Admission Requirements

Requirements

1. Required Pre-Pharmacy Courses

• Applicants must complete 60 credit units of university transferable work including the prerequisite courses listed below.
• The remaining credits can be made up by successful completion of a combination of university-level course work.
• It is advisable NOT to take any spring or summer courses in your final year of study because transcripts are due June 15 of the year you wish to apply. Grades from spring or summer courses will not be available in time to meet this deadline.
• A minimum grade of C- (or equivalent) is required in any transfer course (i.e., courses not completed at the University of Alberta) used to meet a prerequisite requirement. Grades of D+, D, D- and F are considered deficient for transfer coursework. See the University of Alberta Grading System guidelines for further information about how GPA converts to letter grades.

The following courses (or equivalent) are required in the 60 unit credit weight:

*The requirement for English can include up to 3 UCW in Writing Studies (for example WRS 101) except for WRS 104. Please note that ENGL 150 is not acceptable.

**PHYSL 212 and 214 required for students in the Physiology Honors program. Credit may be obtained in only one of PHYSL 212 and 214, or 210. Find more information about online PHYSL 210 course offered at the University of Alberta.

**We do not accept exercise physiology courses as we are looking solely for human physiology courses.  Any questions regarding human/other physiology courses will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

• If you are a student attending a university or college in Alberta, refer to the Alberta Transfer Equivalency Guide to determine course transferability for most courses from most post-secondary institutions in Alberta.
• If your course does not show up on the Alberta Transfer Equivalency guide, please contact us to determine transferability. The faculty will consider transfer credit for some courses on a case-by-case basis.
• Email phstud@ualberta.ca for any questions or concerns about equivalency of courses taken at other Canadian institutions.
• If you are an international student,  your international transcripts and course outlines will be reviewed by admission specialists after you’ve submitted your application. You can visit the U of A Transfer Credit Search page to see if transfer credit has been granted from your institution previously.

Indigenous Applicants

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences may  reserve nine places each year for Indigenous applicants of First Nations, Métis, or Inuit ancestry who meet the minimum admission requirements. Students who are of Indigenous ancestry within the meaning of the Constitution Act, 1982, Section 35(2) will be considered in this category ( University of Alberta Calendar - General Information). Proof of Indigenous status, to be provided as part of the application for admission, is required for consideration for these places.

Candidates will be subject to admission as outlined in University of Alberta Calendar - PharmD and to approval by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences admissions committee. If there are not enough qualified students who identify as Indigenous in any given year, any remaining places will be allocated to other applicants.

Applicants who identify as Indigenous may contact the First Peoples' House for individual counselling and career planning.

RURAL APPLICANTS

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences may reserve ten places each year for applicants from rural communities who meet the minimum admission requirements. Rural students are those who have lived in a community at least 50 kilometres from Edmonton or Calgary for at least three years (consecutively or non-consecutively) between the ages of 12 and 18. Proof of rural status, to be provided as part of the application for admission, is required for consideration for these places.

Candidates will be subject to admission as outlined in University of Alberta Calendar - PharmD and to approval by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences admissions committee. If there are not enough qualified rural students in any given year, any remaining places will be allocated to other applicants.

Augustana Applicants

Students attending Augustana Campus are able to fulfill prerequisites for the PharmD program while attending courses on-campus in Camrose. The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences encourages and welcomes applicants from Augustana Campus for the PharmD program. Should you have any questions about your suitability for the PharmD program, please contact us at phstud@ualberta.ca

2. Academic Requirements

• Three GPA calculations are used to determine an applicant's overall score: most recent two years full-time GPA (at least 18 credits in Fall and Winter only), performance in Biological Science prerequisite courses (human physiology, cell biology, biochemistry and microbiology), and performance in the heaviest credit weight year.
  • Normally, an overall GPA of at least 3.0 or equivalent is required
  • Competitive applicants usually present a GPA of at least 3.3.
  • It is preferable that 30 credit units are taken in at least one academic year (September to April). If you have taken multiple years with the same amount of credit units, the year with the highest GPA will be used.

3. Letter of Intent

The Letter of Intent, which you will need to upload on the platform while performing the web-based interview (see below), provides an opportunity for you to convey career goals, knowledge of the profession, employment or volunteer experience and other personal attributes. The letter of intent should not exceed 600 words.

4. Web-based Interview

The faculty does not conduct in-person interviews. Once you have submitted your application (with the pharmacist consultation form) and paid the application fee, you will receive a link to a web-based interview in mid-March. This will also include video instructions and a submission deadline. The interview is used to further assess each applicant's fit in addition to GPA rankings. It assesses the candidate's ability to formulate a cohesive and logical response to the interview questions and their ability to convey ideas in an effective manner.

5. Other Requirements

• Students are required to speak with a practising pharmacist that you have no conflict of interest with (e.g., familial connections) to find out firsthand about the profession. Please have the pharmacist fill out the Pharmacist Consultation form that you will be able to download and upload to your application portal when you apply. This form must be submitted before the March 1st application deadline.
• Indigenous education (Only for admitted applicants): As a condition of continuation in the PharmD program, all newly admitted students must complete the University of Alberta Indigenous Canada MOOC. Proof of completion must be submitted to the faculty by December 31st of year one. This requirement may be waived if the student has completed at least three units of coursework from the Faculty of Native Studies or which is within the field of Native Studies.
• Some students are required to meet the Spoken English requirement (see the University of Alberta Calendar - English Language Proficiency). This will be added to your checklist if it applies to you.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that course descriptions are provided for any post secondary coursework completed outside of Canada. Learn more about international course descriptions.

6. Selection Process

Students are ranked based on a combination of the following:

• Overall GPA rank score (75% weighting), which is a combination of the following:
  • Overall recent GPA — calculated using your most recent two full-time years (defined as at least 18 credits or more during Fall and Winter only). This applies to students applying after more than two years of study. However, students applying in their second year of study will need to complete all 60 credits including prerequisites by the June 15 transcript deadline.
  • GPA in the foundational Biological Science prerequisite courses — these include Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Human Physiology.
  • GPA in your highest credit weight year (Fall and Winter only).
• Web-based interview score (20% weighting)
• Letter of intent score (5% weighting)

The overall recent GPA and GPA in the foundational Biological Science prerequisite courses are weighted the heaviest in the combined rank score. The admissions committee has the responsibility of selecting the applicants who have demonstrated promise to complete the program and successfully gain licensure as pharmacists. The PharmD program has a limit on the number of applicants it can accept and admission is competitive.

7. Applying

• Applications open: October 1, 2024
• Application deadline: March 1, 2025

Late applications or missing requirements are not considered under any circumstances.

Items required to complete the application

• Online application and non-refundable application fee due by March 1, 2025. This includes the pharmacist consultation form, proof of Indigenous and/or Rural status (if required), and course descriptions (if required).
• Interview and Letter of Intent - submission deadline to be determined
• Proof of English Proficiency (if required) - June 15, 2025
• Transcripts - June 15, 2025

If you are currently a U of A student, we will automatically pull your transcripts. Transcripts will also be sent on your behalf if you apply through ApplyAlberta. However, out-of-province students must request their transcript be sent directly from the issuing institution below or by email to transcript@ualberta.ca.

University of Alberta
Administration Building
Edmonton, AB T6G 2M7

If you are a practising pharmacist, you can apply to the PharmD for Practicing Pharmacists program.