Elective Courses

Rationale for Professional Elective Courses

Students in the professional program may complete a minimum of six credits to develop areas of personal interest, expand the student’s understanding of professional opportunities, and to achieve the outcomes of the curriculum.1 Students may select from elective options in order to design a personal plan of study or may choose to pursue courses in focused areas of concentration that have been recommended by faculty.  In the fourth professional year, students may select experiential learning rotation sites to focus on a career path.

In either case, there is considerable flexibility in professional elective course selection.  For more information on directed study under a faculty member, visit the Special Topics page.

The elective courses must be taken concurrently with the professional program.   No credit will be issued for courses completed prior to enrolling in the School of Pharmacy.

Procedure for Selecting Courses

Students will select elective courses from the list of Professional Electives for the School of Pharmacy or the pre-approved list of elective courses outside the School of Pharmacy.  These courses are subject to availability.  Students should contact the Registrar for the School of Pharmacy or consult the university’s website for availability of elective courses during a particular term.  Students may elect to complete courses during summer terms, as approved by the Vice-Chair of the Curriculum Committee.

Students may select a course that is not on the pre-approved list but must complete and submit the Request for Pharmacy Elective Credit for a Non-School of Pharmacy Course Form with a written supportive rationale to the Vice-Chair of the Curriculum Committee who will evaluate requests in a timely manner as necessary course information is available.   Courses must be at an appropriate level for approval (generally numbered 1000 and above).

Students may review the university’s web site for course descriptions and time schedules or contact the school offering the course for more information. Courses cannot be taken if the time conflicts with a school of pharmacy required course.  Course descriptions and syllabi are obtained by contacting the school offering the course or through the university’s web site.

The University of Pittsburgh has reciprocal tuition arrangements with local area universities and colleges (Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Robert Morris University, for example).  Students who wish to select courses at other universities must plan ahead to make sure that courses are available.