The University of Mississippi

ID58
NameThe University of Mississippi
CityUniversity
StateMississippi
ContactAssociate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs School of Pharmacy University of Mississippi University, MS 38677 662-915-7996 www.pharmacy.olemiss.edu
Pharmacy School NameSchool of Pharmacy
Accreditation StatusFull
Institution TypePublic
Main CampusUniversity, MS
Branch CampusesNone
CurriculumBachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical
Sciences
This is a four-year undergraduate degree
that currently consists of one year of professional
courses in addition to three years of
pre-pharmacy courses. It is not a professional
degree and does not entitle one to sit for the
national pharmacy board license examination.
Completion of this degree is prerequisite
for admission into the Doctor of Pharmacy
degree program, which requires an additional
three years of study. Students are admitted to
the B.S. program as either university freshmen
(Early Entry) or after completion of
three years of required pre-pharmacy courses
(Regular Entry) at this university or other
college/university. Each entering professional
class consists of 115 Regular Entry and Early
Entry students.
Doctor of Pharmacy Degree
The current professional degree program
(final year of the B.S. program plus three
additional years) was approved for full reaccreditation
by the Accrediting Council for
Pharmaceutical Education in February 2006
for the maximum six year period and the program
was referred to as excellent by the site
team in their report to the school and Council.
To be eligible for progression into the final
two years, students must obtain a minimum
GPA of 2.65 during the first professional year
and a 2.75 GPA on required professional
coursework in the second professional year.
The third professional year course work
utilizes a case-based and student centered
problem based learning format. Small groups of randomly assigned students coached by a
faculty facilitator develop optimal treatment
plans for hypothetical patients based on actual
case histories. A prescribed set of abilities
are developed by this process. Students are
evaluated on content knowledge, problem
solving skills, and group dynamics. During
the final year, each student will participate
in four required five-week rotations (adult
medicine, ambulatory care, traditional institutional
practice, and traditional community
practice) and four five-week elective rotations.
The electives must be in three different
areas of training. Students are provided the
opportunity to select their rotation sites, the
vast majority of which are located in Mississippi.
The first time pass rate on the national
board examination (NAPLEX) for program
graduates during the past six years exceeds
98% which is among the top twenty schools
in the nation, while the tuition is among the
lowest of all schools of pharmacy.
Additional RequirementsEarly Entry (Early Assurance) Admission
The Early Entry program provides the opportunity
to engage in both professional
and personal relationships with School of
Pharmacy faculty and upperclassmen immediately
upon entering the university. Early
Entry students avoid the highly competitive
selection process for admission to the B.S.
program following completion of the prepharmacy
curriculum. These students also
are eligible for scholarships unavailable to
pre-pharmacy students. Eligibility for Early
Entry admission requires a minimum composite
ACT score of 25 and sufficient GPA
(10-12 grades, 4.0 scale) that when multiplied
by ten and added to the ACT score equals
at least 65. Admission scores are calculated
based on GPA, ACT, resume evaluation (leadership,
service, employment history), and
interview results. Applications, available
online, must be made to both the university
and to the school (January 15 deadline), and
separate high school transcripts provided to
each. A nonrefundable $75 application fee (money order made payable to the University
of Mississippi School of Pharmacy) should be
sent with a copy of the applicant’s resume’ to
the School of Pharmacy. Applicants will then
be invited to attend a mandatory Applicant
Day. Enrollment is limited with preference
given to Mississippians for the last half of
100 positions.
Regular Entry Admission
Regular Entry students are admitted to the
school after completion of a prescribed set
of required pre-professional courses plus
electives. These courses are traditionally
completed in three years, but often are taken
as a part of completion of a non-pharmacy
undergraduate degree. Minimal requirements
for Regular Entry admission include a
2.75 GPA on required pre-pharmacy courses
with a grade of at least a “C” in each. A minimum
composite percentile score of 40 and a
Conventions of Language score of 3.0 on the
Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is
required. Scores are only considered for tests
taken during the calendar year of application.
November 1 is the application deadline.
Application must be made via PharmCAS.
To be considered for admission, applicants
must attend one of several “Applicant Day”
programs. Students are admitted on the basis
of a composite admission score incorporating
GPA, composite PCAT score, resume evaluation (leadership, service, employment
history), interview and performance on the
Health Sciences Reasoning Test. Mississippi
residents and U.S. citizens are given priority
for admission. However, non-Mississippi
residents comprise approximately twenty
percent of the admitted class and their application
is encouraged. Bonus points are
added to the admissions score for applicants
who have received a previous (Masters, Ph.D.,
professional doctorate) degree (0.5) or for
those who completed all of their required prepharmacy
courses at The University of Mississippi
(0.4). Final admission is contingent
upon successful completion of a criminal
background investigation conducted under
the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Board of
Pharmacy.
Prerequisite CoursesIntroductory Biology with Lab (majors). . . . . . . .8
Medical Microbiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Biochemistry (upper division) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Bioethics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Human Physiology (upper division-not
anatomy and physiology). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
English Composition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Freshmen Chemistry with Lab (majors) . . . . . . . 8
Organic Chemistry with Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Physics (non-calculus based) with Lab. . . . . . . . . 8
Oral Communications (Speech). . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Calculus I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Microeconomics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
(introductory). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Electives: Social Sciences (6 hours);
Humanities/Fine Arts (9 hours, with a minimum of
three hours of each). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Cell Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Genetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Immunology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Enter Class StatNumber interviewed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Number accepted: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Estimated entering class size: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Estimated male (%): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52% Estimated female (%): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48% Estimated out-of-state (%): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22%
Application Process RequirementsParticipates in PharmCAS: Yes
Deadline for receipt of applications: November 1
Supplemental application required: Yes
Supplemental application fee: $85
Expected GPA: 3.25
Minimum overall GPA considered: No minimum
Minimum prerequisite GPA considered: 2.75
PCAT required: Yes
Minimum PCAT scores considered: 40th percentile
Oldest PCAT scores considered: 1 year
Interview required: Yes