College of Pharmacy, Glendale

Application Service:    FREE, when you visit Pharmacy Free Application page for a link to get your PharmCAS code 
Exam Requirement:    PCAT not required   
Application Opens:     July in prior year   
Application Deadline:  May 1 – apply early!   
Classes Begin:              Early June

Midwestern University uses rolling admission, and we strongly encourage you to apply early.  Once our seats are filled, we may not interview further candidates.

Application Requirements

• At least 60 semester hours (or 86 quarter hours) of prerequisite coursework (see table below). At the time you apply, prerequisite coursework may be in progress or planned for completion prior to matriculation.
• A preferred minimum cumulative GPA and science GPA of 2.50 on a 4.0 scale. 
• Transcripts from all prior post-secondary institutions, including any graduate-level coursework completed.
• Coursework is accepted from regionally accredited U.S. colleges or universities, or recognized postsecondary Canadian institutions where the primary language of instruction is English.
• You must earn a grade of “C” or better in all prerequisite courses.
• Pre-pharmacy courses must be completed by the end of the Spring term prior to matriculation in the College of Pharmacy.
• Two letters of recommendation, preferably:
  • One from a college professor who has taught you, or your pre-health advisor.
  • One from a pharmacist or healthcare professional who knows you well.
• Completion of an interview with the College of Pharmacy (by invitation only)
• Demonstration of a people or service orientation through community service or extracurricular activities.
• Motivation for and commitment to the healthcare profession, demonstrated by previous work, volunteer work, or other life experiences.
• Oral and written communication skills necessary to interact with patients and colleagues.
• Passing the Midwestern University criminal background check.
• Commitment to abide by the Midwestern University Drug-Free Workplace and Substance Abuse Policy.

NOTE: Midwestern University no longer requires the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) for admission.

Full list of requirements in catalog

Students seeking admission to CPG must submit the following documented evidence:

• Completion of 62 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of non-remedial, prerequisite coursework from regionally accredited U.S. colleges or universities, or recognized postsecondary Canadian institutions that use English as its primary language of instruction and documentation. Grades of C or better for prerequisite courses (not C-).  Preferred minimum cumulative GPA and science GPA of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale. The Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) calculates the cumulative and science GPA. Grades from all non-remedial courses completed post-high school are used to calculate the GPA.  
• Completion of pre-pharmacy coursework requirements by the end of spring semester or spring quarter prior to matriculation to CPG. 
• No Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) score is required for admission, however if an applicant's cumulative and science GPAs are below 2.75, then the submission of PCAT scores is preferred to enhance the application.  
  • Scores may be submitted to the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) using PCAT code 104.
  • PCAT exams are offered multiple times per year by Harcourt Assessment, Inc., (also known as Pearson), phone 800-622-3231 or visit About PCAT for more information. 
  • Applicants currently applying to another college within Midwestern University may have scores from the MCAT, DAT, OAT, or GRE transferred, if their cumulative and science GPAs are below 2.75.
  • Current MWU students wishing to apply to the college of pharmacy may have scores from the MCAT, DAT, OAT, or GRE transferred, if their cumulative and science GPAs are below 2.75. 
  • Only scores earned from the test offered in 2016 or more recently are acceptable.  
• Demonstration of a people or service orientation through community service or extracurricular activities. 
• Motivation for and commitment to the pharmacy profession as demonstrated by previous work, volunteer work, or other life experiences. 
• Oral and written communication skills necessary to interact with patients and colleagues. 
• Completion of CPG's on-campus interview process (by invitation only). 
• Passing the Midwestern University criminal background check. 
• Commitment to abide by the Midwestern University Drug-Free Workplace and Substance Abuse Policy.

Full list of requirements in catalog 
 

CPG educates and graduates competent and motivated pharmacists who will provide pharmaceutical care in a wide range of community and institutional settings. Standards for admission set forth by CPG outline the non-academic abilities considered essential for students to achieve the level of competence required by the faculty and by the ACPE, the pharmacy-accrediting agency, in order to obtain the Pharm.D. degree. Candidates must have abilities and skills in five areas: 1) observation; 2) communication; 3) motor; 4) intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative; and 5) behavioral and social. Technological compensation can be made for some limitation in certain of these areas, but candidates should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.

Graduates of Midwestern University College of Pharmacy will be able to demonstrate competency in 26 curricular outcomes embedded within the following domains:

1. Knowledge and problem-solving skills
2. Patient and population care
3. Practice and systems management
4. Communications and interpersonal skills
5. Personal and professional development
6. One Health and interprofessionalism

Experiential education courses, commonly referred to as “rotations,” comprise roughly one-third of your pharmacy education. At CPG, you will have an abundance of unique rotation opportunities available to you, as you explore which area of pharmacy practice you’d like to pursue in your career.

Experiential Education allows you to:

• Apply knowledge learned in the classroom, labs, and workshops.
• Practice under the guidance of a pharmacist (preceptor) who shares knowledge and experiences with you.
• Network with pharmacists that have unique backgrounds and professional experiences.
• Explore a variety of practice settings.
• Care for a variety of patient populations.
• Collaborate with other healthcare professionals.

The Office of Experiential Education (OEE) has been coordinating rotations for our pharmacy students for more than 20 years, so we have a depth of partnerships with premier medical centers in the Phoenix area for the benefit of your pharmacy education. Key partnerships include:

• Mayo Clinic Hospital
• Banner Health
• HonorHealth
• VA Phoenix Health Care
• Phoenix Children’s Hospital
• Abrazo Health
• Phoenix Indian Medical Center
• And many more..
   

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs)

You will begin two introductory rotation courses in the summer after your first full year in our pharmacy curriculum.

During this 12-week summer curriculum, there are a total of three rotation blocks that are four weeks each.  Your assigned IPPE rotations will take place during two of the blocks: one for IPPE - Community and one for IPPE – Health Systems/Institutional (in either order).  Therefore, you will enjoy a four-week break from all coursework during one of the three IPPE rotation blocks.  Each IPPE rotation is four weeks long, and attendance at your assigned site is full time (40 hours per week).

To begin IPPEs, you will need an Arizona State Pharmacist Intern License.  Details provided during first-year orientation.

IPPE – Community:  
Local community pharmacies, such as CVS, Costco, Fry’s Food and Drug, Safeway, Walgreens, etc.

IPPE - Health Systems/Institutional:  
Local hospitals/health systems throughout the Phoenix metro area.

To maximize your experiences, you will rotate at a practice site that is new to you. This will complement your education and experiences, as well as offer new networking opportunities.

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs)

Beginning in your final year, these rotation courses will be taken one at a time, in successive blocks of six-week time periods.

Four Core APPE Rotations:

APPE - Community – This is the advanced experience that builds upon your IPPE – Community rotation. This practice experience will enable you to develop your skills and gain experience in a variety of patient-oriented services in the community setting.

APPE – Health Systems/Institutional – This is an advanced experience that builds upon IPPE – Health Systems/Institutional rotation. This experience will enable you to develop your skills and gain experience in hospital practice or other system of integrated pharmacy services.

Ambulatory Care – This practice experience will enable you to develop your skills and gain experience related to ambulatory care practice and disease state management. You will participate in drug therapy assessment and intervention, identify drug related problems, develop therapeutic care plans, and effectively communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals to achieve optimal drug therapy outcomes.

General Medicine/Acute Care – This practice experience will enable you to develop your skills and gain experience related to general medicine in an acute care setting.

Two Elective Rotations:

Patient Care – In this experience you will select a rotation with a patient care focus. You may select an additional experience from one of the four required experiences, or you may choose a rotation with a clinical pharmacist who specializes in a specific disease state, such as oncology, cardiology, critical care, or pediatrics.

Elective – Elective rotations are most often non-patient-care-oriented, such as management, pharmaceutical industry, academia, managed care, mail order, or pharmacy benefits management (PBM).

Crafting Your APPE Experiences

Because there are numerous career paths for practicing pharmacists, our various opportunities for unique rotation sites will allow you to explore directions that may be of interest to you. Our staff will work with you to help accommodate your preferences for rotations in specific Phoenix-area regions, in urban, suburban, and rural settings, as well as specific clinical sites that interest you most.

Making your APPE rotation choices begins with a one-hour classroom session that discusses the lottery process, provides details on each of the six APPE rotation courses, and offers guidance on selecting sites and preceptors. In addition, 15-minute one-on-one meetings are available for you to review your options with a member of the Office of Experiential Education (OEE) professional staff.

With each of the six rotation types noted above, you will designate in rotation site and/or preceptor for that type of APPE rotation. Although the final assignment of APPE rotations is based on a lottery system, roughly 85% of our students receive their top choices in all six rotation blocks. In addition, we offer the following options:

• Distant rotations (detailed below) – You may do a combination of local and distant rotations.  For your convenience, these will be most often in adjacent rotation blocks, so that you can plan your living arrangements accordingly and minimize your relocation time.
• Longitudinal rotations – These are back-to-back rotations at the same clinical site, with different preceptors for each type of APPE rotation. For instance, your General Medicine/Acute Care and APPE – Health Systems/Institutional rotations could be at the same location. Longitudinal rotations are available at only select Phoenix area medical centers. These rotations allow you to spend less time in orientations and learning computer systems, and more time becoming part of the healthcare team, particularly in the second block. They also allow you to build relationships with pharmacy staff, which could help in the eventual job search process. A separate application process is required.
• Premier/unique rotations – Core and elective rotations are offered at unique sites like Banner Drug & Poison Center, Cleveland Clinic, and Yale New Haven. Applications may be required.
• Academic rotations – This Elective campus-based APPE option offers you the opportunity to learn about teaching the next generation of pharmacists. Whether you plan to become a preceptor in the future, or occasionally teach classrooms of pharmacy students, or just wish to work closely with our faculty, this rotation will allow you to understand the teaching environment.
• Indian Health Service (IHS) rotations – This Ambulatory Care option allows you to learn about providing patient-centered care to people in Native American cultures.  Separate application may be required.
• Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) rotations – These are highly competitive opportunities.  Separate application is required.  You may apply to only one of these.
• Pharmaceutical Industry rotations – This Elective is currently available with Janssen and Bristol Myers Squibb.  Separate application is required.

Licensure  
All students are required to have an Arizona State Pharmacist Intern License by the end of the first quarter of enrollment.  Instructions for this license application will be provided. This registration must be maintained for the entire enrollment period.

Distant Rotations  
Distant Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE/APPE) are defined as rotations that are at practice sites outside the greater Phoenix area.  Distant rotations begin 60 miles or more from Midwestern University, Glendale Campus.

Students in good academic and disciplinary standing, as determined by the College, may participate in distant rotations. Distant rotations are subject to final approval on an individual basis by the Director of the Office of Experiential Education (OEE). Students must attend all mandatory distant rotations meetings and adhere to all assignment deadline dates. All requests will be considered.

All distant rotation sites and preceptors must be approved by OEE, and the standard University affiliation agreement must be completed prior to the student beginning the rotation. There is no guarantee that requested distant rotations will be approved and scheduled. Schedule changes resulting from preceptor changes may result in a denied distant request. Students doing distant rotations are also responsible for contacting the Board of Pharmacy in the state where they are placed to determine the licensure requirement(s).  The student must comply with the requirements for that state and provide proof of compliance to OEE. All travel and living expenses are the student's responsibility.

Pharmacy in Glendale
Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale (MWU-CPG) offers postgraduate training programs to meet the needs of the pharmacist in the evolving health care environment. These programs offer challenging learning and practice experiences to develop the individual strengths of the resident, while advancing the role of the pharmacist in the health care team. The patient care opportunities and experiences in evaluating pharmacy practice models allow the resident increasing autonomy as the year(s) progress(es).

Common Elements to all MWU-CPG Postgraduate Training Programs
All MWU-CPG postgraduate training programs share common elements. First, residents in these programs spend one day each week on campus (usually Thursday) and are required to complete a research project. All residents receive an appointment as a Visiting Instructor within the Department of Pharmacy Practice and are provided dedicated space at the College.

Teaching and Learning Activities
Residents implement what they have learned through the Teaching and Learning Seminar Series (TLSS) and The Clinician Educators Program (CEP) through teaching in the classroom and in the clinical setting. Residents provide instruction in small group workshops and large group didactic settings (i.e., lectures). Residents serve as a preceptor or co-preceptor for students on an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (i.e., clerkship rotation).

Application Materials
Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale uses PhORCAS for submission of application materials for all of its residency programs.  PhORCAS applications require the submission of a CV, letter of intent, transcript and three references using the standard PhORCAS recommendation form.  More information about PhORCAS can be found at ASHP.

Notice regarding the Resident Matching Program:  This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.

• Class Size: 46
• Female: 54%
• Male: 46%
• Average Age: 27
• Average Overall GPA: 3.21
• Top Home State: Arizona (78%)

Class of 2023

The following statistics are based on the Class of 2023, which had 139 matriculants. This percentage is reflective of those students admitted in Summer 2020 and graduated on time. This percentage accounts for students who voluntarily withdrew from the program, as well as students who had their graduation delayed due to an academic or personal issue or were dismissed. Retention data will be available in summer 2024.

• On-time graduation rate: 79% 

Class of 2024

The following statistics are based on the Class of 2024, which had 131 matriculants. This percentage is reflective of those students admitted in Summer 2021 and graduated on time. This percentage accounts for students who voluntarily withdrew from the program, as well as students who had their graduation delayed due to an academic or personal issue or were dismissed.

• On-time graduation rate: 79% 

NAPLEX 2023 first time test-taking pass rate:

• CPG graduates: 68%
• MWU-COP graduates: 73% (includes both Glendale and Downers Grove campuses)

MPJE 2023 first-time test-taking pass rate:

• CPG graduates: 66%

Data for 2023 provided by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE, or state law exam). Combined pass rate for MWU-COP not included for MPJE, as the exams vary between the two states’ campuses, as does the number of graduates taking the exam for licensure in each campuses’ respective state.

Community and ambulatory care pharmacies, hospitals/health systems, specialty pharmacies, collaborative practices, managed care organizations, educational institutions, pharmaceutical industry, and other health care settings.

According to the sources below, the median pharmacist salary in 2021 was $128,570 and pharmacist demand is expected to increase 19% through 2030.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S., Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Pharmacists, (accessed 8/18/2022).  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. National Center for Workforce Analysis - Health Workforce Projections: Pharmacists (accessed 8/18/2022).
 

Job Placements

Class of 2023 Job Placement Rate:  65%

• Community Pharmacy: 32%
• Hospital and Health System Pharmacy: 2%  
• Residency: 22%
• Fellowship/other training: 2%
• Compounding and mail-order pharmacy, long-term care pharmacy, and nuclear pharmacy: 6%
• Other/Lost to Follow Up: 36%

To determine Job Placement Rate, the following methodology was used: A survey was administered to 121 graduates three weeks prior to graduation in May 2023. There are 43 graduates where no information is available.

Residency Match Rate

CPG graduates: 79% for the Class of 2024 (34/43)

Based on 2024 National Matching Service (NMS) data obtained from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in April 2024. Match rates are calculated by dividing the number of individuals who matched to a residency program by the number of individuals who submitted a rank list to NMS in 2024, plus those who matched outside of the process. The CPG Graduates' rate is based on students from the Class of 2024 exclusively and does not include students from previous graduating classes. These rates also represent the entire match process. National Phase I and Phase II combined PGY1 match rate is 81%.

Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale, Doctor of Pharmacy Program is accredited by The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), 190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 2850, Chicago, IL 60603-3499; Phone: 312-664-3575; Fax: 866-228-2631; Website: ACPE

Midwestern University is accredited by: The Higher Learning Commission/A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC/NCA), 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411; Phone: 800-621-7440; Fax: 312-263-7462; Website: Higher Learning Commission.