Requirements

Cumulative undergraduate grade point average

  • Applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75  as calculated by PharmCAS.
  • Effective for the Fall 2025 admission cycle, the WSU PharmD program will no longer require minimum cumulative or prerequisite GPAs; however, these GPAs will still be considered in the overall review for admission.

Last 60 credit hour waiver

  • Applicants may request that their last 60 undergraduate credit hours be used to calculate the cumulative GPA. This request should include a rationale and electronic copies of all transcripts. The last 60 hour credit waiver request must be submitted by October 2 for priority deadline applicants and January 4 for regular decision applicants. Please note: only undergraduate coursework will be used in the calculation; no graduate coursework will be used. If undergraduate courses were taken after graduation, these courses may be used in the calculation of the cumulative GPA. Use of last 60 credit hour waivers are valid for one application cycle. Re-applicants must apply for a current admission cycle waiver, as waivers do not roll over from one application cycle to the next.

Prerequisite coursework grade point average

  • The minimum prerequisite coursework GPA acceptable for admissions consideration is 2.75, as calculated by the Wayne State University Admissions Committee. Use our prerequisite worksheet to calculate your GPA; remember to select Pharmacy in the upper left of the page.
  • Effective for the Fall 2025 admission cycle, the WSU PharmD program will no longer require minimum cumulative or prerequisite GPAs; however, these GPAs will still be considered in the overall review for admission.
  • All grades in prerequisite and general education requirements must be a minimum of "C" or better (2.0 on a 4.0 grade scale). Due to the unique situation created by COVID-19, many institutions are allowing students to choose a Pass/No Pass option in lieu of a letter grade in certain semesters. P/N will be accepted if the grading institution's policy is a C or better to receive a Pass. If the school accepts C- or below as a Pass, students will be required to submit a letter from the instructor documenting what the grade earned would have been (in the case of WSU courses, since we can view that grade in the system, such a letter will not be required). This policy applies to the following semesters: Winter 2020, Spring/Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring/Summer 2021. In addition, online labs were accepted for the following semesters: Winter 2020, Spring/Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring/Summer 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, and Spring/Summer 2022. Online labs taken prior or after these semesters will not be accepted.

Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)

  • The PCAT is no longer required for all applicants with a prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • Applicants with less than a 3.0 prerequisite GPA must complete the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) with a preferred minimum composite score of 50th percentile or higher.
  • Applicants must have a PCAT testing date no later than the year prior to admission. For example, if applying for the Fall 2024 entering class, an applicant must have a PCAT score no later than the final test date in 2023. This year, the final test date accepted is October 27, 2023.
  • A minimum composite score of 50th percentile or higher is preferred. A 50th percentile or higher in chemistry, quantitative, and biology as well as a 25th percentile or higher in the reading section is preferred.
  • Please note that if you take the PCAT exam more than once, testing scores from the most recent examination date not necessarily the test with the highest scores will be considered for admission. Also, only scores from one testing date will be considered. For example, we will not consider a reading score from one exam, a quantitative score from another exam, and a chemistry score from yet another. All scores must be from the same exam.
  • Effective for the Fall 2025 admission cycle, the PCAT will be retired, and it will no longer be required for admissions.
  • Visit the PCAT website to obtain more information and to register for the exam.

International students

  • Applicants with international transcripts must send a course-by-course foreign transcript evaluation report to PharmCAS from World Education Services, Inc.
  • This includes Canadian students who attended French speaking colleges/universities.
  • PharmCAS accepts transcripts from English speaking Canadian schools, overseas foreign institutions that have US regional accreditation through CHEA, and US institutions with overseas campuses. Additional information/details can be found here on the PharmCAS website.
  • Applicants whose native language is not English (regardless of immigration status or citizenship) must meet the University English proficiency requirements.

PharmCAS application

  • All applicants must apply through the Pharmacy College Application Service. Applications must be submitted to PharmCAS on or before January 4, 2024, in order to be considered for admission for the Fall 2024 semester.
  • The priority deadline for Fall 2024 admission is October 2, 2023. Priority applicants will be considered for admission before any other candidates.
  • Access the application at http://www.PharmCAS.org/.

Transcripts

  • Arrange for PharmCAS to receive an official transcript from every U.S. institution you attended in the United States and Canada (if in English). Wayne State University students should follow the instructions included here to send their WSU transcripts to PharmCAS.

Letters of Reference

  • Applicants must submit two electronic letters of reference. One letter must be from a college or university instructor; the second can be from any professional reference such as another instructor or a supervisor at a work or volunteer site. Personal references are not accepted. Please note that while PharmCAS will allow applicants to submit up to four letters of references, the WSU PharmD program will only consider two letters for each candidate.

Personal Statement

  • Applicants must also submit a personal statement with their PharmCAS application. It should address why you selected pharmacy as a career and how the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals.

Resume

  • Applicants must submit a Resume with their PharmCAS application. It should include all relevant education, work experiences, volunteer activities, research, involvement in student organizations, and other activities/skills.

Personal interview

A personal interview will be granted to select individuals who meet all admission requirements by established deadlines. Applicants should obtain as much information as possible about the role of pharmacists and be able to articulate it during the interview process. Interviewers are interested in how well applicants communicate, their drive to be a pharmacist, and their understanding of the pharmacy profession.

Applicants should be able to answer these four questions:

  1. What made you decide to pursue a career in pharmacy?
  2. What preparation have you had to become a pharmacist?
  3. What made you choose Wayne State University's Pharmacy Program?
  4. Assuming you complete the Pharmacy program at Wayne State University, what professional goals do you hope to achieve?

Completion of the personal interview does not guarantee admission to the WSU PharmD Program.

After the interview

Candidates can gain admission to the program before all potential candidates have been interviewed. The Pharmacy Admissions Committee (PAC) will examine candidate data and make one of three recommendations: admit, deny, or defer. The first two outcomes are self-explanatory; a deferred status means that the PAC has opted to defer a decision on admission into the program until all interviews are complete. Deferred applicants should not infer that they will not be admitted into the program. Once interviews are complete, the committee will make final decisions regarding deferred candidates.

All candidates will receive notification of their application status via email. Applicants whose admission is deferred will receive a second letter indicating whether they have been accepted into the program by the end of the application cycle.

Students who are offered admission to the PharmD program will undergo a criminal background check. Matriculation into the program depends on the results.

Non-academic factors

Non-academic factors, including volunteer experience, experience in a health care setting, leadership roles in student organizations, research experience and other unique characteristics are evaluated by the committee. While these factors are not required, they may have a positive impact on your application and affect your ranking against other applicants. However, such experience does not replace or excuse lower academic performance.

Enrollment Deposit

If you are admitted to the WSU PharmD program, you will be asked to submit a nonrefundable $1,000 deposit within two weeks of your admission. The enrollment deposit will be credited to the cost of your tuition.