Prerequisites

Course requirements for pharmacy school admissions

The courses listed below are required for entry into the PharmD program; students may choose any major, though it is common to choose a science major that overlaps heavily with the prerequisites. A bachelor's degree is preferred, but not required. Prerequisites must be completed before beginning the PharmD program; they can be planned or in progress while applying to the program. Prerequisite courses must be complete by August 1 of the year in which you begin the program; for example, for Fall 2024 admission, courses must be complete by August 1, 2024. For Fall 2025 admission, courses must be complete by August 1, 2025.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they are on track to fulfill prerequisites by using the guides of preapproved courses below, or confirming with admissions staff by obtaining a prerequisite evaluation. See our guides of approved prerequisites below.

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Prerequisites for Fall 2024

The following courses are required for applicants starting in Fall 2024.

Prerequisite	Requirement
General Biology¹	1 course with lab required
Microbiology	1 course required (lab recommended)
Human or Comparative Anatomy²	1 course required (lab recommended; human-focused course recommended)
Human or Comparative Physiology²	1 course required (lab recommended; human-focused course recommended)
Advanced Biology³	1 course required
Calculus I	1 course required
Statistics	1 course required
General Chemistry	2 courses and 1 lab required (full lab sequence recommended)
Organic Chemistry	2 courses and 1 lab required (full lab sequence recommended)
General Physics	1 course required
Social & Behavioral Sciences⁴	2 courses or U.S. bachelor’s degree required (bachelor’s degree recommended)
Advanced Composition (Writing)^4,5	1 course or U.S. bachelor’s degree required (bachelor’s degree recommended)
Introductory Communication^4,6	1 course or U.S. bachelor’s degree required (bachelor’s degree recommended)

If an applicant does not have a general biology lab, a more advanced biology lab may be substituted
Two semesters of human anatomy and physiology are generally required, in one of two formats*:
- One stand-alone anatomy course and one stand-alone physiology course
- Two semesters of combined human or comparative anatomy and physiology (typically named "Anatomy and Physiology 1" and "Anatomy and Physiology 2")
  *If A&P is combined into a single-semester course covering the entire body, it must be a minimum of 4 semester credits (lab credits do not count toward the 4 credit minimum). Labs are recommended but not required for anatomy or physiology.
Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics or Molecular Biology will fulfill this requirement. Any other course must focus on the human body.
The social and behavioral science, advanced composition, and communication requirements will be considered fulfilled for applicants who will have completed a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution prior to beginning the PharmD program. Applicants without a bachelor's degree must fulfill the social and behavioral science, advanced composition, and communication requirements as listed. A final official transcript will be required. For applicants with a degree, we reserve the right to verify that their non-math and non-science coursework is sufficient.
An advanced composition (writing) course generally requires an introductory composition course as a prerequisite. Course must be taken in English (may not be fulfilled with an English as a Second Language course).
Approved communication courses include Introduction to Communication, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, Organizational or Business Communication, and Group Communication. Media communication courses do not fulfill this prerequisite.

Prerequisites for Fall 2025 and beyond

The following courses are required for applicants applying for Fall 2025 and beyond.

Prerequisite	Requirement	Details, recommendations and guidelines
General Biology	1 course with lab	If general biology was taken without a lab, a more advanced biology lab may be substituted
Microbiology	1 course	Lab is recommended
Anatomy (human or comparative)	1 course	Two semesters of human anatomy and physiology are generally required, in one of two formats: One anatomy course and one physiology course Two semesters of combined anatomy and physiology (typically named "Anatomy and Physiology 1" and "Anatomy and Physiology 2") If A&P is combined into a single-semester course covering the entire body, it must be a minimum of 4 semester credits (lab credits do not count toward the 4 credit minimum) Labs are recommended but not required for anatomy or physiology Human focused anatomy and physiology courses are recommended
Physiology (human or comparative)	1 course	See above
Calculus	1 course	College-level calculus, such as Calculus I, Applied Calculus, or Survey of Calculus
Statistics	1 course
General Chemistry with lab	2 courses and 1 lab	Full lab sequence recommended
Organic Chemistry with lab	2 courses and 1 lab	Full lab sequence recommended
Social & Behavioral Sciences OR Humanities	2 courses	May be fulfilled by a variety of courses; recommended courses include economics, sociology, foreign language, history, psychology
Introductory Composition	1 course	May be fulfilled by a college-level composition (writing) course; course must be taken in English

The social & behavioral science/humanities and introductory composition prerequisites may be fulfilled with bachelor's degree or associate's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or completion of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. Applicants without a bachelor's degree must fulfill these prerequisites as listed. For applicants with a degree, we reserve the right to verify that their non-math and non-science coursework is sufficient.

Prerequisite course requirements

Must be taken at a regionally-accredited university, college, or community college
Must be at least 3 semester credits, taken A-F, and completed with a grade of C- or better
May be satisfied by IB, PSEO, or College in the Schools credit if it appears on a college transcript
May be satisfied by AP exam if you score a 3 or higher, or appears as credit on a college transcript
May be satisfied with online courses if taken for credit at a regionally-accredited university, college, or community college

Pass/fail coursework

Prerequisites may be fulfilled using courses taken on a pass/fail (S/N at UMN) grading scale (with a passing grade) for Spring and Summer semester 2020 courses due to the significant disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise, students are expected to take prerequisites on an A-F grading scale. Outside of the Spring and Summer 2020 semesters, one prerequisite course may be taken on a pass/fail grading scale; additional pass/fail coursework must be approved. For details or to address a specific situation, please contact pharmacy@umn.edu.

Prerequisite Time Limit

Prerequisites include foundational content necessary for success in the PharmD program. Given the importance of prerequisites as an assessment of academic readiness for the program, applicants whose prerequisites will be more than 7 years old at the time of enrollment are strongly encouraged to seek individual guidance from admissions staff.

International Coursework

International coursework may be used to fulfill the prerequisites. If you took international courses that do not appear on a US transcript, a WES course-by-course transcript evaluation must be submitted as part of your PharmCAS application.

Find out more: international applicants & coursework

Guides of approved prerequisites

*Our guides of approved prerequisites have not yet been updated for our Fall 2025 and beyond prerequisite changes. The guides will be updated by mid-summer.

Click on the state in which your school is located and use the tabs to find a Guide of Approved Prerequisites for that school. We are unable to provide a guide for every institution, so your school may not be listed. If you cannot find your school and would like to verify courses to meet prerequisites, please submit our Request for Prerequisite Evaluation form. You will need to upload your transcript(s) or WES foreign coursework evaluation, so be sure you have those on hand. Please note that for foreign coursework, the only approved course-by-course foreign transcript evaluation service for applicants is WES. We strongly advise you to order a WES course-by-course evaluation for the purposes of this request for prerequisite evaluation.

If you are an advisor and notice incorrect or out of date information in the prerequisite guide for your institution, please contact our Admissions Coordinator, Cassie Tietz, at cassie@umn.edu.

Prerequisites

+ Prerequisites for Fall 2024

+ Prerequisites for Fall 2025 and beyond

College of Pharmacy

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Prerequisites for Fall 2024

Prerequisites for Fall 2025 and beyond