy school application documents through PharmCAS, please allow us two to four weeks to process your application. You may review the process of your application through our PharmD Application Status Checker.
Qualified applicants will be invited to interview. Applicants that are accepted will be granted an offer of admission. In order to reserve your seat in the entering class, you must submit the first non-refundable Enrollment Confirmation Deposit of $500 within two weeks from the date you received your offer letter.
International PharmD applicants
Prospective international students applying to the PharmD program through PharmCAS must submit the following documents:
- Residency status verification
- Funding letter/certification of finances
- Statement of financial responsibility and affidavit of support form (PDF)
- Copy of passport biographical page
- Copy of I-20 and I-94 forms
TOEFL & IELTS Scores
If English is not your first language, you may be required to submit an appropriate TOEFL or IELTS exam. Students who have lived in the U.S. for more than six years and earned a U.S. bachelor’s degree are automatically exempt. Students who have enrolled in four years of academic coursework with no ESL courses are also typically exempt.
All non-native English speakers who do not meet the above exemptions are REQUIRED to submit a minimum TOEFL score: Paper 550; Internet 80; Computer 213 or IELTS score: 6.5. Select PharmCAS Code 104 to report scores directly to PharmCAS.
Resources for international applicants
Resources for international applicants
University of the Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy provides a pharmacy education without regard to disability while assuring that academic and technical standards are met. Academic standards are met by successfully completing the curriculum for the doctor of pharmacy degree within the required standards for completion of courses and progression in the curriculum. Technical standards represent the essential non-academic requirements that a student must also demonstrate to successfully participate in the doctor of pharmacy degree program and meet the professional competency requirements.
An applicant and candidate for the doctor of pharmacy degree must have demonstrated aptitude and abilities (knowledge, skills, and behaviors and attitudes) in the following categories as they relate to the School’s Professional Student Code of Conduct as well as overall industry and curriculum and course related competencies: sensory, mobility, cognitive, and behavioral. Students may apply for accommodations regarding the assessment of these abilities as noted below, but these abilities must be demonstrated.
Sensory
- Ability to observe demonstrations and experiments
- Ability to verbally communicate in the English language in order to elicit information from and provide information to patients and other health care professionals
- Ability to communicate proficiently in written English with patients and other health care professionals
- Ability to comprehend written communications in English to fulfill the routine duties and tasks of a pharmacist in training
- Ability to hear with or without assistive devices to elicit information from patients and other health care professionals
Mobility
- Ability to coordinate gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and the functional use of the senses of touch and vision reasonably required to prepare, compound, and administer medications and to operate a computer and other electronic devices using the hands and fingers
- Ability to perform physical assessment maneuvers and related activities consistent with pharmaceutical care including the ability to lift a 25-pound object and move the object a distance of five feet·
- Ability to maneuver in the pharmacy practice setting and the patient care setting including the ability to maintain balance, orientation, mobility and stamina while walking with a person in need of support or using a mobility device
Cognitive
- Ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize pertinent information to solve problems
- Ability to understand basic scientific principles and methods for the cognitive application of information
- Ability to concentrate in the presence of distracting conditions
- Ability to concentrate for prolonged periods of time
Behavioral
- Ability to understand ethical issues related to the pharmaceutical profession and to adhere to all laws and standards as defined by the California State Board of Pharmacy
- Ability to exercise sound judgment in an emergency situation
- Ability to maintain a professional demeanor and to relate in a professional manner to patients and other health care professionals
- Ability to accept feedback and respond with appropriate behavior or modification of behavior
- Ability to tolerate and function effectively under stress
Competencies in each of the four categories are expected to be demonstrated throughout the program. These technical standards are consistent with the expectations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. They will be reviewed and updated to reflect the competencies necessary to safely and adequately perform in both an academic and clinical setting.
Any applicant who has a question about whether he or she can meet these standards should contact Tara Jenkins, associate dean for academic affairs, at tjenkins@pacific.edu or 209.946.3146 and/or the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at ssd@pacific.edu or 209.946.3221 to inquire about eligibility for receiving reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodation may be made as long as it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the program offered and does not impose an undue hardship such as those that cause a significant expense, difficulty or are unduly disruptive to the educational process.
*Applicants are also encouraged to carefully read the Intern Pharmacist Application and Instructions. If any of the questions asked in the application requiring a mandatory answer are a cause for concern, the student must directly contact the California State Board of Pharmacy or the state board of pharmacy with jurisdiction over his/her state of future practice. Students are expected to meet the requirements for intern licensure during the first semester of the curriculum.
Mail PharmCAS application documents
For PharmD applicants looking to mail documents directly to PharmCAS, please review the following addresses:
Regular delivery
PharmCAS
P.O. Box 9109
Watertown, MA 02472
Express/overnight mail address
PharmCAS, Liaison International
311 Arsenal St., Suite 5600
Watertown, MA 02471
PharmCAS will hold all applications until they are completed. All documents must be received by BOTH PharmCAS and Pacific for the application to be considered complete.
Contact PharmCAS
617.612.2050 | info@pharmcas.org
Mail University of the Pacific supplemental documents
Please send all supporting PharmD documents not electronically submitted to:
University of the Pacific
Office of Pharmacy Admission
3601 Pacific Ave.
Stockton, CA 95211
209.932.3600 | pharmdadmission@pacific.edu
Submit your PharmD application today!
We are excited to help you along your journey to becoming an ethical and knowledgeable pharmacist. Start your PharmD path by applying to the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy today.
PharmD application resources
PharmD application resources
To apply to the PharmD/MS or PharmD/PhD dual degree programs, you must also apply to Pacific’s Graduate School.
The minimum cumulative GPA to be considered for the PharmD program is 2.70. Students who have lower than the minimum cumulative GPA can be considered under extenuating circumstances. Please contact the Office of Pharmacy Admission at pharmdadmission@pacific.edu for additional information.
No, only the prerequisites are necessary. However, a degree can make an applicant more competitive for admission, and in recent years, a majority of our successful applicants have held degrees. Many others have junior standing and have completed upper division math/science preparatory courses. Recommended electives include anatomy, genetics, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and physical chemistry.
No, the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is not required and Pacific will not consider the scores if they are sent.
Yes, all qualified applicants will be invited to interview. Interviews are held starting in late September. Students who are not offered admission early in the cycle will be rereviewed toward the end of the review period, late March through the end of the cycle.
Applying early can enhance your chances of receiving an interview invitation. There are fewer applications and more interview spaces earlier in the admissions cycle.
You must inform us in writing of all changes to your schedule, including the changes not related to pharmacy prerequisites. Please use the PharmD Planned Courses form. You must also notify us immediately if you will not be receiving a bachelor's degree as anticipated.
No, but you must have a plan in place which allows you to complete all requirements prior to entering our program.
No later than the fall semester prior to the year you are applying.
Yes, you may check your application status. Please allows us two to four weeks to process your application.
No. Our PharmD program is an accelerated, year-round program.
Established in 1958, the Honor code is intended to maintain and preserve the high standards of personal character and ethical behavior vital in academic pursuits. The success of the Honor Code is made possible only with the acceptance and cooperation of every student. We fully expect that every University student will join with us in maintaining the principle and tradition of the Code in all aspects of college life.
Applicants for admission to the University are asked to recognize the responsibilities of the Code and to accept its principles. Your submission of the application form indicates that you agree to uphold the principles of the Code. For more information, please see the Tiger Lore: Student Code of Conduct.
