About Pharmacy
The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has a long and proud history of achievement. It began as a department in the Faculty of Medicine on April 13, 1914. Two programs were offered at that time, a one-year Licensing Diploma (discontinued in 1918) and a two-year PhmB degree. The Department became a School in 1917 under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The first three graduates of the newly approved Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree program obtained their degrees in 1921. The School continued to grow and prosper over the next two decades, jurisdiction having been transferred back to the Faculty of Medicine in 1939. The School was granted Faculty status in 1955 and in 1969 moved from a three to a four year program. In the 1989-1990 academic year pharmacy became a five-year program (four years in the Faculty plus one pre-professional year).
From the beginning, faculty members hired in pharmacy have had a focus on scholarship and thus graduate studies and research have always been strengths of the Faculty. The first PhD graduate was in 1961 and represented the first PhD degree granted by a School or Faculty of Pharmacy in Canada. In recognition of its flourishing graduate program in pharmaceutics, in 1968 the Faculty was renamed the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Since 1970, the Faculty has been active in the delivery of professional development programs for pharmacists.
The Faculty annually admits 130 students who have satisfied prerequisite requirements (1 year minimum) into the BSc in pharmacy program and currently has about 60 graduate students. There are about 40 teaching and research faculty members. Our students excel nationally and have received the Burbidge Award for the highest combined score on the national Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada exam in 2005, 2009, and 2010.
A new Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program is planned for implementation in 2013. This program is comprised of didactic and advanced experiential education after completion of the BSc (pharmacy) program and may be completed within one to two years. Completing this program is not necessary for licensure for the practice of pharmacy but will allow graduates to:
• advance their career and become a leader in the Pharmacy profession
• demonstrate a competitive advantage when applying for unique and interesting positions
• create and shape their job through an innovative patient-focused practice
• develop the skills and knowledge to become an advanced practitioner
• obtain and apply cutting-edge information
• possess the skills to be able to make a difference in complex pharmacotherapeutic situations