The Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum prepares students to be leaders in the pharmacy profession and provides them with the tools to effectively practice in a wide variety of currently existing and potential future roles in hospitals, medical centers, community pharmacies, academia, government, and the pharmaceutical industry. It is expected that the emerging fields of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics will have a profound influence on the future practice of pharmacy. Graduates of the UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences are in an excellent position to bring these advances to the patient care setting.
The curriculum is dynamic and under frequent revision. Presently, the four-year Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is as follows:
Year 1 includes courses in anatomy, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacy informatics, law and ethics, health policy, study design, biostatistics, and an introduction to the practice of pharmacy.
Year 2 is focused on the COAST (caring, original, advocates share, and thrive) curriculum with pharmacy students enrolled in courses alongside first-year medical students including the cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, gastrointestinal system, nutrition, renal system, immunology, hematology, endocrinology, reproduction, metabolism, and microbiology. Year 2 also includes courses in pharmacology, physiology, and laboratory medicine.
Year 3 builds on the curriculum provided in Year 2 with courses in therapeutics, pharmacogenomics, contemporary topics in pharmacology, pharmacoeconomics, and advanced professional practice. The therapeutics and advanced professional practice course series apply the knowledge and skills learned in prior courses to the clinical management of patients.
Years 1 through 3 During the first three years of the pharmacy curriculum, students engage in Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) rotations in community pharmacy, institutional health-system pharmacy, and health-related service learning settings. The IPPEs serve as a bridge between didactic courses and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations in Year 4.
Year 4 is devoted entirely to APPE rotations where students learn to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in the curriculum to clinical, community, research, and industry settings. Many of these rotations take place at UC San Diego-affiliated medical centers, such as UC San Diego Medical Center - Hillcrest, UC San Diego Medical Center - La Jolla, the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in La Jolla, and Rady Children's Hospital. Through successful collaboration and partnership, many other medical, biotechnology, and research locations throughout San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange counties, across the country, and internationally are also available as APPE sites to our students.
Co-Curricular Program
Co-curricular activities are designed to help build student competencies outside of the classroom, to enhance their approach to practice and care, and to improve personal and professional development skills. The Co-curriculum emphasizes quality over quantity, collaborative achievement, professional service and stewardship, and personal responsibility. The Co-curricular Courses encompasses experiences in four domains: 1) Leadership, 2) Problem Solving Process, 3) Professionalism & Career Development, and 4) Self-Awareness. The program’s longitudinal format identifies activities in all four years of the curriculum and includes required and self-selected experiences across the domains. The nature of an individual student’s co-curricular plan is intended to reflect the student’s strengths, growth areas, goals, and interests.
Research Project
Completion of a research project is required of all students and is a prerequisite for graduation. Students are encouraged to consider potential projects beginning in their first year. Students are allowed to complete their research projects in any academic year. For Pharm.D./Ph.D. program students, completion of the Ph.D. thesis project will satisfy this graduation project requirement.
