Curriculum Summary

The PharmD degree is granted upon successful completion of the professional curriculum and compliance with the requirements of the University for graduation. The course of instruction covers eight terms over four academic years (see Curriculum).

The curriculum includes lecture and laboratory courses that are delivered using a variety of pedagogy. Although students are introduced to the clinical environment as early as the fall term of the first professional year, clinical instruction is emphasized in the third and fourth years of the curriculum. During this time students receive experiential learning in traditional practice settings such as community and hospital pharmacy arenas as well as advanced clinical rotations in internal medicine, ambulatory care, pediatrics, mental health, parenteral nutrition, cardiology, critical care and other specialty areas.

Students may be required to complete a portion of the introductory and advanced practice experiences in various parts of the state. US rotations located outside Tennessee (e.g., Alaska, Arizona, North Carolina) and International professional experiences (e.g., England, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Hungary, Gambia, Thailand, Turkey and France) are available to a limited number of students.

CPR Certification

All College of Pharmacy students are required to obtain American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR certification with external defibrillation by the end of their first academic term. Following initial certification, all students must maintain active CPR certification during the P2, P3, and P4 years. Students will not be allowed to enter the subsequent year without approved CPR certification. For the convenience of UT College of Pharmacy students, the UT Chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) offers this certification during orientation and to third year students.

Content Areas

1. Pharmacology
2. Medicinal Chemistry
3. Biopharmaceutics
4. Sterile and Non-Sterile Product Preparation
5. Pharmacotherapy including both prescription and non-prescription medications and supplements
6. Communications with Patient and Healthcare Professionals
7. Patient Assessment
8. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
9. Pharmacogenomics
10. Pharmacy Management and Pharmacoeconomics
11. Healthcare Systems and the Medication Use Process
12. Experiential Learning, which is conducted across all 4 years