Pre-Pharmacy
A rigorous preparation in the sciences, along with access to clinical experiences and research opportunities, will give you an edge in gaining admission to top-quality graduate programs across the country.
Student Experiences
Summer Scholar investigates molecules that are foundation for new pharmaceutical drugs.
As a Summer Scholar her senior year, Rose M. Kohinke '14, a biochemistry major, worked with Dr. Skip Brenzovich on "Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of New Chemical Reactions."
An important area of organic synthetic research is the production of molecules that can be used as the starting materials for pharmaceutical drugs. The goal of her project was to investigate the reactivity of palladium metal, specifically exploring new chemical reactions that can help build these molecules in a faster, cleaner way in the hopes of decreasing the prices of important medicines.
Kohinke first joined Dr. Brenzovich's research team during her junior year. She went on to attend the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy as part of its Class of 2018.
"Roanoke's small lab sizes and passionate professors allowed me to use many instruments hands-on, which made learning that much more interesting. If I had attended a different school, I'm not sure I would have been as successful as a student or had as much fun as I did at Roanoke."
Derrick Botkins '06, chemistry graduate at Roanoke College, Pharm.D. graduate at Virginia Commonwealth University (2010)
Learn By Doing
Internships help you get into top graduate programs
We've established relationships with internship and placement sponsors in a wide range of medical specialties, from anesthesiology to pharmaceutical companies.
Roanoke students have completed internships at organizations such as:
- Merck Laboratories
- Brandon Animal Hospital
- Carilion Community Hospital, Anesthesiology Department
- LewisGale Clinic, Occupational Therapy
- LewisGale Pavilion, Outpatient Physical Therapy
- Physicians to Children
- Q-Biochem, LLC
- Thompson's Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center
Careers & Outcomes
Roanoke students earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher are 100% successful in getting into pharmacy school.
Our grads go on to top-level graduate programs
News
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Riya Patel ’24 is organizing the Days for Girls program to make reusable menstrual hygiene kits for women in need around the world.
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Partnership will advance education and workforce development to improve community health and well-being in the Roanoke Valley.
A license to practice pharmacy is required in all 50 states, following completion of a doctoral program in pharmacy.
There are several degree options in this area. Pharm.D. is what most people pursue in order to dispense medications. However, you might wish to obtain a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences. That degree allows you to be more involved in the research aspect of pharmaceutical development and not directly with the administration of drugs.
Admission to pharmacy schools is highly competitive. You should have at least a 3.3 GPA, have spent considerable time shadowing a pharmacist, have significant volunteer hours, letters of reference and satisfactory to excellent scores on the PCAT admission test.
Most pharmacy schools require that you complete two semesters in each of the following: biology; anatomy and physiology; microbiology; general chemistry; organic chemistry; physics; English; mathematics (typically calculus and statistics); plus one semester of public speaking and economics.
We offer a pre-professional program in pre-pharmacy to eligible students of all majors.