A Special Announcement from the Dean's Office

The primary goal of the new PharmD 3.5 program is to help the students. To help the students become pharmacists sooner, enter the workplace, start their careers sooner, and start earning money sooner. The new PharmD 3.5 program also helps reduce the time taken to train healthcare professionals and accelerates the entry of pharmacists into the healthcare workforce to help address the shortage of healthcare professionals in Arizona and nationally.

The first group of students in the new PharmD 3.5 program will matriculate into the program in June 2026 and graduate in December 2029.

In May 2024, Dean Schnellmann formed a committee to explore a 3-year PharmD program which was ultimately not pursued. Subsequently, in September 2024, the same committee (working closely with the curriculum committee) was tasked with exploring potential structures for a 3.5-year program. Subgroups were formed and tasked with exploring certain aspects of the program. Broader faculty input was sought through regular information and listening sessions provided at faculty huddles/meetings throughout this process.

The simplest way to think of the new PharmD 3.5 program is a one-semester shift in the start and end dates – the program will begin in June (rather than August) and finish in December, rather than May of the fourth year. Beginning in June, students in the new PharmD 3.5 program will begin their studies in a 10-week summer session. Although the details of the curriculum are yet to be finalized, it is anticipated that this session will include foundational concepts relevant to the basic sciences as well as an introduction to pharmacy practice. After a 2-week break, there will be a regularly scheduled Fall semester, winter break, and Spring semester. The summer break between years 1 and 2 will be the same length as the current 4-year program and will be available for students to complete IPPE and RHPP rotations. The second year consists of a regularly scheduled Fall semester, winter break, and Spring semester. The summer break between years 2 and 3 will be the same length as the current 4-year program and will be available for students to complete IPPE and RHPP rotations. In the third year, there will be one final Fall semester followed by winter break. Students will begin their APPE rotations in January of the third year and finish in December of the fourth year. Again, although the details of the curriculum are yet to be finalized, it is anticipated that these semesters will include a new, integrated, systems-based curriculum. 

Course scheduling will be considered to provide an efficient use of student time, optimizing their time on campus for classes and providing time in the week for experiential education and co-curricular activities. Overall, there will be five fewer weeks of didactic teaching time in the new PharmD 3.5 program relative to the former 4-year program. There are three possible solutions to address these lost weeks which will be determined as the new curriculum is developed: (1) An integrated, systems-based curriculum may offer an opportunity to eliminate content redundancy in the program, saving some time; (2) additional content will be taught in each semester (approximately 1 credit extra per semester); (3) the professional development block (during the 12-month APPEs) could be used for an advanced clinical pharmacy/case-studies style course. A combination of these three solutions may also be used. See the figure below comparing the timeframe of the 4-year program and the new PharmD 3.5 program.

There will be a review of the necessary pre-work, and a standardized workflow will be developed. LuzMaria Hernandez (student services) will oversee a team of student ambassadors who will contact admitted students to welcome them to the PHARMCAT family and guide them through any pre-work, with follow-ups as necessary. 

The necessary pre-work will be reviewed, and a standardized workflow will be developed. LuzMaria Hernandez (student services) will oversee a team of student ambassadors who will contact admitted students to welcome them to the PHARMCAT family, and guide them through any pre-work, with follow-ups as necessary. As part of the refreshed curriculum, it is anticipated that there will be an integrated orientation throughout the first summer session to better support new students. It is also anticipated that student mentorship, student portfolios, and continuing professional development will be emphasized in the refreshed curriculum. 

Yes, students will finish five months earlier compared to 4-year programs that finish in May. This will allow those students to enter the workplace sooner, start their careers, and start earning a pharmacist’s salary. Those students who wish to purse residency, fellowships, or other training that begins in the summer can still do so. They will be able to study for the NAPLEX, seek temporary employment, relocate, take vacation, etc., before their next program begins. 

Yes, students who wish to pursue residency, fellowships, or other training that begins in the summer can still do so. They will be able to study for the NAPLEX, seek temporary employment, relocate, take vacation, etc., before their next program begins. The 3.5-year PharmD program offers more flexibility to these students, who would otherwise still be in the PharmD program at that time. 

By making use of the 10-week summer session at the start of the program and removing a 15-week Spring semester at the end of the program, there will be five fewer weeks of didactic teaching time with the 3.5-year program versus the 4-year program, yet students will finish five months earlier than they otherwise would. 

By making use of the 10-week summer session at the start of the program and removing a 15-week Spring semester at the end of the program, there will be five weeks less of didactic teaching time with the 3.5-year program versus the 4-year program. With careful consideration of the curriculum, it should not feel rushed or more stressful for students.

By transitioning to a 3.5-year PharmD program, our program will remain distinct from the other schools of pharmacy in Arizona, both of which offer 3-year programs (one in-person and one online). As the only public school of pharmacy in the state, RKCCOP maintains a unique position as Arizona’s premier institution for pharmacy education, offering a comprehensive and rigorous curriculum that balances an accelerated timeline with the depth of training and experience our students need to succeed in their careers. Additionally, as the only public institution, RKCCOP continues to provide high-quality education with strong ties to research and the state’s healthcare community, offering a competitive advantage to our graduates.

In November 2024, a sample of students enrolled in a core course for the Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) program were asked to complete a questionnaire about the new PharmD 3.5 program. This population was chosen as they are potential future applicants to the PharmD program. Overall, 54 students provided 18 pages of comments, which indicated two main themes: (1) students would like the opportunity to finish their studies and start their careers earlier; and (2) students would like the opportunity to start earning money earlier. 

Several stakeholders have been consulted and indicated support for the new PharmD 3.5 program. This includes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), who indicated that this was a novel program that could help advance pharmacy education, senior representatives of CVS and Walgreens, who noted the beneficial advantages of being able to hire new pharmacists outside of the traditional summer season, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education site visit team, who indicated they had no problem with the proposed plans, as well as University of Arizona senior leadership.

No. The summers between years 1 and 2, and years 2 and 3, are needed for students to complete their Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) and the rural health program. 

A new approach to tuition for the PharmD 3.5 program will be implemented. Students will be charged a single tuition fee to attend the program. It is anticipated that this tuition fee will be similar to the current 4-year program.

Yes. The summer between years 1 and 2, and the summer between years 2 and 3, will remain available for IPPE rotations in the new PharmD 3.5 program. The same amount of time will be available in the summers as the current 4-year program. The curriculum can also be designed to allow one day per week in the fall and spring semesters for students to complete their IPPEs, similar to the current 4-year program.

Yes. The summer between years 1 and 2, and the summer between years 2 and 3, will still be available for IPPE and rural health program rotations in the new PharmD 3.5 program. The same amount of time will be available in the summers as the current 4-year program.

Yes. The curriculum committee has already been discussing ideas to develop a new PharmD curriculum that would fit within the new PharmD 3.5 program structure. It is anticipated that this would be an integrated, systems-based curriculum taught alongside some standalone topics. The curriculum committee will work expeditiously into the new year to develop a proposed new curriculum that will be implemented alongside the new PharmD 3.5 program.

There will be opportunities to offer new educational/training programs in the Spring semester of the fourth year, both to our recent graduates and other members of the pharmacy profession. Several ideas have already been suggested. Further work will be conducted to develop these opportunities in the future. 

Other summer-start programs exist at the U of A and many other institutions, so access to financial aid should be feasible. Preliminary conversations with the university have indicated that changes for financial aid are possible. The college will work with the university to help make sure arrangements for financial aid are in place.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for a pharmacist is $136,000. Based on this data, there is an opportunity for pharmacy students who graduate in December to get a job as a full-time pharmacist and gross $56,000 in five months.

The new PharmD 3.5 program uses the existing University of Arizona semester structure for simplicity and standardization. A variety of options within the existing university semester structure are possible, including a typical 15-week session, 7.5-week sessions, and five-week sessions. Alternative structures were considered, including using dynamically dated sessions. However, this requires substantial additional work for little benefit and would result in College of Pharmacy courses being scheduled out of sequence with other courses in the university that students may wish to pursue for electives.

There will be two graduation ceremonies per year, starting with the first graduating class of the new PharmD 3.5 program – one in December for the PharmD students and another in May for BS, MS, and PhD students. 

In collaboration with Curricular Affairs and other pertinent stakeholders, the curriculum committee will work expeditiously to develop a curriculum that fits within the PharmD 3.5 structure. Preliminary work has already begun and will continue in January 2025.

Dr. Rhys Axon will lead the work to implement the PharmD 3.5 program in time for the June 2026 start date.