Types of Admission

Students are admitted to the professional PharmD Program through the pharmacy guarantee or the open admission process.

Pharmacy Guarantee – Freshman Applicants

High School students applying to the University of Pittsburgh must first submit an application to the University’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.  The School of Pharmacy does not admit freshmen directly to the professional program.  Candidates who specify prepharmacy on their application, demonstrate academic success in high school, and score 1330 or higher on the SAT1 (Math and Critical Reading sections), with a minimum of 660 in the Math section, will be offered a Pharmacy Guarantee. (Test optional applicants are eligible for this guarantee.)

Students who receive the guarantee are expected to perform well in their preprofessional courses. In order to secure a place in the PharmD Program, students must earn:

  • a letter grade of a C or better in all preprofessional courses with no repeated courses
    • NOTE: A grade of a W constitutes a repeat for the purposes of this policy
  • a 3.25 or greater overall GPA in preprofessional courses
  • a 3.25 or greater GPA in the required Math and Science courses
    • NOTE:  Pharmacy Guarantee recipients must take the required Math and Science courses at the University of Pittsburgh.  (AP credits are acceptable.)

To exercise the Pharmacy Guarantee, all applicants must:

  • submit a completed PharmCAS application and fee
  • participate in a satisfactory interview prior to School of Pharmacy admission
  • PCAT for fall 2023 PharmD Admissions TBD (see below)
  • writing assessment TBD

Pharmacy Guaranteed students who meet these performance criteria will be admitted into the PharmD Program.

PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) The PCAT is optional for fall 2022 PharmD admissions and will be considered in the holistic application review process for applicants who have reported scores. Applicants who are unable to complete an exam or who choose not to report exam scores will not be disadvantaged.

Visit the PCAT web site for registration deadlines for test dates and register as early as possible since the test sites have a limited number of examinee seats for each exam date. Register to take the PCAT (Applicants are advised to take the PCAT in July and/or September, October, or November for consideration) and have your scores sent to PharmCAS, code 104.

Open Admissions

All other students applying to the program compete for space in the class through open (non-guaranteed) admission. The following are the requirements to be considered for the School of Pharmacy’s professional program:

  • completion of the pre-professional requirements
  • completion of the application process by the deadline
  • earn an overall grade point average of 3.0 or greater to be competitive
  • earn a grade point average of 3.0 or greater in science pre-professional courses to be competitive
  • selected applicants will be required to participate in the interview process (interviews are by invitation only)

Evaluation of Applicants for Open Admission

The School accepts students who have a variety of career expectations and educational experiences. Every effort is made to encourage and recruit students with diverse cultural, economic, and social backgrounds. When making decisions, the Admissions Committee considers evidence of sound scholarship, community involvement, leadership, and communication skills. Evidence of sound scholarship includes:

  • Overall pre-professional performance
  • Performance in required science and math courses
  • Consistency of performance
  • Depth and breadth of courses
  • PCAT score
    • PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) The PCAT is optional for fall 2022 PharmD Admissions and will be considered in the holistic application review process for applicants who have reported scores. Applicants who are unable to complete an exam or who choose not to report exam scores will not be disadvantaged.Visit the PCAT web site for registration deadlines for test dates and register as early as possible since the test sites have a limited number of examinee seats for each exam date. Register to take the PCAT (Applicants are advised to take the PCAT in July and/or September, October, or November for consideration) and have your scores sent to PharmCAS, code 104.

Evidence of community involvement includes, but is not limited to:

  • Participation in activities that benefit the community
  • Significant involvement in college organizations or groups

Evidence of leadership includes, but is not limited to:

  • Selection to positions of leadership by faculty or peers
  • Positions held within an organization
  • Service as resident or teaching assistant

Evidence of communication ability includes, but is not limited to:

  • Performance in speech course
  • Written personal statement
  • Extracurricular activities and work experience requiring communication skills
  • Interview