Of the six states that comprise the New England area, two states, Vermont and New Hampshire, do not have pharmacy schools as of February, 2011. For their neighboring states, Connecticut has one school, the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Rhode Island has one school at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. The State of Maine offers two choices: Husson University in Bangor and the University of New England in Portland. Finally, Massachusetts contains three pharmacy schools, including the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of Pharmacy, with its two locations in Boston and Worchester, and Northeastern University in Boston.
Located in Boston, this private college's School of Pharmacy is fully accredited by ACPE. Experiential learning, or co-op experiences, are a vital part of the school. All students must complete both a community-based and institutional experience as a condition of receiving a degree. Once completed, students can use a third co-op for study abroad, research or a specialized learning. Those learning co-ops could include managed care, industry settings and nuclear pharmacy.
Defining the southeast as Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, colleges offering pharmacy degrees as of February, 2011 in Virginia include the following four schools: Hampton University in Hampton, Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and the Appalachian College of Pharmacy in Oakwood. Three schools are within the borders of North Carolina, from Wingate University in Wingate near Charlotte to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then Campbell University at Buies Creek. South Carolina has a school at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and Presbyterian College in Clinton. For Georgia, four schools include Mercer University in Atlanta, the University of Georgia in Athens and South University in Savannah; Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy in Suwanee, Georgia completes the list.
As an example of southeastern colleges, Appalachian offers the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Commonwealth of Virginia with classes throughout the summer. Located in western Virginia, most graduates stay in the Appalachian region that is underserved by pharmacists. Admission requirements include a minimum of 69 credit hours of pre-pharmacy at an accredited college. The Doctor of Pharmacy Degree requires 150 credit hours of coursework, including 1900 hours experiential coursework. The school also requires 150 hours of community service in pharmacy.