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Pharmacy

A program that prepares individuals for the independent or employed practice of preparing and dispensing drugs and medications in consultation with prescribing physicians and other health care professionals, and for managing pharmacy practices and counseling patients. Includes instruction in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy, pharmacy practice, pharmacy administration, applicable regulations, and professional standards and ethics. Examples: [Pharmacy (BS, BPharm - Canada)], [Pharmacy (PharmD - USA and Canada)]

Types of Degrees Pharmacy Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Pharmacy have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	8
Bachelor’s Degree	250
Master’s Degree	75
Doctor’s Degree	11,834

What Pharmacy Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Pharmacy develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Pharmacy graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Pharmacy emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set developed in a Pharmacy program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Pharmacy careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Pharmacy graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Pharmacy professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Pharmacy graduates include:

• Pharmacology Professor
• Occupational Therapy Aides Teacher
• Clinical Full Professor
• Opticianry Teacher
• Therapy Teacher
• Dietary Aide Teacher
• Occupational Therapy Professor
• Activity Therapy Teacher
• Medical Assisting Instructor
• Dentistry Teacher
• Obstetrics Teacher
• Recreation Therapy Teacher
• Psychiatry Teacher
• Neurology Professor
• Hospital Aides and Assistants Teacher

What Can You Do With a Pharmacy Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Pharmacy commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Pharmacy graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	41.7%
Master’s degree	20.0%
Bachelor’s degree	17.2%
Post-doctoral training	11.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.8%
Postsecondary certificate	2.4%
First professional degree	1.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.2%
Some college courses	0.5%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Pharmacy?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 67.8% of Pharmacy degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	8,255	67.8%
Men	3,912	32.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Pharmacy graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,669	46.6%
Asian	2,854	23.5%
Hispanic or Latino	1,181	9.7%
Black or African American	1,196	9.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	29	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	15	0.1%
Two or More Races	396	3.3%
Race Unknown	499	4.1%
International Students	328	2.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Pharmacy Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Pharmacy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$100,486
4 years	$129,383
5 years	$140,029

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $140,029 — roughly 39% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Pharmacy Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Pharmacy. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	1	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Pharmacy Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Pharmacy graduates earn a median of $129,383 four years after completion — roughly 240% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Public Health, General	25,004
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	18,055
Public Health, Other	2,803
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,571
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other	1,079
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy and Cosmetic Sciences	1,000
Pharmaceutics and Drug Design	603
Clinical and Industrial Drug Development	244
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry	185
Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy	181
Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics	150

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.