PharmD Academic Requirements

Academic Requirements - for Admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) in 2025

Significant changes were made in the requirements for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy that took effect as of the 2021 admission cycle.  The current academic subject requirements align well with the 1st and 2nd year subject requirements of many Life and Physical Science programs.

To be eligible for admission consideration into the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, candidates must:

1. have obtained a cumulative university average of at least 70% (equivalent to a ‘B-’ at the University of Toronto)
2. have successfully completed, (or have successfully completed by the end of 2nd term of the year for which application is made) a minimum of 8 FCEs (full-credit equivalents)* at the university level
3.  have successfully completed (or have successfully completed by the end of 2nd term of the year for which application is make) the minimum required number of FCEs* in all required subject areas as follows below:

FCE - Full-credit equivalent. 1.0 FCE = 2 terms / semesters, 0.5 FCE = 1 term / semester

Academic Subject Requirements

The following provides explanation of each subject requirement: 1.0 FCE Biology, 1.5 FCEs Chemistry, 1.0 FCE Math (including a minimum of 0.5 FCE/1 term in Calculus) and 1.0 FCE Humanities / Social Science.

Examples of courses offered at the University of Toronto downtown (St George)  campus which will satisfy these requirements are also given. The examples given are those that would typically be completed by Life and Physical Science students within 1st and 2nd year of university study. To see a list of examples of acceptable courses from all Ontario universities (and some non-Ontario Canadian universities), view our Acceptable Courses at Canadian Universities page. 

You may also refer to the PharmD Application Handbook which includes an Application Worksheet, to help you organize your information.  The Handbook is available for download at the bottom of this page.

Note restrictions in each subject requirement as outlined below.

All subject requirements must be met by successfully completing appropriate courses at the undergraduate level within 10 years of the year for which application is made (e.g. must be completed in Fall 2015 or later for admission in August 2025). 

Biology

• Note:  Anatomy/Physiology credits cannot be used in fulfilment of this requirement 
• Minimum of 1.0 FCE (2 terms/semesters) at the university level
• Laboratory component not required. (Note: Although a lab component is not required, most universities offer courses that automatically include labs which will make up part of your mark in the course.  In these cases you cannot opt out of  the lab component.  Only at universities where lectures and labs are offered independently of each other, i.e. as separate courses for which separate grades are reported, may you opt to take only the lecture portion.)  
• Introductory or upper year courses are acceptable - this includes a broad range of subject material, but excluding courses in Anatomy / Physiology.
• Courses that are considered bridging/upgrading courses (containing all or mostly secondary school material) do not meet any part of this requirement.
• Biology credits offered for non-science students do not meet this requirement
• Courses that are exclusions will not count toward the requirement.
• Placement tests (that may be associated with advanced high school credits) do not meet this requirement.

Examples of acceptable courses at University of Toronto, St George campus:

BIO120H1 Adaptation and Biodiversity +  BIO130H1 Molecular and Cell Biology 

Chemistry

• Note: Biochemistry credits cannot be used in fulfillment of this requirement
• Minimum of 1.5 FCEs (3 terms/semesters) at the university level
• Laboratory component not required. (Note: Although a lab component is not required, most universities offer courses that automatically include labs which will make up part of your mark in the course.  In these cases you cannot opt out of  the lab component.  Only at universities where lectures and labs are offered independently of each other, i.e. as separate courses for which separate grades are reported, may you opt to take only the lecture portion.)  
• Introductory or upper year courses are acceptable.
• Courses that are considered bridging/upgrading courses (containing a substantial amount of secondary school material) do not meet any part of this requirement.
• Chemistry credits offered for non-science students do not meet this requirement.
•  Biochemistry courses cannot be used.
• Courses that are exclusions will not count toward the requirement.
• Placement tests (that may be associated with advanced high school credits) do not meet this requirement.

Examples of acceptable courses at University of Toronto, St. George campus:

CHM135H1 Chemistry: Physical Principles + CHM136H1  Introductory Organic Chemistry I + CHM247H1  Introductory Organic Chemistry II

Mathematics (including 0.5 FCE Calculus

• Note: Statistics credits cannot be used in fulfilment of this requirement 
• Minimum of 1.0 FCE (2 terms/semesters) at the university level
• At least 0.5 FCE (one term) must be university level Calculus
• Statistics courses are not acceptable 
• Courses that are considered upgrading/bridging courses (containing a substantial amount of secondary school material) do not meet this requirement
• Various math courses designed for non-science students (including but not limited to courses such as Financial Math and Numerical Literacy) are not acceptable
• Advanced Placement and GCE ‘A’ level Math do not meet this requirement
• Courses that are exclusions will not count toward the requirement
• Placement tests (that may be associated with advanced high school credits) do not meet this requirement. 

Examples of acceptable courses at University of Toronto, St. George campus:

MAT135H1 Calculus I + MAT136H1 Calculus II (Or MAT137Y1)

Humanities / Social Sciences

• Minimum of 1.0 FCE (2 terms/semesters) at the university level 
• Language courses are not acceptable
• Introductory or upper year courses are acceptable (with the exception of Psychology where only Introductory Psychology is acceptable)
• You may combine one term/semester of Humanities with one term/semester of Social Sciences, or two terms/semesters in the same discipline or subject area
• A wide range of Humanities and Social Science courses are acceptable - any non-math, non-science related courses, including English Literature/Composition but excluding language courses.
• Interdisciplinary courses that include a science/math component are not acceptable.

Refer to the Handbook for additional details and examples

The above subject requirements normally require two years of university-level study.

It is recommended (but not a requirement) that at least one academic year (September to April) be successfully completed with a course load of 5.0 FCEs.  This is to help candidates prepare for the challenging course load in the PharmD program, which is in excess of the 5.0 FCE course load typically taken within general science programs.

All required FCEs must be completed by the end of April 2025 (i.e. end of the second term of the 2024-25 academic year) to ensure the final grades will be reported to our office no later than the final transcript deadline of May 30, 2025. 

Summer courses taken in the same year for which you are applying cannot be considered as the grades are issued after the final transcript deadline. 

In addition to other published criteria, and regardless of other academic credentials and/or work/personal experience, candidates with previous registration in a Pharmacy program must have been in good standing during the most recent session/year of the Pharmacy program to be eligible for admission consideration.