PharmD Pharmacy

The study of Pharmacy will put you at the cutting edge of new treatments and therapies, particularly as new specialty drugs and target drug therapies emerge to treat diseases and as expertise advances in pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics. As a pharmacist, you will have direct one-on-one opportunities to make a difference by caring and working with patients and their families to manage the safe and effective use of medicines and promote health and wellness. A Pharmacy career also provides diverse and rewarding opportunities for scientific research and innovation.

Earning your Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree at Marshall University, Huntington, WV, means you will complete an intensive doctoral program similar to that of a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and be well-prepared to start a lifelong career as a top healthcare professional.

Pharmacists work in a wide range of settings, including:

A Pharmacy degree was previously awarded as an undergraduate degree, but academic and professional standards have changed to require that students earn the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The Pharm.D. degree is required to be eligible for licensure as a pharmacist. Marshall’s four-year Pharm.D. degree program offers classes from August to May each academic year.

The Marshall Pharm.D. program does not require a bachelor’s degree for admission. Students can complete the necessary pharmacy school requirements in as few as two years. Marshall also offers a pre-pharmacy program for our students.

Marshall’s School of Pharmacy is especially proud of the excellent learning environment we provide for our students:

Marshall University’s Pharmacy degree programs are fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. We offer one of the most affordable Doctor of Pharmacy programs located on a health science campus in West Virginia, one of the most affordable areas of the country.

The PharmD curriculum has been built around 11 terminal learning outcomes and 70 different abilities. These learning outcomes address patient safety and medication therapy management as well as the professional skills, attitudes and values that are necessary for effective pharmacy practice.

Students also can choose to complete a dual degree:

Our new Pharmacy home is Stephen J. Kopp Hall—a 50,00 sq. ft. building with three floors, state-of-the-art studio classrooms and great spaces to study on your own and work with teams. Pharmacy students also can benefit from our innovative practice laboratory and our skills alcove.

Pharm.D. students can choose to live in Marshall’s new graduate student housing, Fairfield Landing, featuring fully furnished studio and two-bedroom apartments.

Employment of pharmacists is projected to grow 6 percent through 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

More pharmacists will be needed in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals and clinics, to oversee the medications given to patients and to provide patient care, performing tasks such as testing a patient’s blood sugar or cholesterol.

The large Baby Boom generation is aging, and older people typically use more prescription medicines than younger people. Higher rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes among all age groups will also lead to demand for prescription medications. In addition, scientific advances will lead to new drug products.

Employment of pharmacists in some traditional retail settings, like grocery stores, is projected to decline slightly as mail order and online pharmacy sales increase.

With the growth of pharmacy schools in recent years, there are more pharmacy school graduates and therefore more competition for jobs. Students who choose to complete a residency program gain additional experience that may improve their job prospects. Certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties or as a Certified Diabetes Educator also may provide advantages with employers.

The median annual wage for pharmacists was $126,120 in May 2018, the BLS reports. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $87,790, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $161,250.

The following are median annual wages for pharmacists, as of May 2018, in the top industries where they’re employed:

Marshall has an on-time graduation rate of 94 percent for Pharmacy students, and job placement at the time of graduation is 88 percent.

Marshall Pharmacy graduates continue to find employment:

Students who successfully complete the Pharm.D. program are eligible to sit for the NAPLEX licensure examination which is required for employment as a practicing pharmacist in the United States.

Students can also continue with post-Pharm.D. education through residencies, fellowships and additional graduate education opportunities at Marshall University or at other schools nationwide. Current Marshall University School of Pharmacy residency programs are available at King’s Daughters Medical Center, Ashland, KY; Holzer Health System, Gallipolis, OH; Marshall Health, Huntington, WV; and at Valley Health, Huntington, WV. Review more information about our residency programs.

Pharmacy students are able and encouraged to participate in research from day 1. Bench and wet lab research opportunities are available in Marshall’s pharmaceutical research laboratories, and pharmaceutical practice and administrative research is conducted with our faculty in the pharmacy practice department.

You’ll have many different research opportunities that encompass several different disciplines including medical chemistry, pharmacology, immunology, T-cell regulation, drug development and delivery, oncology, sepsis, substance abuse disorder, antibiotic development, ion channel regulation, drug use, factors affecting student success, along with the investigation of different learning and teaching strategies. Financial support for research activities over the summer is available for selected students.

Students in the Doctor of Pharmacy Program are required to complete several Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) during their first three professional years in the School of Pharmacy.

Students will experience a variety of practice environments at IPPE rotation sites, located throughout the tri-state area, within easy driving distance from Marshall. In their fourth year, Pharmacy students focus on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). Learn more about these opportunities.

Many Pharmacy students also work as paid Pharmacy interns in community, hospital and other pharmacy practice settings while attending school.