Grading Options, Grade Changes

The PharmD curriculum is intensive. Students are expected to devote full time to the academic program once enrolled. Thus, the School of Pharmacy schedule of classes, assignments, practice experiences, examinations, and other activities take precedence over outside employment or extracurricular activities. Course sessions, practice experience and examinations may be scheduled outside the usual business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Grade Options, Grade Point Average (GPA) and Minimum GPA to progress and graduate, Grade changes.

All PharmD courses and elective courses are taken for letter grades with the exception of Experiential Learning courses taken each semester and for which students receive honors, satisfactory or unsatisfactory (H/S/U). At the discretion of Course Coordinators plus and minus grades may also be given in letter graded courses. GPA’s for the pharmacy students are based on grades earned during the first three years of the professional curriculum and are calculated each semester and at the end of each professional year. One of the requirements for advancement to the next professional is maintenance of a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater at the end of each professional year. Students must earn passing grades in all required professional and elective courses and have a 2.0 or greater to graduate from the PharmD Program.
The letter grade (LG) grading system identified below is used to calculate GPA (value times the course credits/by total number of semester credits)
A+ = 4.00
A = 4.00
A- = 3.75

B+ = 3.25
B = 3.00
B- = 2.75

C+ = 2.25
C = 2.00
C- = 1.75

D+ = 1.25
D = 1.00
D- = 0.75

F = 0.00

The following grades carry no quality points:

G – Unfinished Class Work: no quality points are earnedClass work unfinished because of extenuating personal circumstances. Grade changes may occur after required class work is finished.
H – Honors
Honors (exceptional) completion of class requirements.
R – Resignation
Student resigned from the University for the term.
S – Satisfactory
Satisfactory completion of class requirements.
U – Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory completion of class requirements.
W – Withdrawal

Missed or Incomplete Course work
G Grades and I Grades: Students who, for good and valid reasons, are unable to complete some portion of the required material in a professional course may receive, at the discretion of the instructor, a G grade if in the P1 or P2 year, or an I grade if in the P3 or P4 year. The instructor must be convinced, by appropriate documentation, that the reasons for the incomplete work are valid. The incomplete work must be made up as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the following term (spring or summer). If there are extenuating circumstances students may have up to one year (University’s guidelines) to complete work in courses for which they have received a G grade. Students who have been given a G or an I grade in a course that is a prerequisite for another course may not take the next course in the sequence until the G or I grade has been replaced with an acceptable grade. Students cannot advance to the next professional year until all G or I grades have been resolved. If a G or an I grade is not resolved in the designated time, students will be under academic probation as outlined below.

The cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is based upon all University of Pittsburgh credits completed for the PharmD curriculum (i.e. the first three professional years) in accordance with the University Grading Policy. Effective with the fall 2005 term and the implementation of a new student administration system (PeopleSoft), the cumulative GPA will appear on the student’s Transcript. Awards including Dean’s List and graduation honors are based on the GPA

Grade Changes
Grade changes may be necessary after grades have been submitted by Course Coordinators to the University’s Registrar. Grade changes may be given if students receive a G grade because they have not completed all course requirements. After satisfactory completion of all required work a grade change is initiated. All grade change forms are completed by the Course Coordinators for the PharmD courses and processed by the School’s Registrar.

Add/Drop Courses
Students enrolled in the 4 years of the professional curriculum take a pre-determined full course load each semester. There are two exceptions to this: students in the Program who are on academic probation or students who have been exempted for a course. In these situations students who must add or drop a course must do so before the end of the add/drop period (approximately two weeks after classes start). If you drop a course, no grade is recorded and tuition is recalculated if enrollment falls below 12 credits. Note: you will no longer be considered a full-time student if you drop below 12 credits, and this status change could have an effect on your housing and financial aid. Add/drop requests will be processed by the School’s registrar.