SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Doctor of Pharmacy
PharmD
Program Details
Start Term
Fall
Deadline
Deadline, June 2
Integrated Curriculum
Our pharmaceutical sciences, economic and administrative sciences, and pharmacy practice faculty teach side-by-side across the nine integrated courses. This strengthens your ability to apply science to individualized clinical cases and help improve the quality and length of life of populations.
Strong Industry Connections
With long-standing ties to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, KGI’s PharmD degree program provides networking opportunities, real-world learning experiences, and access to industry professionals.
Career-focused Certificates
Along with your PharmD degree, you can enrich your specialized pharmaceutical training by earning a certificate in Medication Therapy Outcomes (MTO), Healthcare Management/Pharmacy Informatics (HCM/PI), or Medical and Clinical Affairs (MCA).
About KGI’s PharmD Program
Launch your healthcare career by earning your Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Keck Graduate Institute--where real-world experience, interdisciplinary training, and personalized mentorship meet.
Housed in the School of Pharmacy, the PharmD program delivers an immersive professional education prioritizing hands-on learning, professional development, and community impact. Through clinical rotations, and industry engagement, you gain the skills to:
- Deliver evidence-based care that transforms patients’ lives
- Drive innovative breakthroughs in research
- Lead with confidence in clinical, community, or industry pharmacy settings
In four years of full-time study on campus in Claremont, CA, you graduate with robust expertise and clinical skills, ready to improve healthcare outcomes for patients and populations worldwide.
Experience the KGI Difference
As a graduate of KGI’s PharmD program, a world of pharmacy career opportunities opens up for you. We’re proud to have a successful track record, reflecting our distinctive approach to shaping future-ready pharmacy leaders.
- Class of 2025 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Placements included:
- Chapman-Amgen Post-Doctoral Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship in Oncology Medical Affairs
- US Medical Affairs/Medical Science Liaison Post-Doctoral Fellowship position at Genentech
- 44% of the Class of 2024 matched with PGY1 residencies—placing KGI #1 among private California schools and #3 overall in the state for American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Phase I Residency Match results.
KGI PharmD students achieved notable recognition:
- #1 at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Trainee Poster Competition in the Student Pharmacist Category in July 2025
- #1 at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Foundation Best Poster Winner in the Student Pharmacist Category in April 2025
- #1 at the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) Western Pharmacy Exchange (WPE) Student Quiz Bowl in April 2025.
- #1 in the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) Seminar Clinical Skills Competition in October 2023.
What You’ll Learn
At KGI, we’re committed to cultivating the next generation of pharmacists who adapt to rapidly changing healthcare environments and strive for better patient outcomes. That’s why we designed our PharmD curriculum to emphasize active learning, real-world experience, and career readiness.
Through a diverse blend of traditional coursework, certificate electives, and clinical rotations, our pharmacy curriculum covers basic sciences, clinical skills, professional development, and experiential education. You’ll explore a range of disciplines, such as endocrinology, cardiology, immunology, rheumatology, dermatology, psychiatry, and more.
As a KGI PharmD student, you'll grow into a practice-ready, collaborative healthcare professional equipped to:
- Deliver evidence-based, individualized care across diverse patient populations
- Work seamlessly within interprofessional healthcare teams
- Lead pharmacy operations and contribute to systems-level decision-making
- Optimize clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes for patients and communities
- Provide preventative health services and advocate for public health
- Navigate change and drive innovation in pharmacy practice
- Serve as a lifelong learner and health educator, committed to improving health equity and access
To ensure you have opportunities to put theory into practice, we integrate Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) into the fourth year of your PharmD program. These transformative real-world experiences expose you to diverse healthcare environments and help deepen your understanding of how to serve patients.
Choose from APPE electives, which include:
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Health Care Management and Leadership
- Oncology
- Pediatric Pharmacy
- Pharmacy Informatics
- Psychiatric Pharmacy
- Specialty Pharmacy
Upon completion of KGI's PharmD program, you possess the knowledge to:
- Seek, analyze, integrate, and apply foundational knowledge of medications and pharmacy practice (biomedical, pharmaceutical, social, behavioral, administrative, and clinical sciences; drug classes; and digital health).
- Address challenges and promote positive change by using problem-solving and critical thinking skills, along with an innovative mindset.
- Actively engage, listen, and communicate verbally, non-verbally, and in writing when interacting with or educating an individual, group, or organization.
- Mitigate health disparities by considering, recognizing, and navigating cultural and structural factors (e.g., social determinants of health, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) to improve access and health outcomes.
- Provided whole-person care to individuals as medication specialists using the pharmacists’ patient care process.
- Promote the best interests of patients and/or the pharmacy profession within healthcare settings and at the community, state, or national level.
- Optimize patient healthcare outcomes using human, financial, technological, and physical resources to improve the safety, efficacy, and environmental impact of medication use systems.
- Actively engage and contribute as a healthcare team member by demonstrating core interprofessional competencies.
- Assess factors that influence the health and wellness of a population and develop strategies to address those factors.
What Can You Do With A PharmD Degree?
With a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, you emerge as a competent healthcare professional, ready to deliver life-sustaining care and collaborate with other medical workers to improve patient outcomes. As a trained pharmacist, you can pursue roles in:
- Healthcare management
- Medical and clinical affairs
- Medication therapy
- Pharmacy informatics
- Dozens other career paths
Recognized for their clinical skills, innovative problem-solving, and commitment to patient-centered care, KGI’s PharmD students graduate ready to excel in a broad range of roles within the pharmaceutical industry, such as:
- Associate clinical scientist
- Clinical pharmacist
- Executive director
- Medical affairs manager
- Medical science liaison
- Pharmacist-in-charge
- Pharmacy manager
- Pharmacy owner
- Rare disease senior medical manager
- Staff pharmacist
- Supervisor
KGI PharmD alumni have gone on to work at well-established companies and healthcare facilities, including:
- 986 Pharmacy
- Abbott
- AbbVie
- Amgen
- Ascendis Pharma
- CaliCare Pharmacy
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- City of Hope
- CVS Health
- Desert Regional Medical Center
- Kaiser Permanente
- Loma Linda Pharmacy
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Walgreens
Certificate
To enhance the clinical knowledge gained from your Doctor of Pharmacy degree, you can also pursue a graduate certificate in one of these areas:
Medication Therapy Outcomes (MTO)
The MTO certificate program offers real-world opportunities to improve patient care and clinical skills across the continuum of care process.
Healthcare Management/ Pharmacy Informatics (HCM/PI)
The HCM/PI certificate integrates training in management and healthcare technology, preparing you with analytical and problem-solving competencies to enhance patient experience.
Medical and Clinical Affairs (MCA)
The MCA certificate program equips you as a student pharmacist with the skills to lead clinical development and medical and regulatory affairs efforts, expediting the development and delivery of safe, effective pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals.
PharmD Student Success Stories and Testimonials
Graduates of the PharmD program share how Keck Graduate Institute helped them discover their passion and purpose.
How to Apply to the PharmD Program
Opportunity awaits at KGI. Start tapping into your potential by applying to our Doctor of Pharmacy program. To position yourself as a competitive candidate, we recommend submitting your application by the priority deadline of December 2. After that, the general application deadline is June 2.
When applying, you must include:
- Online PharmCAS application
- Personal statement
- Résumé
- One letter of recommendation or contact information from a professional reference
- Transcripts from all previously attended institutions
- $75 non-refundable application fee
After you submit your online application, our team will carefully review your materials. We'll then contact you to schedule an admissions interview, where we can get to know you better and discuss your academic and career goals.
Our Admissions Committee is made up of faculty and senior administrators who thoroughly review each application. We consider your application in the context of the total applicant pool and in relation to our general admissions standards.
Admitted students must submit a $400 non-refundable enrollment fee to hold their spot in the program.
All admissions decisions are final for the academic year in which they are rendered.
Admissions Eligibility
If you have earned your bachelor’s degree and plan to apply to KGI’s PharmD program, you must obtain a minimum of 31 semester units in science and math:
- Anatomy and Physiology (no lab)
- General Biology (no lab)
- General Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Physics, Economics, or Statistics
- College Algebra, Trigonometry, or Pre-Calculus
If you have not earned your bachelor’s degree, you can still apply to KGI’s PharmD program. Before entering the PharmD program, you must have earned at least 31 semester units and an additional 12 semester units. These additional prerequisites for non-bachelor’s students include:
Six additional semester units in science and math:
- Biochemistry
- Economics
- Genetics/Genomics
- Histology
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Physiology or Anatomy & Physiology II
- Statistics
- Upper-level biology course
Three additional semester units in social/behavioral sciences:
- Anthropology
- Business
- Political Science
- Psychobiology
- Psychology
- Sociology
Three additional semester units in humanities:
- Classics
- Communications
- English
- English composition
- Ethics
- Fine Art
- History
- Literature
- Philosophy
- Public speaking
- Religion/religious studies
- Speech
Financing Your PharmD Degree
At KGI, we’re committed to helping students turn their passions into reality by providing comprehensive financial resources and support. Last year, 94% of our Doctor of Pharmacy students received scholarship support, helping to lower their educational costs and positioning them for success in their academic and professional pursuits.
Explore KGI’s financial aid and merit-based scholarships for PharmD students.
Financing Your StudiesBecome a Pharmacist at KGI
Pursue a purpose-filled career by earning your Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Keck Graduate Institute. Our renowned pharmacy program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum, hands-on clinical training, and support from expert faculty, ensuring your growth as a healthcare professional.
Excited about your future? Begin the PharmD application process today and take the next step to becoming a pharmacist.
Inside Look at PharmD Program
Explore our PharmD classroom through your screen with 360 degree views.