All pharmacy schools require students to take and pass specific physical and natural science classes prior to beginning pharmacology classes. These prerequisites may vary by university and/or program. According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacology, the main categories of science classes include general biology, anatomy and physiology, cellular biology, genetics, immunology, kinesiology, microbiology, molecular biology, zoology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry and physics. Most schools will not require students to complete all of these classes, but typically biology and chemistry -- both organic and inorganic -- are major prerequisite requirements for all schools.
Pharm.D. programs require students to complete several mathematics prerequisites prior to beginning professional coursework. Although considered a graduate, most Pharm.D. schools allow students to start at the third or fourth year of undergraduate study. This means students can expect to take, and pass, both high school and college-level math classes. These may include pre-calculus, calculus and statistics. Additionally, many schools prefer students to take drug calculation and business mathematics classes before entry into the program.
Pharmacology school social science prerequisites can aid the professional pharmacist when working with patients/clients, other health care workers and co-workers. Specific classes many schools require for program admission include psychology, political science, human behavior, anthropology and sociology. These prerequisites may be further broken down into more specific areas, such as human growth and development, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology or cultural anthropology.
As part of a greater college curriculum, pharmacology programs may require students to take several humanities, arts or history classes. These classes, like science and math, are also prerequisites for pharmacology school. Although the humanities and other similar areas usually do not have direct applications to the science-oriented pharmacology profession, they serve to help the student develop a well-rounded base of knowledge, as well as critical thinking skills. Additionally, some classes such as English writing/composition will have direct applications to professional practice. Specific classes may include art history, literature, music appreciation, English composition, philosophy, religious studies or world history.