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Academic and Career Information

Updated July 2026

Nature of the Work, Earnings and Occupational Outlook

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy () eports the principal goal of pharmaceutical care is “to achieve positive outcomes from the use of medication which improves patients’ quality of life. These outcomes include: cure of a disease, elimination or reduction of symptoms, arresting or slowing a disease process, prevention of disease, diagnosis of disease, and desired alterations in physiological processes, all with minimum risk to patients.” As a result of society’s changing health and social issues, pharmacists today do much more than simply compound and dispense medication. Their roles have broadened to include direct patient care, education, and case management duties. Pharmacists can be found in a variety of settings including community and consultant pharmacies, hospitals and institutions, managed care organizations, the pharmaceutical industry, academics and research, government agencies and many more. The most common setting is community pharmacies, which include independent, prescription only pharmacies, such as those found in medical office buildings, and chain pharmacies (local drug stores), which generate income from the sale of other merchandise. Opportunities are becoming increasingly available for pharmacists with advanced training to work as clinical pharmacists in recognized pharmacy practitioner specialties such as ambulatory care, clinical pharmacokinetics, geriatrics, oncology, psychopharmacology, drug information, and nutrition support. The advanced training for such programs usually requires a fellowship or residency after the Pharm.D.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmacists held approximately 341,300 jobs in 2024. Employment is projected to grow 5% from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Approximately 14,200 job openings for pharmacists are projected each year over the decade, largely due to workforce turnover and retirements. The median annual wage for pharmacists was $137,480 in May 2024. Earnings vary depending on geographic location, practice setting, years of experience, board certification, and additional residency or fellowship training ().

Pre-Pharmacy Preparation

The majority of students who enter a pharmacy program have completed a minimum of two years of pre-pharmacy courses or a bachelor’s degree. Coursework completed includes calculus, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, and additional courses in humanities, social sciences and communication. As of January 2024,the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) is no longer required by colleges and schools of pharmacy. This updated information can be found at .

Programs select applicants based on a variety of characteristics, including academic background, clinical experience, background checks, personal statement, interview, letters of recommendation and personal qualities including motivation, communication, critical thinking skills, and empathy. Most schools expect applicants to gain first-hand paid or volunteer experience in a pharmacy setting to confirm their interest in the pharmacy profession. Analytical, communication and interpersonal skills are important to demonstrate as pharmacists are involved in educating patients. Competitive applicants generally have cumulative GPAs ranging from 3.2 to 3.7, although admissions standards vary among institutions.

Major

No particular major is required or preferred for pharmacy school admissions, thus students are advised to select a major they find interesting and in which they can excel. Students should also consider a major that may lead them to an alternate career, should they decide not to pursue the field of pharmacy. Whichever major a student declares, their course of study must incorporate the required pre-pharmacy requirements. Many students who select a science major find a great deal of overlap between their major requirements and those required for pharmacy school. Regardless of the choice in major, pharmacy schools prefer that students have a well-rounded liberal arts education.

Application

The Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) is a centralized web-based application service for applicants to pharmacy colleges and schools allowing applicants to submit one application and apply to multiple first-year professional pharmacy degree programs. Applicants to programs that do not participate in PharmCAS should apply directly to each institution using the traditional application process. All of the California pharmacy programs participate in the PharmCAS application service. For more information and a list of schools participating, please visit the PharmCAS web site at . For more information about Pharmacy, visit .

Course Requirements

Below is a list of requirements for the 10 Pharmacy programs in California. For further information on these programs or programs outside of California, consult the Pharmacy School Admissions Requirements book available at .

*The information above is reprinted with permission from

This is NOT a comprehensive list of prerequisites for all programs. Students maintain responsibility for verifying course selection with individual programs.