Why Choose the University of Missouri-Kansas City
School of Pharmacy?

A Proud Tradition

Founded in 1885, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy has a long history of educational excellence and is very well respected among health professional programs in the nation. The School of Pharmacy became and remains the only state-supported pharmacy school in Missouri. The UMKC School of Pharmacy offers the Doctor of Pharmacy degree and participates with the UMKC School of Graduate Studies in offering the interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree.

Our Locations

Kansas City is a major metropolitan area with over two million people. The UMKC School of Pharmacy is located in the heart of the city with access to a thriving arts, entertainment, and sports scene. Entertainment venues range from the newly constructed Kauffman Performing Arts Center, to the T-Mobile Center, along with a host of smaller theaters and arenas. The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, and Sporting KC are home town professional sports teams. Regionally, the area is known as the Silicon Prairie and is home to one of the fastest growing job markets in the Midwest. H&R Block, Sprint Nextel, Hallmark, and Applebee’s are just a few of the large companies headquartered in the area. Kansas City offers students opportunities for clinical training during their studies as well as after graduation. The school is part of a public research university focused on the life sciences and urban issues.

In 2005, an additional location for the pharmacy school was established on the University of Missouri (MU) campus in Columbia.  The city is home to three colleges, 4 hospitals, and is known for its network of trails and outdoor activities.

In Fall 2014, pharmacy students were admitted in Springfield on the Missouri State University campus. Pharm.D. students study in the newly renovated Brick City district. Springfield provides a large recreation area close to lakes and a wide range of activities. As the third largest city in Missouri, Springfield is home to two of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. providing potential practices sites for students.

Our Facilities

In Kansas City, four health profession schools are located on the UMKC Health Sciences Campus. The Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, as well as three major hospitals, are situated on what is locally referred to as “hospital hill.” The UMKC School of Pharmacy shares the Health Sciences Building (HSB) with the School of Nursing. The building opened in 2007 and is an impressive combination of form and function that more than 225,000 square feet of classroom, lab, research, study/collaboration, and office space. The Health Sciences Building facilities include the Pharmaceutics laboratories, Pharmacological and Toxicological laboratories, the Drug Information Center, computer labs, simulation labs, a pharmacy compounding practice laboratory and a model pharmacy. Our locations in Columbia and Springfield allow pharmacy students to work in proximity to other professional students in the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary, and Health Professional and Biomedical Sciences. Students in Columbia and Springfield are enrolled in UMKC School of Pharmacy classes and are connected virtually through long distance video conferencing technology. Students are able to actively interact in a live, real time format, with professors and other students via classroom microphones, HD cameras, and other technology.

Our Well Respected Faculty

The work of our faculty is recognized regionally and nationally through awards and research grants from federal agencies, foundations and the private sector. They are dedicated to advancing the pharmacy profession through their work in the field including: cutting edge basic and translational research, service to those in need within and outside of the United States, authoring textbooks, scholarship presentations at prestigious national meetings, leading professional organizations, service on Boards of Directors, and reviewing grants for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

Student Life

UMKC School of Pharmacy students participate in a variety of student organizations and professional activities. Students have numerous options at UMKC to enhance their professional development, network with leaders in their field of interest and give back to the community through student groups at the school. The groups include the student chapters of the American Pharmacists Association, the Rho Chi Honor Society, Phi Lambda Sigma, Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Psi, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the Student Society of Health System Pharmacy, Public Health Organization and the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy. Our students also have the chance to travel internationally. Many students have participated in mission trips to several central and south American countries. Our students care for the under-served through their volunteer efforts at programs such as the annual Wellness Fair, the Jackson County Free Health Clinic, and MedZou. Their commitment to projects such as Operation Diabetes, Project Outreach (drug and alcohol abuse program for fourth graders), ROOt for Health, Operation Immunization, Heartburn Awareness and Asthma Coalition reflects their desire to improve the health of Missourians.

Our Awarding Winning Student Body

Our students have been nationally and locally recognized for patient counseling, clinical skills, entrepreneurship, medication compounding, and outstanding organizational chapters. This recognition enables them to be very competitive for post-doctoral residency programs and national internships. UMKC is proud to have the distinct honor of winning all three of the American Association of College of Pharmacy’s awards for community service and partnerships. These include:

UMKC students continue to win national and local awards for community service, charitable fundraising, and professional competing!

• 2012 American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Students of Pharmacy (APhA-ASP) National Chapter of the Year
• 2018 American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Students of Pharmacy (APhA-ASP) National Chapter of the Year
• 2020 American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Students of Pharmacy (APhA-ASP) National Chapter of the Year

Our Alumni

The School of Pharmacy has over 3,000 alumni living and working in every state of the Union, with an average of 70% of them who remain in Missouri or Kansas. Pharmacy alumni are generous with both their gifts and their volunteer time to the School and the University. For two years running, pharmacy alumni are the number one donors back to their own school on the UMKC campus, both financially through scholarships designations and in their volunteer time through school programs on boards, as preceptors, and as classroom and community volunteers.

So consider UMKC School of Pharmacy, the place for People Going Places! We look forward to receiving your application.