Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
The Pharm.D. program extends over six years of study with a total of 201 credits to complete, including two years of pre-pharmacy followed by four professional years (P1, P2, P3 and P4) of pharmacy education.
Admissions
Applicants to the professional year 4 (P4) leading to the Pharm.D. degree must apply within two years of completing professional year 3 (P3) in an ACPE-accredited program. They must complete an application form for admission into the P4 year. Application forms are obtained from the Student Affairs Office at the School and must be completed and submitted with all required documents by the set deadline (typically around mid November) that is announced every year. Incomplete applications and any application received after the deadline will not be processed.
To be eligible for applying to admission into the P4 year, students must fulfill all of the following conditions during their professional pharmacy years:
- Successfully completed “all IPPE and required didactic curricular content” (ACPE Standard 13; 13.5. Timing).
- Completed all professional pharmacy courses with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.
- Passed all courses of the professional pharmacy program with a minimum letter grade C on any course.
- Did not exceed three course repeats, whether these repeats were of the same course or different courses (Note: a course withdrawal noted “WF” is counted as repeat).
- Did not receive more than one official academic warning.
Evaluation criteria for admission into the professional program are based on:
- The GPA related to the professional pharmacy program courses.
- The performance on an interview conducted during the admissions process.
- A cumulative internal evaluation by School Faculty who were directly involved in teaching the applicant.
- Three recommendation letters (attached to the application).
- Number of repeated courses (R), withdrawal (WF), and failed courses (F).
- Number of official academic warning.
The School Admissions Committee reviews the applications and conducts interviews towards the end of Fall semester of the P3 year. Student acceptance into the P4 year remains pending until successful completion of all P3 courses. A student may not carry forward any course from the professional pharmacy program to the P4 year. The P4 class size is typically up to 40 students.
Students admitted into the P4 year are subject to the requirement of ACPE’s Standard No. 14, Guideline 14.6, namely “the required advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) in all program pathways must be conducted in the United States or its territories or possessions.”
Curriculum
(27 credits)
The P4 curriculum applies only to Pharm.D. students. It encompasses all the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) that include nine clerkship rotations of which four are required and five are electives for a total of 1,440 hours. The four required APPEs are conducted in the United States or its territories or possessions (District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands). All APPEs are conducted after students have successfully completed all didactic, laboratory and practical (IPPEs) course work during the first three professional years.
Required APPEs
| Number | Course Name | Cr. |
|---|---|---|
| PHA670 | Ambulatory Care | 3 |
| PHA671 | Community Pharmacy | 3 |
| PHA672 | Hospital or Health-System Pharmacy | 3 |
| PHA673 | Inpatient/Acute Care General Medicine | 3 |
Elective APPEs
The elective APPEs are selected from any of the following choices of course number PHA650:
| Course Name | Cr. |
|---|---|
| Academic Teaching | 3 |
| Cardiology/Coronary Care Unit | 3 |
| Critical Care | 3 |
| Discharge Medication Counseling | 3 |
| Emergency Medicine | 3 |
| Endocrinology | 3 |
| Industrial Pharmacy | 3 |
| Infectious Disease | 3 |
| Internal Medicine | 3 |
| Patient/Medication Safety | 3 |
| Nephrology | 3 |
| Neurology | 3 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 3 |
| Oncology | 3 |
| Pediatrics | 3 |
| Primary Care | 3 |
| Regulatory Affairs | 3 |
| Ambulatory Care | 3 |
| Internal Medicine/Heme Onc | 3 |
| Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases | 3 |
| Antimicrobial Stewardship | 3 |
| Geriatrics | 3 |
| Specialty Pharmacy | 3 |
| Health Economics and Outcomes Research | 3 |
Academic Rules and Procedures
In addition to LAU’s graduate academic rules and procedures, a Pharm.D. student must complete all P4 courses with a minimum letter grade C.
Accreditation
The “Lebanese American University School of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60603-3446, 312-664-3575; Fax: 866-228-2631, website https://www.acpe-accredit.org.”
The Doctor of Pharmacy program at LAU School of Pharmacy received its continued accreditation in February 2023 by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). “The accreditation term granted for Doctor of Pharmacy program extends until June 30, 2031, which represents the customary eight-year cycle between self-studies”. It currently remains the only Pharm.D. program outside the United States that is accredited by ACPE.