Academic Course Load

Please consult the TarHeel Tracker within your Connect Carolina account for the precise number of credit hours required to fulfill the PharmD program, dependent upon your cohort and year of entry into the program. Total final credits for each student may vary slightly because of credit variance in professional electives which may change the number of hours required. The PharmD curriculum requires an average academic load of 16 credit hours per semester during the first three professional years, along with an 8-credit immersion experience in the summer term after PY1 year. In the PY4 year, students enroll in three semesters (summer, fall, spring) to complete a total of 9 advanced immersion experiences (rotations). Each advanced immersion experience lasts 1 calendar month, earning students, who successfully complete the experience, 4 credit hours. Along with the advanced immersion experiences, fourth year students will also take a 1-credit hour seminar course in both the fall and spring semesters. 

Part time study in the Doctor of Pharmacy program is not allowed, unless required by the Scholastic Achievement and Progressions Committee for academic purposes. The minimum course load for any fall or spring semester is 9 credit hours (excludes physical education activity courses) which maintains full-time student status. The maximum academic credit load within any fall or spring semester is 18 credit hours.

Students cannot take more than 18 credit hours in any one semester without meeting the following criteria or permission of the Director, Professional Program in the Office of Student Affairs for students enrolled on the Chapel Hill campus or the Associate Director of Student Affairs, Asheville for students on the Asheville campus: 

• GPA of 3.0 or higher 

• Successful completion of Immersion Experience #1, including passing both the midpoint and final evaluations 

• No ongoing course remediation