The University of Belmont College of Pharmacy is located in Nashville, Tennessee. Students have the advantage of learning in a town that serves as a regional medical hub. They also work alongside peers in related medical fields. The University of Belmont College of Pharmacy is currently unaccredited but does have candidate status. This means that the college has submitted plans to the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and has been making excellent progress in fulfilling those plans as of February 2011. ACPE plans to grant full accreditation when the first class of graduates complete the pharmacy program. Students who graduate while the program still has candidate status are allowed to apply for licensure.
D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York, currently has pre-candidate status. This means that it has created standards-based plans for its curriculum and that it has submitted these plans to the ACPE. It doesn't mean that ACPE has approved these plans or decided that the school is making adequate progress implementing them. A visit is scheduled for March 2011 during which the ACPE will formally evaluate D'Youville's progress and decide whether or not to grant candidate status. Prior to be being granted candidate status, students at D'Youville College are not eligible for licensure.
Midway College of Pharmacy is a new school located in Paintsville, Kentucky. It currently lacks accreditation by the ACPE. However, it plans to register for candidate status once its first class is admitted and begins schoolwork in fall 2011. The final day to apply for admission to this program is March 1, 2011. The school plans to admit around 80 new students each year until it reaches its full student capacity in 2014. The pharmacy program is open to students who have already completed two years of pre-pharmacy studies. The pharmacy program combines three years of classroom study with one year of field work.
A final thing to consider is the difference between pharmacy schools and pharmacy tech schools. Some schools like Kaplan and Everest University can be misleading in ads regarding their pharmacy programs. These schools are accredited as general educational institutions. However, they are not accredited by ACPE. This is due to the fact that they actually offer programs to become a pharmacy technician not a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists and typically complete their degrees in 24 months or less.