Pharmacy
Types of Degrees Pharmacy Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many pharmacy graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Doctor’s Degree | 12,938 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 592 |
Graduate Certificate | 49 |
Master’s Degree | 10 |
Associate Degree | 10 |
What Pharmacy Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to pharmacy and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Pharmacy Majors
According to O*NET survey takers, a major in pharmacy should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Skills for Pharmacy Majors
When studying pharmacy, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Abilities for Pharmacy Majors
As a pharmacy major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
What Can You Do With a Pharmacy Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with pharmacy:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Health Specialties Professors | 25.9% | $97,370 |
Pharmacists | 5.6% | $126,120 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of pharmacy majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 143 |
Black or African American | 32 |
Hispanic or Latino | 34 |
White | 262 |
International Students | 83 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 38 |
Geographic Diversity
Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Pharmacy. About 14.0% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Pharmacy
Some careers associated with pharmacy require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
Find out what the typical degree level is for pharmacy careers below.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) | 1.0% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 1.5% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 10.7% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 7.6% |
Master’s Degree | 14.3% |
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 0.2% |
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. | 25.2% |
Doctoral Degree | 32.9% |
Post-Doctoral Training | 6.7% |
Online Pharmacy Programs
The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 0 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 2 | 0 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 4 | 1 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 3 | 1 |
Post-Master’s | 4 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 4 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 142 | 3 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 0 | 0 |
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Majors Related to Pharmacy
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to pharmacy.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
- Image Credit: By {} under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.