Admissions FAQs

General Information

How many applicants do you accept each year?

Our goal is to matriculate 65-70 students every year. Competition can be affected by the size and composition of the applicant pool for a particular year.

Do you give preference to applicants from California colleges?

No. It is common for applicants to apply to schools within their region, however no preference is given to applicants who live and/or attend school in California.

Do you have rolling admissions?

We have deadlines and interviews in the fall, winter, and spring quarters. You may view our deadlines for the 2023-2024 application cycle (entry in Fall 2024) here.

Do you accept transfer students from other schools of pharmacy?

No. All students enter our program at the first-year level regardless of whether they are a transfer student from another school of pharmacy. This is due to our unique curriculum and because of when during each academic year each course is offered.

Are you on a quarter system or a semester system?

Quarter system.

Do you offer tours of your school?

Tours are available during in-person interviews and post-interviews. We also offer virtual tours of our school.

Virtual Tour #1

Virtual Tour #2

What is the minimum GPA required for admissions?

A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and science GPA of 2.80 is required for application.

Please note that this requirement refers to your cumulative GPAs from every college or university you've attended and is calculated by PharmCAS.

May applicants use pass/fail classes to fulfill the institution's course prerequisites?

We prefer that any prerequisite courses are taken for letter grades, however we will accept pass/fail only if no letter grade option is available.

What is the GPA range of the students who matriculate into the PharmD program?

We matriculate students with an overall GPA range of 3.0-4.0 and science GPA of 2.8-4.0. Our entering class overall and science GPAs average around 3.5 each year.

Is a BA or BS degree required for admission?

Yes. We do not place a preference on certain degrees, but degrees in sciences may help the applicant better prepare for pharmacy school. We highly recommend that you take science courses prior to applying.

Do I have to take the PCAT, GRE, or TOEFL?

No. Our program does not require any standardized tests. Standardized test scores will not be taken in to account during our application review process.

Do you accept online coursework?

Yes, we do accept online coursework with the exception of prerequisite lab courses. If you are hoping to take an online lab course for one of our prerequisites, please email us a copy of the course syllabus at sppsadmissions@health.ucsd.edu so that we may evaluate if the content of the online lab course is sufficient in fulfilling our requirements.

Do you require an Application Processing Fee?

No. An Application Processing Fee is not required at this time.

Can I enter in the Winter or Spring quarter?

No, we accept applications for only the fall quarter each year.

I'm changing courses that aren't related to the pharmacy prerequisites. Must I notify your office of these changes?

No, as long as it does not impact receiving your bachelor's degree prior to matriculation.

How do spaces in the entering class become available?

Financial issues, personal issues, or medical issues sometimes prevent an applicant from accepting an offer. Every year some applicants are also administratively canceled. This could be for failing a prerequisite, not completing all the prerequisites, or not submitting documents or other verification materials required by the University.

Where am I on the alternate list?

We may not be able to tell you where you rank on the alternate list, but we will do our best to communicate with you while you are on the alternate list. We know this is important to you and thank you for your patience.

What are my chances?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict how many accepted applicants will decline their admission offer or be canceled.

How soon will I know if I am going to get an offer from the alternate list?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when accepted applicants will decline our offer or be canceled. The waiting list remains open until the first day of classes. We will let you know as soon as possible as we approach that day.

How many alternates are accepted each year?

Since the reasons for declining an admission offer or for being canceled are often related to personal or unexpected situations, it is impossible to predict the number of alternates that will be offered admission in any given year. However, our experience has been that some of the applicants each year are offered admission from the alternate list.

If I am offered admission, how will I be contacted?

You will be contacted by email if we are going to make you an offer. Therefore, it is very important for you to keep us informed of any changes in your contact information. If we cannot reach you by email, or if you do not reply within the allotted time frame, we assume you are no longer interested in attending UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Do you require a registration fee deposit?

No. A registration fee deposit is not required at this time.

May I appeal a decision of denial?

Only if you feel an error has occurred. Unfortunately, because of our small class size and large applicant pool, most applicants receive denials. We can only accept 65-70 students each year.

May I apply again in a future application cycle?

Yes. You will have to submit a new application through PharmCAS. We do not save records from previous years so you will need to submit your application as a new applicant.