School of Pharmacy
Small School - Meaningful Experience - Significant Impact
"We are proud of our graduates because they make a difference in the world around them."
-Dr. Kristy Lucas, UCSOP Dean
If your goal is to become a compassionate and competent pharmacist who makes an impact in their community, you have found your school.
UC School of Pharmacy students come from all over the country and the world to become pharmacists who can practice at the top level of their training. They are prepared to be part of or lead interprofessional patient care teams. And they bring a commitment to make a positive impact in the communities in which they serve.
Have questions? Join us for a “Drop-In Session.” Visit our Admissions page for details.
Add an MBA or MSSL to your PharmD - No Additional Cost
Adding a second business-related degree to your PharmD can enhance your career and lead to many opportunities for professional growth.
Our dual degree program lets you add a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a healthcare concentration or a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership (MSSL) degree to your PharmD at no additional cost. Both degrees can be completed in four years – the same time it takes to complete the traditional PharmD degree. And both programs are ACBSP accredited, assuring you of their quality.
Learn more about this exciting program to take your career further.
What sets UC apart?
- We are nationally recognized for our service, community outreach, and strong voice for rural and underserved populations. Our location in the state capital provides opportunities for advocacy.
- You will learn from pharmacists who are actively practicing in their field – so that you get a ‘real world’ glimpse into pharmacy and are also kept up to date on the latest developments in the profession.
- You’ll experience nearly 2,000 hands-on experiential hours, gaining experience in a wide array of pharmacy settings.
- You will develop the skills and experience to practice at large, advanced medical centers, as well as smaller, rural, underserved communities, where a pharmacist can often be the only healthcare provider in the area.
- Our experiential opportunities are as close as West Virginia and as diverse as Alaska and Puerto Rico; in prestigious institutions including the Cleveland Clinic, FDA, CDC, and Indian Health Services.
Our graduates leave UC with the tools to make a difference in the world. We hope you will join us and do the same.
The University of Charleston School of Pharmacy has been named the Interprofessional Award winner for the 2023 Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge. This is the 9th time that UC has won an award from the competition, and UC is one of only five national award winners this year. For the story about how we did it, click here.
Life Changing Experiences
We offer our students many opportunities to make a difference in their own lives – and in the lives of others.
UC Pharmacy students are regularly selected for prestigious internships and experiences. They work with faculty on groundbreaking research and co-author papers in national publications. They earn national awards and have professional opportunities to develop leadership skills.
Our students earn national certifications in immunization, medication therapy management, point of care testing, and oncology (a value of over $1,500 if you earned them outside of our curriculum). They also develop a professional electronic portfolio demonstrating their achievement of competency in 6 core areas: public health, leadership, advocacy, scholarship, cultural awareness, and interprofessional education. All of this career-boosting certification is included in your tuition.
Our students also regularly participate in community health outreach opportunities, drug take back days, advocacy for the profession at the WV Capitol, and more. In the past few years, our students have become involved with COVID-19 vaccination/education programs as well as supporting programs related to opioid addiction.
Learn more about our students’ life-changing educational opportunities:
Pharmacy is more than you might think
There are many diverse options with a pharmacy career. We can help you discover them.
You could be on the team that creates a life-saving drug – or make sure that a new drug is safe for the general public. You could work as a veterinary pharmacist. Teach. Develop better ways to get life- saving medicines to more people efficiently. You can become a writer for technical and medical journals. Create drug prevention programs. And more.
For more information about pharmacy career options, click on the link to Pharmacy is Right For Me – and discover all the options your degree offers.
Some highlights of our program include:
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- Small, safe, private campus
- Individual connections to faculty and other students through smaller classes
- All incoming students receive a renewable scholarship
- Focused curriculum offers active learning with a variety of elective courses
- Unique clinical rotations throughout the US
- More than 90% of UC School of Pharmacy students in each of our classes are employed within the first year of graduation
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- Diverse, welcoming student body
- Holistic admissions process – we look at you as a whole person, not just test scores
- Opportunities to take on leadership roles, participate in research, advocate for the profession
- Interprofessional activities with UC nursing and physician assistant programs
- Emphasis on community outreach, rural healthcare, and underserved population support
UC Offers Unique Opportunities
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- Students achieve competency in 6 core areas – leadership, advocacy, public health, interprofessional education, cultural awareness, and innovation & entrepreneurship
- Certifications in Immunizations, Medication Therapy Management, Point of Care Testing, and Oncology included in tuition; additional opportunities available in diabetes and cardiovascular disease
- Opportunity to earn an MBA/MSSL without additional cost or time spent in the program
- School of Pharmacy students become part of the larger UC community, with access to UC resources, recreational opportunities, lectures and presentations, and more.
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- Opportunities to participate in community outreach and rural health initiatives in areas of disease management, medication adherence and safety, and substance use disorders
Program Outcomes
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Despite state and national trends showing a decline in NAPLEX rates, our graduation-year to graduation-year rate remains steady and has improved from recent years.
The average NAPLEX first-time pass rate for graduating classes 2010-2021 is 85%. 68% of Class of 2022 members passed the NAPLEX on the first attempt.
We take the success of our students seriously and as a result over the last couple years have implemented a new curriculum, progression testing, an early academic intervention system, additional exam review materials delivered during the fourth year of the program, and other exciting changes.
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The average graduation rate for all students in our program is 91%. 80% of the Class of 2023 graduated on time (i.e., completed the program in 4 years), while 91% of the students originally admitted to this class are expected to graduate from the program. We are proud to report that more than 90% of students in each of our classes continue to be employed within the first year of graduation.
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Of those seeking employment within the US, 80% of the Class of 2023 had at least one job offer prior to graduation, with 53% of those having more than one offer.
81% of the Class of 2023 who sought post-graduate training (residency or fellowship) obtained a position.
