Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Pharmacy

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Degree Offered: Certificate
Program Leadership:
Sharon L. Youmans, PharmD, MPH, Vice Dean
Joel W. Gonzales, Director of Admissions
Lauren Anderson, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator
Admissions Inquiries:
Lauren Anderson, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator

Program Description

The Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program represents a comprehensive educational opportunity designed for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, underserved communities, and/or from groups traditionally underrepresented in the health professions. Through a combination of advanced science coursework, test preparation, collaborative study, and personalized support in preparing for the professional school application process, participants are able to distinguish themselves as competitive candidates for health professional schools.

Since 1999, post-baccalaureate students in the UCSF schools of dentistry and medicine have been successful in gaining admission to health professions schools throughout the United States. Both programs have consistently seen high acceptance rates: the medical program has an established acceptance rate of 93% and the dental program has a similarly successful acceptance rate of over 90%. In 2010, the School of Pharmacy launched a program modeled after those in the schools of dentistry and medicine, and in 2011 all three programs were united under the UCSF Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program.

Post-baccalaureate students complete coursework through UC Berkeley Extension and participate in seminars at UCSF to enrich their knowledge of the health professions and prepare them for the professional school application process. Students in all three programs benefit from personalized advising; students in medicine and dentistry also benefit from focused entrance exam preparation. As members of a formal university graduate certificate program, students participate in campus life and take advantage of student resources in areas of financial aid, health insurance, library services, learning assistance and more.

The Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program is offered by the UCSF Graduate Division and administered by the UCSF schools of dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy.

The program aims to make students more competitive through a comprehensive and structured program. Using a combination of upper-division academic coursework, personalized support in application preparation, and constructive seminars, students will be able to strengthen their application to pharmacy school.

Admission Requirements

  1. Have a minimum GPA of 2.8 or higher (including a minimum 2.8 GPA in the sciences). Exceptions can be made.
  2. Have completed the majority of prerequisites for pharmacy school, with no more than one semester or a quarter of outstanding prerequisite work remaining.
  3. Have completed the following courses:
    • One year of biology with laboratory
    • One year of chemistry with laboratory
    • One year of organic chemistry with laboratory
    • One course of microbiology with laboratory
    • Mathematics (calculus and statistics)
    • English composition
    • Upper-division biological sciences
    • Humanities

Learning Outcomes

The content of the program has been developed to facilitate the success of the program's 3 learning objectives: Application Preparation (AP), Skill Development (SD), and Interprofessional Education (IE). By the end of the program students will:

Demonstrate understanding of strategic Application Preparation (AP) through:

  1. The ability to prepare written statements acceptable for submission to professional schools.
  2. Knowledge of best practices for identifying letter of evaluation/recommendation writers, soliciting writers, and providing appropriate information to the writers.
  3. Pharmacy students will create appropriate lists of professional organizations through the use of research, oral presentation and sharing resources.
  4. Knowledge of how to prepare for an applicant interview and practice interviewing.

    Demonstrate Skill Development (SD) in areas critical for success in professional school such as:
  5. Improved time management skills and academic strategies as demonstrated by an improvement in academic performance.
  6. Improved written and oral communication skills as assessed through course assignments.
  7. Demonstrated evidence of professionalism through their interactions with others in the course, the program, and the campus community.

    Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply the tenets of Interprofessional Education (IE):
  8. Through increased knowledge of their intended profession as well as other health professions as evidenced through discussions, blog entries, and the ability to substantively participate in group activities.
  9. Through successfully contributing to collaborative projects such as the Interprofessional Research Symposium project to which they are assigned.
  10. Through increased awareness and knowledge of critical topics in healthcare as evidenced by their ability to fully participate in group discussions and activities.

Additional Information

Program Core Faculty