Overview

Maybe it’s the long white coats or the curiosity of what goes on behind that big counter. Or perhaps you’ve already figured out that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most rapidly developing fields in medicine today. It seems as if we’re able to go to our local pharmacist for just about everything, from headaches to foot pains to cures for high blood pressure.


At the heart of pharmaceuticals is the Pharmacy major. Pharmacy is sometimes listed within a broader pharmaceutical science major, which provides its students with the opportunity to pick a concentration in several different areas, such as medicinal chemistry or pharmacology. A major in Pharmacy prepares students to create new drugs that can fight cancer and administer prescription drugs to those who need them.


The science behind pharmaceuticals is expanding at an incredible rate, ushering in numerous advances in medicine.

SAMPLE CURRICULUM

  • Analytical Chemistry

  • Anatomy and Physiology

  • Biological Chemistry

  • Calculus

  • Chemistry

  • General Biology

  • Medicinal Chemistry

  • Microbiology

  • Organic Chemistry

  • Pharmaceutics

  • Pharmacology

  • Physical Chemistry

  • Physics

  • Statistics


HIGH SCHOOl PREPARATION

In a word: chemistry. Pharmacists create and dispense chemicals—both combined with others and in pure form—that prevent or cure diseases. You should take the toughest chemistry courses your school offers and master the subject. Biology and complex math are also essential to the Pharmacy major.