Pre-Pharmacy

Pursue your interests in science and research in Christ-centered environment, while preparing for your post-graduate work in pharmacy.

Houghton's program in pre-pharmacy, in partnership with the University at Buffalo (UB), is a seven-year program resulting in a biology BA from Houghton and a PharmD from UB. The program entails three years of study at Houghton and four years at UB. Students in the program must meet UB academic requirements and interview for the program.

Program Snapshot

Undergraduate Pre-Professional Pathway

Recommended Majors: Biology (BA), Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences

Pre-Med Advisor: Jamie Potter

Learn more about graduate partnerships

What will I learn?

Through Houghton’s Pre-Pharmacy program you will:

Work as a scientist in the lab your very first year in our hands-on, experiential program
Build a strong foundation in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics
Explore opportunities to travel to a developing country to study foundations of health development
Conduct, publish and present real research with one or more of Houghton University’s faculty members

Why study Pre-Pharmacy at Houghton?

Personal Attention from Invested Faculty

Pre-pharmacy students have many opportunities to get to know their professors on a personal level. Professors teach the labs as well as lectures instead of relying on teaching assistants. Classes are capped to maximize interaction between faculty and students. Each student has an adviser from the Department of Biology whose interest/expertise are aligned with the students’ (as much as possible) to personalize advisement related to graduate school or career preparation as well as course selection. At Houghton, you'll be mentored, supported and cared for. Invested faculty care about your academic success as well as your spiritual, emotional, and professional growth.

Undergraduate Research

As a pre-pharmacy student, you'll do real research with one or more of the faculty at Houghton. Work towards publishing your findings in peer-reviewed journals or present talks and posters at regional and national conferences. Opportunities for research include:

Collaborative research in biology course
Independent study
Senior honors projects
Shannon Summer Research Institute
Collaborative research with faculty (e.g., Cornell University and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California)

Experiential Learning

At Houghton, we emphasize hands-on engagement in the field of biology. You'll do science as a scientist in the first year of the general biology sequence. Learning experiences are often open-ended and require critical thinking and your input on design, implementation and analysis. You can work directly in the field through off-campus study, practicums, internships and student-faculty research collaborations.

Graduate Partnerships

University at Buffalo

Take advantage of Houghton’s partnership with the University at Buffalo, a research-intensive school that is ranked #1 in New York State and is the premier school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

The Houghton portion of the program includes coursework in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics as well as a number of courses required for admission into the UB PharmD program. The Biology BA major is completed with 26 hours in the major, 8 hours of prerequisites, and 8 hours of corequisites.

The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from UB is a professional degree program designed to prepare students to serve as contemporary, compassionate, creative and scholarly pharmacy practitioners, educators, researchers and leaders in the advancement of the pharmacy profession. The curriculum consists of courses in basic biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice. The coursework is integrated with progressive patient-centered practice experiences with a focus on educating practitioners capable of providing care. It is capped by a nine-month experiential program. This program in pharmacy leads to licensure in any state provided that the graduate passes and obtains licensure in the state requested.

Prerequisite Courses

General Biology: Organism to Ecosystems (4 credits)
General Biology: Cellular Biology and Genetics (4 credits)

Corequisites

General Chemistry I (4 credits)
General Chemistry II (4 credits)

Required Courses

Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits)
Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits)
Microbiology (4 credits)
Genetics (4 credits)
Senior Capstone: Senior Seminar (2 credits)
Biology Electives (to be met at UB) (8 credits)
UB prerequisites for PharmD program (see UB catalog)

Houghton's program in pre-pharmacy, in partnership with the University at Buffalo (UB), prepares you for many career options. At the completion of this seven-year program you'll be able to pursue your goal of working in:

community pharmacies
hospitals
physician practices
universities
government agencies
pharmaceutical research companies
nursing homes
hospice, or home care

D'Youville University & Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Houghton's pre-pharmacy program has two additional partnerships for those pursing their PharmD. With the Early Acceptance Program at LECOM, students in high school and college can secure a seat in their Doctor of Pharmacy program. With the D'Youville University School of Pharmacy 3+4 articulation agreement, students will earn a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry or Biology at Houghton and a PharmD degree at DYSOP.

Learn more about these partner programs