Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Pharmacy

Degree Offered: Certificate
Program Leadership:
Sharon L. Youmans, PharmD, MPH, Vice Dean
Joel W. Gonzales, Director of Admissions
Lauren Anderson, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator
Admissions Inquiries:
Lauren Anderson, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator

Program Description

The Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program represents a comprehensive educational opportunity designed for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, underserved communities, and/or from groups traditionally underrepresented in the health professions. Through a combination of advanced science coursework, test preparation, collaborative study, and personalized support in preparing for the professional school application process, participants are able to distinguish themselves as competitive candidates for health professional schools.

Since 1999, post-baccalaureate students in the UCSF schools of dentistry and medicine have been successful in gaining admission to health professions schools throughout the United States. Both programs have consistently seen high acceptance rates: the medical program has an established acceptance rate of 93% and the dental program has a similarly successful acceptance rate of over 90%. In 2010, the School of Pharmacy launched a program modeled after those in the schools of dentistry and medicine, and in 2011 all three programs were united under the UCSF Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program.

Post-baccalaureate students complete coursework through UC Berkeley Extension and participate in seminars at UCSF to enrich their knowledge of the health professions and prepare them for the professional school application process. Students in all three programs benefit from personalized advising; students in medicine and dentistry also benefit from focused entrance exam preparation. As members of a formal university graduate certificate program, students participate in campus life and take advantage of student resources in areas of financial aid, health insurance, library services, learning assistance and more.

The Interprofessional Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program is offered by the UCSF Graduate Division and administered by the UCSF schools of dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy.

The program aims to make students more competitive through a comprehensive and structured program. Using a combination of upper-division academic coursework, personalized support in application preparation, and constructive seminars, students will be able to strengthen their application to pharmacy school.

Admission Requirements

  1. Have a minimum GPA of 2.8 or higher (including a minimum 2.8 GPA in the sciences). Exceptions can be made.
  2. Have completed the majority of prerequisites for pharmacy school, with no more than one semester or a quarter of outstanding prerequisite work remaining.
  3. Have completed the following courses:

Learning Outcomes

The content of the program has been developed to facilitate the success of the program's 3 learning objectives: Application Preparation (AP), Skill Development (SD), and Interprofessional Education (IE). By the end of the program students will:

Demonstrate understanding of strategic Application Preparation (AP) through:

  1. The ability to prepare written statements acceptable for submission to professional schools.
  2. Knowledge of best practices for identifying letter of evaluation/recommendation writers, soliciting writers, and providing appropriate information to the writers.
  3. Pharmacy students will create appropriate lists of professional organizations through the use of research, oral presentation and sharing resources.
  4. Knowledge of how to prepare for an applicant interview and practice interviewing.

Additional Information

Program Core Faculty

Degree Requirements

  1. Attend all scheduled class sessions, workshops, seminars, study groups and individual/group meetings called by program personnel.
  2. Complete all assignments, projects, and presentations as assigned.
  3. Follow the recommendations of program personnel regarding the following:
    1. UC Berkeley Extension course selections for fall and spring semesters
    2. Time spent outside of the program (i.e. working, volunteering, etc.)
    1. Midterm and final grades in all classes taken at UC Berkeley Extension.
    2. List(s) of pharmacy schools applied to.
    3. Program evaluation forms, as required.

    Core Courses

    INTERDEPT 205 Preparing for Health Professions School (3 units in each term, taken in all terms)

    Pharmacy – UNEX science courses (18 units) - 3 courses per semester (course availability is subject to change): https://extension.berkeley.edu/academic-areas/sciences-mathematics-and-biotechnology/

    UCB Extension Courses

    Course List
    Code Title Units
    CHEM X19A 4.5
    CHEM X36.1B 3
    CHEM X36A 4.5
    CHEM X36B 4.5
    CHEM X416 4.5
    INTEGBI X104 4.5
    INTEGBI X109 4.5
    INTEGBI X15B 4.5
    MCELLBI X110 4.5
    MCELLBI X115A 4.5
    MCELLBI X126 4.5
    MCELLBI X134 4.5
    MCELLBI X136 1.5
    MCELLBI X138 4.5
    MCELLBI X143 4.5
    MCELLBI X15A 4.5
    MCELLBI X420 4.5
    MCELLBI X424 4.5
    MCELLBI X471 4.5
    MCELLBI X474 4.5
    MCELLBI X499.5 4.5
    MCELLBI XB32 4.5
    Total Units94.5

    2024-2025 Edition

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