The School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo offers a second-entry four-year professional program leading to an entry-to-practice Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. The School also provides graduate academic opportunities culminating in a Master of Science degree, with plans to offer a Doctor of Philosophy degree. The School anchors the University's Health Sciences Campus in downtown Kitchener.
Graduates will be well-prepared to pursue a range of career options, including clinical patient care, public policy, regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, research, and academia. The curriculum emphasizes breadth and flexibility, providing students the opportunity to pursue areas of specific interest through the selection of elective courses. A key component of the program is a focus on inter-professional education, where students learn to work as highly-functioning members of professional health care teams, which may include medicine, optometry, social work, and others.
Pharmacy is a regulated health-care profession. The requirements to become a licensed pharmacist in Canada include: completion of an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy; completion of the national board examination offered by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC); practical experience gained through an apprenticeship/internship program following graduation; and fluency in English or French. Each province in Canada has its own regulatory agency, responsible for granting licenses, and ensuring competency.
The Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo has been awarded the status of Conditional Accreditation by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs for the three year term 2012-2015. The School of Pharmacy will continue to work closely with the accreditation body to ensure that the institution fulfills all accreditation requirements for the entry-to-practice PharmD program that was approved by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in January 2013.