Pharmacy Admissions

Applications for admission into the first professional year (P1) of the Doctor of Pharmacy program will be accepted from students who have completed or plan to complete the prerequisite coursework.

The minimum degree that is required to enter the first professional year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program is a high school diploma/equivalent, in addition to the prerequisite coursework. A bachelor’s degree is not required, but may be earned at ACPHS, alongside the PharmD. All prerequisites must be completed at the college/university level and credit awarded from those institutions (such as a dual enrollment course offered in the high school). AP and IB coursework is also allowable.

Applications must be submitted online through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) by the appropriate deadlines.

• July 15, 2026 – Application opens
• March 1, 2027 – Preferred application deadline
• June 1, 2027 – Final application deadline
• June 30, 2027 – Final deadline for all application materials to be submitted to PharmCAS

June 1, 2027, is the final deadline to submit your application for entry into the Fall 2027 semester. However, we strongly recommend submitting your application by March 1, 2027, to allow sufficient time for application processing and review, as well as the financial aid and matriculation processes that begin in late spring.All application materials for Pharmacy (P1) entry must be submitted through PharmCAS. Applications submitted through the ACPHS website or the Common Application will not be considered for Pharmacy (P1) entry.

The Pharmacy Admissions Committee will review applications on a rolling basis as they are submitted, and will invite qualified applicants to proceed to the next step in the process of attending an interview over Zoom. Applicants will then receive their final admissions decision within one to two weeks of the interview.

This application consists of:

• Biographical data
• Post-secondary institutions attended
• Academic course history
• Work experience
• Extracurricular activities
• Personal statement

Transcripts

Official transcripts from all accredited U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canadian colleges and universities attended must be submitted directly to PharmCAS. If sent to ACPHS, the transcripts will need to be requested again to be sent to PharmCAS.

If the applicant studied outside of the U.S. and Canada, a WES course-by-course evaluation must be sent directly to PharmCAS.

The applicant must also request the following via the evaluation section of the PharmCAS Application:

• Two letters of recommendation

Note: The Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) is no longer offered (the last offering was January 10, 2024) and is not required. If you previously took the PCAT and would like your scores to be considered, you may submit them to PharmCAS or ACPHS directly.

Required coursework and semester/quarter hours for entry into the first professional year (P1) of the Doctor of Pharmacy program are outlined below.

Prerequisites may be outstanding during the application process, provided there is an appropriate amount of time prior to matriculation for the prerequisites to be completed.

If prerequisites are outstanding at the time an acceptance is offered, the acceptance will be conditional until a final transcript showing completion of the prerequisite(s) is submitted.

Only grades of a C- or better are permissible to fulfill a prerequisite. C- is below the minimum requirement, and would require remediation if it is a specific prerequisite. Please reach out to PharmacyAdmissions@acphs.edu if you have any questions.

• General Chemistry with lab – eight semester hours or 12 quarter hours
• General Biology with lab – eight semester hours or 12 quarter hours
• Biology (generally 200-level) – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• Organic Chemistry with lab – eight semester hours or 12 quarter hours
• Statistics – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• Calculus – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• Microbiology with lab – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• Physics with lab – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• Public Speaking or equivalent
  • Applicants for Fall 2027: Public Speaking or a Writing Intensive course will satisfy the requirement.
  • Applicants for Fall 2028 and beyond: There will be a Writing Intensive course. Public Speaking will no longer satisfy the requirement.
• Humanities – nine semester hours or 13 quarter hours
• Social Science – three semester hours or four quarter hours
• General Electives (at least six of nine credits should be Liberal Arts) – nine semester hours or 13 quarter hours

No credit will be accepted for grades lower than a “C-”.

Physical education courses cannot be used to fulfill prerequisites.

1. Science courses should be those required of science majors and should include labs. Students who have completed prerequisite courses, including at least 63 total credits with at least 30 science credits, may defer taking microbiology with lab until after entering the P1 year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program. Microbiology with lab is a prerequisite for Immunology, which is currently scheduled for the P2 spring semester. Students may complete Microbiology lecture and lab at ACPHS, or at another accredited institution any time prior to that semester. Students must pass the course at ACPHS or earn a grade of C or better at another institution. Students should consult program directors to discuss scheduling options for the course.
2. Public Speaking may be fulfilled through any course with a significant public-speaking component as demonstrated by the course syllabus
3. Examples of Humanities are English literature, composition, U.S. history, Western civilization, foreign language, philosophy, and cross-disciplinary humanities courses
4. Examples of Social Sciences are psychology, anthropology, sociology and economics
5. Examples of Liberal Arts electives are art, music, sociology, history, psychology, anthropology, foreign language, political science, economics and English

All applicants invited to interview for the PharmD program are required to participate in an in-person interview at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) in Albany, New York.

Virtual interviews are offered only on an occasional, limited basis to a select group of applicants who reside a significant distance from campus and for whom travel to Albany would require air transportation. Virtual interview availability is determined by the Admissions Office and is not available by request.

Applicants should plan accordingly and be prepared to travel to campus if invited to interview.

Should a student wish to matriculate into the program, the first non-refundable enrollment deposit of $200 is due within three weeks of acceptance; the second payment of $200 is due on March 1st for early applicants, or June 1st for later applicants. ACPHS participates in the Cooperative Admissions Guidelines, so all applicants must be aware of the terms they are held to.

Upon placing the first enrollment deposit, students are considered to be matriculating. The onboarding process including receiving their ACPHS email address, being matched with a faculty advisor, and more begins immediately.

Students accepted into the Doctor of Pharmacy program are required to take all courses in the program at the College. This requirement may be waived for students with academic credit for biochemistry, molecular biology and/or immunology courses taken at other academic institutions.

The following must be met for waiver consideration:

• Academic credit must have been earned within the last five years at a regionally accredited institution;
• A grade of “C” or better was earned in the course; and
• Course must be at least the second year level or higher (i.e. Must have been completed after the General Biology sequence).

A course must meet all three minimum criteria to be considered; final approval is granted after review by ACPHS course faculty. Waiver of one, two or all three courses will not result in a decreased tuition rate. Requests for waiver should be directed to Katie Palmer, Director, Pharmacy Admissions.

International student applicants are those who have completed coursework outside the United States/US Territories and those who are not citizens or permanent residents of the US. The information below may pertain to you depending on your current academic or personal status. Please review thoroughly or email Katie.Palmer@acphs.edu with further questions.

Course/Credit Evaluations
Excluding Canadian students who have an English transcript, for any college/university coursework completed outside the US/US territories, a course-by-course evaluation is required. PharmCAS will only accept/ approve WES, so that is our preferred vendor. If utilizing WES, the evaluation should be sent directly to PharmCAS, accompanying the application being submitted. You may choose another vendor approved by NACES, but the original transcript and evaluation must be sent directly to ACPHS.

English Proficiency
Applicants who are not US citizens/ permanent residents or Canadian citizens and do not have at least four years of coursework in which English was the primary language of instruction are required to submit an English proficiency exam.

Options are:

• TOEFL: A minimum score on the TOEFL of 474 paper-based (70% of the maximum score of 677) or 84 Internet-based (70% of the maximum score of 120)
• Duolingo: A minimum score of 110
• IELTS: A minimum score of 6.5

Financial Aid
All accepted students, regardless of citizenship status, are eligible for the Admissions- based scholarships including merit, experience, and first generation college student status. Scholarships will be awarded upon acceptance.

F1 Student Visa Process
Students who are not US citizens/permanent residents (any other criteria to add to this?) are required to secure an F1 Visa for their studies at the College. In order to do so, the student must show the availability of liquid funds in the amount of one year’s tuition, fees, and living expenses, in addition to the I20 application. For students outside Canada, you must make an F1 Visa appointment at your local US embassy, before the visa will be confirmed.

If you are currently on an F1 Visa with another institution, we recommend that you transfer the visa to ACPHS prior to leaving the institution, rather than beginning a new application.

Working while on an F1 Visa
Students may apply for a Social Security number to work on campus while on an F1 Visa. Student Employment can provide further assistance with job opportunities on campus. This excludes rotations; all Pharmacy students, if academically eligible, are able to participate in introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (rotations), regardless of citizenship status.

Loans
There are US loan companies who will lend to international students.

• Ontario Student Assistant Program (OSAP): If you are a student from Ontario, Canada, ACPHS does participate with the OSAP program.
• For students from Quebec: AFE (Aide Financière aux études)/ Student Financial Assistance is a government program that provide residents loans and bursaries for post-secondary education.

Please contact Financial Aid if you have questions about student employment or loans.

As part of the matriculation process into the Pharmacy program, all students must meet the skills and abilities required for a graduate of the pharmacy program at ACPHS to function as a practicing pharmacist.

For more details, please review the standards. Submission of the form is not required until the time of matriculation.