International Applicants

There are some basic requirements to be eligible to apply to the PharmD program:

• Completed U.S. bachelor's degree or the equivalent
  • If you have not completed a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent, you are not eligible to apply for the PharmD program. We encourage you instead to check out the Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) program.
     
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 from all coursework from all institutions attended
   
• Completion of all prerequisite courses:
  • A grade of C- or higher is required in all prerequisite courses.
  • Physiology (1 class)
  • Basic Biology (1 class/1 lab)
  • General Chemistry (2 classes/2 labs)
  • Organic Chemistry (2 classes/1 lab)
  • Microbiology (1 class/1 lab)
  • Biochemistry (1 class)
  • Statistics (1 class)
  • Precalculus (1 class)

International applicants that meet these criteria are welcome to apply online through PharmCAS, the Pharmacy College Application Service.

You must have all foreign transcripts evaluated by WES (World Education Service), and then your WES evaluation must be sent directly to PharmCAS. 

International applicants must have any international coursework (coursework taken at any non U.S./Canadian institution) they believe satisfies a prerequisite course evaluated by Ohio State University Transfer Credit Coordinators prior to any offer of admission.

In order to determine if the international coursework you have taken satisfies our prerequisite requirements, you will need to submit your syllabi for each course to the transfer credit evaluator for each individual subject’s department. They will review the syllabi and let you know if it satisfies the prerequisite requirement or not. 

For reference, our prerequisite courses are as follows:

1. Physiology (1 class)
2. Basic Biology (1 class/1 lab)
3. General Chemistry (2 classes/2 labs)
4. Organic Chemistry (2 classes/1 lab)
5. Microbiology (1 class/1 lab)
6. Biochemistry (1 class)
7. Statistics (1 class)
8. Pre-Calculus (1 class)

Please read the following instructions very carefully, as this is the outline for the process which you must follow in order to get a prerequisite evaluation:

1. Obtain PDF copies of the English translations of the full syllabi for each individual prerequisite course. If you have multiple courses you think may satisfy one prerequisite class, please obtain the syllabi for each one. These will need to be in a PDF file format.
    
2. Email the appropriate transfer credit coordinator for the prerequisite course you would like to be evaluated (list below). 
    
   1. When drafting your email, please copy/CC the email address COP-Admissions@osu.edu on the email to each separate coordinator. Please do not skip this step – this is how our admissions team will see that the evaluation has been completed.

   2. Please use this sample email text as the body of your email message. Insert the course name listed underneath the coordinator’s email into the body of the message:

      “Hello,

      I am a prospective PharmD student who took my prerequisite coursework at an international institution, and I would like to see if this course is equivalent to COURSE TITLE at Ohio State. Would you please be able to review this and let me know? I have attached the syllabi to this email. I have also cc’d the PharmD Admissions Team on this email, so they are able to see the results. Thank you in advance!”

       

Transfer Credit Coordinators at Ohio State List

Biology: Adam Andrews: andrews.171@osu.edu

• Course Title: BIO 1113

General Chemistry 1 and 2: Mike Chang: cbctransfer@osu.edu

• Course Title: CHEM 1210
• Course Title: CHEM 1220

Organic Chemistry 1, 2, and lab: Mike Chang: cbctransfer@osu.edu

• Course Title: CHEM 2510
• Course Title: CHEM 2540
• Course Title: CHEM 2520 (Lab)

Biochemistry: Rebecca Ricciardo: cbctransfer@osu.edu

• Course Title: BIOCHEM 4511

Microbiology: Dr. Maggie Wetzel: wetzel.160@osu.edu 

• Course Title: MICRO 4000

Human Physiology: Sue Ellen Dehority: dehority.2@osu.edu

• Course Title: EEOB 2520

**Statistics: Please submit your course materials via the department's online transfer credit form.

• Course Title: STAT 1350 

**Precalculus: Please submit your course materials via the department's online transfer credit form. 

• Course Title: MATH 1150

**For Statistics and Precalculus courses, you will not email a coordinator, rather you will complete the form to request an evaluation. 

Final Notes:

• You will need to send individual emails to each coordinator and copy/cc COP-Admissions@osu.edu on each one.
• Once the coordinator responds, our admissions team will respond and confirm what they have said. 

The sooner you submit your syllabi to each coordinator to get the evaluations started, the sooner you will have answers to what prerequisite requirements you have met and which, if any, you may still need to take. All prerequisite requirements must be met before a student begins the PharmD program, so if any prerequisites are deemed unfulfilled, you will need to take a course equivalent to the respective prerequisite course title at Ohio State.

Note: We are unable to process any admissions decisions for the PharmD program until this has been completed.

Success at Ohio State depends upon your ability to converse in, write and understand English. The university requires official TOEFL, Duolingo or IELTS Academic test scores from all international applicants, except:

• Those who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher by the time of matriculation from, one of the countries or territories exempt from the English proficiency requirement (see exemptions below).
• Those who have held U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee status for more than one year by the start date of the first term of enrollment.

Note: If your courses were taught in English but you do not meet either of the above exceptions, you are still required to submit proof of English proficiency.

How to submit

To be official, score results must be received directly from the testing agency (Duolingo, ETS or IELTS) by your application deadline. Use ETS institution code 1592 if sending a TOEFL score.

Validity

Duolingo, IELTS and TOEFL English proficiency test scores are valid for two years. Within this period, applicants can request official test scores be sent directly to The Ohio State University.

• For initial admission: If Ohio State receives the official scores for an application and the expiration occurs prior to beginning the program of study, the scores still fulfill the English proficiency requirement.
• For deferred admission: If granted admission and a deferral is approved, official scores sent that expire during the application and/or deferral process still fulfill the English proficiency requirement but will not exempt you from the English Placement Test.

Minimum test scores

Note: Ohio State does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake or My Best TOEFL Scores.

TOEFL

• 577 for the paper-based test
• 4 for the computer-based test (TOEFL iBT)

IELTS

• 7.0 on the IELTS Academic test or IELTS Indicator

Duolingo

• 120 or higher

   

Exemptions

Applicants who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher by the time of matriculation from, one of the following countries or territories are exempt from the English proficiency requirement:

• American Samoa
• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• Canada (except Quebec)
• Cayman Islands
• Christmas Island
• Cook Islands
• Dominica
• England
• Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
• Ghana
• Gibraltar
• Grenada
• Guam
• Guernsey
• Guyana
• Isle of Man
• Jamaica
• Jersey
• Liberia
• Montserrat
• Netherland Antilles
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Niue
• Norfolk Island
• Northern Ireland
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Pitcairn Island
• Puerto Rico
• Republic of Ireland
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Saint Helena
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin
• Scotland
• Singapore
• Tokelau
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United States
• Virgin Islands (U.S and British)
• Wales

English proficiency policy has been set for this academic year. We are not granting test waivers or petitions to exempt countries not currently listed above at this time.

We do offer scholarships to incoming students, including international students. The incoming P1 scholarships range from $5,000-10,000 per year and are non-renewable. The scholarship question will be an optional piece of the PharmCAS application -- please complete this question when applying if you would like to be considered for admissions scholarships.

We offer scholarship opportunities to incoming students, including international students. Scholarships typically range from $5,000-12,000 per year and are typically renewable. You can apply to scholarships through ScholarshipUniverse. ScholarshipUniverse opens December 1 of each year and the final deadline to apply for scholarships is February 15th of each year. Scholarships will be awarded in late February-early March, and notifications will be sent out then.

• Keep in mind that we do not offer any full rides, or scholarship amounts that cover the full cost of tuition. Additionally, there are no grants or work-study opportunities for professional students.
• You can find more information about the College of Pharmacy Admissions Scholarships here.
• The Office of International Affairs has more information about scholarships for international students on their website, which you can read about here.

Applying as an international applicant will be expensive and add other fees onto what we have listed here for domestic students. Additional requirements to apply as an international student include the following:

• Completion of Ohio State’s supplemental application
• Completing OSU's financial review process to show proof of financial stability
• Applying for a VISA & associated costs
• Travel costs