Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the University of Montana

About Our Program

ACCREDITATION

Doctor of Pharmacy (1998-2000; 2000-2006; 2006-2012; 2012-2020)

The entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Montana is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education, 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 4100, Chicago, IL 60603-4810, 312/664-3575, 800/533-3606; FAX, 312/664-4652; http://www.acpe-accredit.org/.

DEGREE OFFERING

The curriculum offered by the School of Pharmacy consists of a six-year program leading to the entry-level Pharm.D. degree.  The pre-professional portion of the curriculum is spent in studies of the basic physical and biological sciences and in course work necessary to satisfy the University's general education requirements.

CORE VALUES

• Concern for patients and their proper care
• The encouragement of life-long learning habits for all graduates Improvement of health care and its delivery through discovery and innovation
• Promulgating professionalism and collegiality at all levels
• Fostering a culture of integrity, respect, compassion and diversity
• Facilitation of collaboration with other health care providers and scientific entities
• Active contributions to the community we live in
• Optimization of teaching methods  

APPLICATION

Students must submit both an application through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) and an online supplemental application to the Skaggs School of Pharmacy.  There is a $50 fee for the supplemental application.  The PharmCAS application deadline is December 1, 2015 and the supplemental application deadline is January 4, 2016.

Please note that a separate application to The University of Montana is required for all transfer students. The University of Montana does not have an application deadline and will process applications on a rolling admission basis. Admission to The University of Montana does not guarantee admission to the professional pharmacy program.

PCAT

The PCAT must be taken within two years of application.  We will accept scores from June 2014-January 2016 for Fall 2016 applications. We recommend applicants take the PCAT in October or November 2015.

Please visit pcatweb.info to register for the exam. Please have PCAT scores reported to PharmCAS.

EXPERIENCE

Students applying for admission will be required to complete at least 20 hours of volunteer or paid experience serving a patient population in a medical or social field and one completed evaluation form from someone involved with the applicant in such an experience.

GPA

To be eligible for admission, applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4 point scale, both overall and in required pre-professional courses. All required pre-pharmacy courses must be completed with a grade of C or better. Grades of C- or lower are not acceptable. Students will also be expected to have completed all General Education requirements except the upper-division writing and ethics requirements prior to entering the professional curriculum.  Students must complete all General Education requirements before entering clerkship rotations during the final year of the program.

STUDENT PROFILE

Grades achieved in pre-professional courses will be used in determining the academic qualifications of applicants for the professional program.  Class size is limited, and not all qualified applicants can be guaranteed admission.

For the past several years there have been more than three applicants for each opening, and the grade point average of the entering class has been about 3.4.  The professional program admits 65 students in the Autumn Semester only.

APPLICATION REVIEW & PROCESS

The Admissions Committee will review all completed applications received by the December 1 PharmCAS and January 4 supplemental application deadlines. Interview invitations will be e-mailed about two weeks prior to interview day. Admitted students will be notified in writing and a waiting list will be created for a limited number of students not admitted initially.

INTERVIEWS

The interview day is scheduled for Saturday, February 20, 2016.  Skype interviews are available for students who are unable to travel to Missoula.

WAITING LISTS

A waiting list will be created from the next tier of qualified applicants not initially admitted.  Once the applicants have accepted or refused admission, students will be admitted from the waiting list as spaces become available.

A reserve waiting list will be held over the summer.  In the event a student drops out of the professional program during the summer, an applicant from the reserve waiting list will be admitted before the Autumn Semester begins.

PLACEMENT RESERVATION

An accepted student will need to send a deposit of $150 to reserve placement.  This payment will be credited toward tuition upon enrollment.  If a student withdraws his or her application by June 1, a $100 refund will be made.  After June 1, the entire fee is forfeited.