PharmD

Doctor of Pharmacy

Develop the skills necessary to improve patient care and transform the profession of pharmacy.

Ohio State's top 10 Doctor of Pharmacy program will train you to become the medication expert on the health care team through our innovative curriculum and access to six other health science colleges and a world-renowned academic medical center steps away.

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The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy's Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program develops best-in-class care providers who serve as the responsible medication experts in the healthcare delivery system. Graduates of the program are exceptionally well prepared for pharmacy practice and advanced pharmacy education.

Ohio State has seven health science colleges and is located in the center of a comprehensive, nationally-ranked medical center. Student pharmacists have access to world-class faculty members in the College of Pharmacy, where they can learn from scientists and clinicians who are discovering tomorrow’s cures and treating today’s most complex diseases. See for yourself how the Buckeye community comes together to work toward improving the health and lives of others.

Ohio State academic programs are designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure and certification and state licensing board contact information at http://go.osu.edu/onground.

Key Outcomes

Chart displaying four-year graduation rates for the past five years.
Graduation Rates
Class of Four-year graduation rate* Delayed graduation for personal or academic reasons Dismissed Withdrew for personal or academic reasons
2023 88.5% 4.3% 0.7% 6.5%**
2022 93.6% 2.4% 0.0% 4.0%
2021 92.1% 0.8% 0.0% 7.1%**
2020 96.9% 2.3% 0.0% 0.8%
2019 94.4% 2.8% 0.7% 2.1%

 


 

Licensure Exam Pass Rates for NAPLEX and MPJE scores for the past five years.
Licensure Exam Pass Rates***
Year NAPLEX
Ohio State
NAPLEX 
All Graduates from ACPE-accredited programs
MPJE 
Ohio State
MPJE 
All Graduates from ACPE-accredited programs
2023 93% 
(n=116)
79% 
(n=11,537)
91% 
(n=66)
74% 
(n=7,151)
2022 90% 
(n=113)
78% 
(n=13,267)
95% 
(n=77)
77% 
(n=8,612)
2021 86% 
(n=110)
82% 
(n=14,013)
87% 
(n=87)
79% 
(n=9,178)
2020 91%
(n=127)
86% 
(n=14,081)
85% 
(n=97)
83% 
(n=9,397)

Ohio State’s first-time test takers have exceeded the average annual pass rate for ACPE-accredited programs on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination® (NAPLEX) and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination® (MPJE) since 2012.

Third Professional Year Program-Level Assessment Highlights, Class of 2024****

 

Table Showing Program-Level Assessment Highlights
Percentage of students who passed PLA 3 course (n=118) 100%
Percentage of class passing ≥ 80% of assessments 98%
Percentage of class passing ≥ 90% of assessments: 76%
Percentage of class passing patient communication assessments 100%

 


How did students pay for Pharmacy School?

Loans 84%
A Job 57%
Scholarship 50%
Family Support 33%
Personal Savings 27%
Employer Tuition Assistance
(In exchange for work commitment)
3%
Other
(Including GI Bill, OSU dependent tuition assistance)
2%

 


Class of 2023 Post-Graduation Outcomes: September, 2023 (n=124)

Residency or Residency/Combined Master's 58%
Employment Offer Accepted or Received 31%
Fellowship 7%
Lost to Follow Up 4%

 


Residencies 2023: Practice Settings (n=72)

PGY1 Pharmacy Residency (Setting not specified) 77%
PGY1 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency 8%
PGY1 Community Pharmacy Residency 6%
PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency Program 4%
PGY1 + Master's Program 3%
PGY1/2 Health System Pharmacy & Leadership (No MS) 1%
Home Infusion 1%

 


Employment 2023: Practice Settings (n=37)

Community Pharmacy 70%
Hospital Pharmacy (Inpatient or outpatient) 14%
Nuclear Pharmacy 5%
Industry 5%
Specialty Pharmacy 3%
Pharmacy Analytics 3%

 


Post-Graduation Employment 2023*****

Average number of months spent aggressively seeking employment, at graduation 1.9 (↑0.2 from 2022)
Average number of employers interviewed with, at graduation 1.6 (↑0.1 from 2022)
Average number of job offers received per student at time of graduation, at graduation 1.3 (↓0.1 from 2022)
Average starting salary Sept. 2023 (FT, excluding residency salaries) $116,246 (↑$6,504 from 2022)

 


Post-Graduation Placement Satisfaction 2023*****

Pleased with post-graduation offers received (Including graduates still seeking placement) 93%
Satisfied with post-graduation placement (Of graduates receiving offers) 96%
Obtained placement in preferred pharmacy setting (Of graduates receiving offers) 92%

 

 

*Four-year graduation rate: Percentage of students from cohort admitted four years prior, not counting students pursuing dual degrees requiring longer time to degree. Percentages of students delaying graduation for other reasons, withdrawing, or dismissed from program based on number of non-dual-degree graduates from the cohort admitted four years prior.

**Class of 2023 and Class of 2021 withdrawal rates are under review by program administration.

***Pass rates for 2020-2022 graduates reported by National Association of Boards of Pharmacy for the NAPLEX and MPJE. Results are for first-time test takers who are same-year graduates from Ohio State. Examinees who graduated before or after the reported years are not included. Examinees who tested before or after the reported years were not included. Only ACPE-accredited institutions are included in these pass rates. Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence (MPJE) exam results reflect test takers testing in state in which their school is located.

****The Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum includes end-of-year Program-level Assessments composed of written and performance-based assessments of critical knowledge and skills. Third-year Program-level Assessments are formative and summative assessments of student readiness to progress. Results shown here are for Class of 2024 graduates, who completed these assessments in April 2023. Students were required to pass at least 11 of 16 activities to be eligible to begin advanced practice experience rotations.

*****Data obtained from OSU College of Pharmacy PharmD Post-Graduation Survey of the Class of 2023, conducted April 17-May 2, 2023. Of 124 graduating students, 124 returned completed surveys (100% response rate). Follow-up surveys were conducted with "still seeking" respondents Aug. 14 - Sept. 23, 2023 (47% response). Due to the nature of the survey, individuals were only required to answer the questions that applied to them, leading to a varying number of responses for each item. 44 students self-reported months seeking employment, number of interviews and number of offers. 26 of 37 students receiving or accepting employment reported starting salaries.