Prerequisites and Texas Core Curriculum

Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy

Students entering the Fisch College of Pharmacy must complete the prerequisite courses listed below. Students must also satisfy the Texas Core Curriculum requirements. In total, students complete at least 60 hours of coursework prior to entering the pharmacy program.

Prerequisite Courses 

Prerequisite coursework provides a solid foundation for the Pharm.D. curriculum. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education recommends chemistry, biology, mathematics, information and communication technologies, physical sciences, and general education courses as a foundation for the Pharm.D. curriculum (ACPE 2011, Standard 17.1).

Biology I & Lab (for science majors)	Biology II & Lab (for science majors)
General Chemistry I & Lab	General Chemistry II & Lab
Organic Chemistry I & Lab	Organic Chemistry II & Lab
Anatomy & Physiology I & Lab*	Anatomy & Physiology II & Lab*
Microbiology & Lab	Speech
Calculus

 

NOTES: *A separate Human Anatomy + Lab (3+1 SCH) and Human Physiology + Lab (3+1 SCH) course may be used to satisfy the Anatomy/Physiology I & II requirements.

Seven Year Time Requirements for Prerequisites

Several prerequisite courses must be completed within seven years of entering the Pharm.D. program:  

• Anatomy & Physiology I Lecture & Lab
• Anatomy & Physiology II Lecture & Lab
• Microbiology Lecture & Lab
• Organic Chemistry I Lecture & Lab
• Organic Chemistry II Lecture & Lab
• Biology I Lecture & Lab

• Biology II Lecture & Lab

Applicants requesting an exemption must submit an exemption form.

Deadline to Complete Prerequisites:

• Prerequisites must be completed by the end of the spring term immediately preceding entry into the program.
  • Students may petition the college’s Office of Student Affairs to take prerequisites in the summer.
  • Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The Texas Core Curriculum

The Texas Core Curriculum describes the 42-credit hours of general education coursework required of all students receiving a first bachelor’s degree or higher at a public university in Texas. The Texas Core Curriculum is required for both in-state and out-of-state residents. Applicants who have/will have a bachelor’s degree before entering the program are exempt from this requirement. 

The Texas Core Curriculum is recommended to be completed prior to starting the program. Many of the pharmacy pre-requisites will count towards the Texas Core Curriculum, including Communication (3 hours), Mathematics (3 hours), Life and Physical Sciences (6 hours), and the Component Area Option STEM (3 hour). Therefore, the typical student will have up to 27 hours of the Core Curriculum left to complete before entering the program.

Students must be Texas Core Complete prior to being enrolled in their third year of the Pharm.D. program. UT Tyler will only consider the core curriculum requirements that are documented on an official transcript. Once a student has started the program, they must meet the UT Tyler-specific Texas Core Curriculum. A list of courses that fulfill the Texas Core Curriculum is provided on the UT Tyler General Education Core Curriculum webpage.

The Texas Core Curriculum includes:

Communication (010)	3 hours1	Communication (010)	3 hours
Mathematics (020)	3 hours1	Component Area Option Human Expression (090)	3 hours
Life and Physical Sciences (030)	6 hours1	Social and Behavioral Sciences (080)	3 hours
Component Area Option STEM (090)	3 hours1	Language, Philosophy & Culture (040)	3 hours2
		Creative Arts (050)	3 hours2
		American History (060)	6 hours2
		Government/Political Science (070)	6 hours2
1Many of the pharmacy prerequisite courses will also count towards Texas Core Curriculum requirements. 2Up to 12 semester credit hours of the core curriculum components (040, 050, 060, 070) may be completed during the first two years of the program.