The PharmD curriculum is a four-year combination of required and elective courses. Students are generally enrolled in 11-19 units each semester. The sample curriculum outlined below provides an overview of the current PharmD curriculum.
Foundational courses in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, social-administrative and clinical sciences comprise the first three years of the program. Students complete Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) along with classroom-based courses. The end of the third year and final (fourth) year of the program includes the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE), which are set in healthcare setting throughout the greater Los Angeles area, along with a capstone course.
The School’s Curriculum Committee continuously reviews and enhances the curriculum to ensure students develop the competencies essential to the pharmacist’s expanding role as a health care provider. Curriculum changes also reflect scientific advances, population profile changes, increasing health expectations, technological advances, the increasing role of the government in health services and other influences.
View a sample four-year course plan.
Learn more about the PharmD curriculum in the PharmD Student Handbook.
Areas of Concentration
The USC Alfred E. School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is pleased to offer seven areas of concentration within the PharmD curriculum. Twelve units will be required for each area of concentration and can be completed as part of the regular PharmD curriculum.
For questions about the areas of concentration, please email Edith Mirzaian, associate professor of clinical pharmacy and associate dean of curriculum, at emirzakh@usc.edu.