College of Pharmacy
Overview
Established: 1923
Location: Public Health and Health Professions, Nursing and Pharmacy (HPNP) Complex, UF Health Science Center in Gainesville, and three distance education campus sites in Jacksonville, Orlando and St. Petersburg
Rankings: Ranked ninth among ninety-five colleges of pharmacy in the country
Accredited: The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60602-5109; 312-664-3575, fully accredits the Doctor of Pharmacy Program.
Programs: The College of Pharmacy offers the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program. Students can also opt to complete joint-degree programs in Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Health, as well as combined programs with the Juris Doctorate or the Doctor of Philosophy in the Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Degree: Doctor of Pharmacy
Academic Advising: Office for Student Affairs, P. O. Box 100495, HPNP Building, G205A, Gainesville, FL 32610-0495, 352-273-6400
Scholarships and Financial Aid: The College of Pharmacy offers financial aid to admitted pharmacy students through a variety of sponsors, including a Jack Eckerd Endowment and a Charlotte Liberty Family endowment. Other sponsors of financial aid include pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy organizations and the pharmacy alumni association. A list of scholarships and financial aid is available in the college’s Office for Student Affairs.
Computer Requirement: Pharmacy students must have a laptop computer. Specific minimum computer standards for all campus locations.
Internships/ Career Guidance: Clinical experiences in the advanced pharmacy practice phase of the PharmD curriculum meet internship requirements for licensure in the state of Florida. Career information is available through the Office for Student Affairs.
Student Organizations: The College of Pharmacy has Student Councils that serve as liaisons for student organizations on all four campus sites. Professional student organizations include the Academy of Student Pharmacists, the Student Chapter of the National Pharmacy Association, the Student Chapter of American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the Student Chapter of the Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists.
Campus Sites for the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Program
The College of Pharmacy’s four campus sites in Florida, mentioned in the preceding column, provide the education necessary for students to meet the requirements of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The Gainesville campus site presently admits 130 students while the three other campus sites each admit approximately 50-60 students in the first professional year.
The Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is delivered to students in the distance education sites via videostreaming of pharmacy lectures. Students receive these lectures on their computers within several hours of the presentation. Students in the distance education sites must meet several times per week during the semester to review integrated case studies, present projects, participate in question and answer sessions, and review lecture material before examinations.
All students take examinations at the same time, usually in the late afternoons and early evenings on designated days. All students receive the same curriculum, take the same examinations and complete the same requirements for the degree. Pharmacy students in the distance education program interact with faculty facilitators at the campus site, and they communicate with course coordinators and individual lecturers through computer email and discussion sessions using the WebCT platform on their computers. Each campus site has an assistant dean, an assistant director, a coordinator of student affairs, staff and faculty facilitators to provide an excellent educational experience. Large and small classrooms, computer labs, library and administrative offices are available at each campus site.