INTRODUCTION
This report presents data that describe the 2010-11 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in 2010-11, and fall 2011 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from the one hundred and twenty-four (124) U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) using five separate survey instruments.
There were previously two professional education programs at U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy: one leading to a baccalaureate in pharmacy, and the other leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. However, June 30, 2005 marked the official expiration of the ACPE standards to the baccalaureate in pharmacy (B.S. Pharmacy) degree programs in accordance with the transition to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree as the sole professional degree program in the U.S. Some colleges and schools of pharmacy conferred degrees in the B.S. Pharmacy program until 2004-05.
For the purpose of this report, students in doctor of pharmacy programs are categorized under Pharm.D.1 when the program leads to a doctor of pharmacy degree conferred as the first professional degree. Students who have already received a baccalaureate in pharmacy and are enrolled in a doctor of pharmacy degree program are categorized under Pharm.D.2.
The following definitions refer to the race/ethnicity groups as used in this report. White refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Black or African American refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Hispanic or Latino refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Asian refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Prior to 2011, these students were included in the Asian category. American Indian or Alaska Native refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment. Two or More Races refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are not Hispanic/Latino and identify themselves by more than one race. Unknown refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents whose race and ethnicity are not known. Prior to 2011, this category was labeled Other/Unknown and students that were of two or more races were included in this category. Finally, International/Foreign refers to citizens of a foreign country/permanent residents of a country other than the U.S.
2010-11 APPLICATION POOL
The 2010-11 Application Pool Survey was conducted online in October 2011, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the dean at each of the 124 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. After follow-up correspondence and telephone calls, one hundred and twenty-two (122) colleges and schools (98.4 percent) submitted the requested information. The Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) provided application data for the 95 full-participating colleges and schools of pharmacy. Included in the application pool are students who applied for admission and submitted all required application materials between September 2010 and August 2011 for the entering class of fall 2011. Numbers reported represent the number of applications, not applicants, and may represent multiple applications submitted by individual applicants.
During the period September 2010 through August 2011, the reporting institutions received 106,815 applications for admission. When compared with entering class enrollment data for fall 2011 at these institutions, the resultant ratio was 7.0 applications received for every one entering student enrolled. The corresponding data for the 120 colleges and schools reporting for the same period in 2009-10 were 111,744 applications received; 7.7 applications for every one entering student enrolled in fall 2010. For the one hundred and twenty (120) colleges and schools reporting application data for both 2009-10 and 2010-11, there was a 6.4 percent decrease in the number of applications received.
In 2010-11, females submitted 59.5 percent of the applications to pharmacy colleges and schools; males submitted 39.4 percent; gender unknown/not reported submitted 1.1 percent. White Americans submitted 35.5 percent of the applications, Asian Americans submitted 35.1 percent of the applications, and underrepresented minorities submitted 15.2 percent of the applications (black, 10.4 percent; Hispanic, 4.4 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 0.2 percent; American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.2 percent). 1.9 percent of the applications to the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs were from applicants of two or more races and 5.2 percent of the applications were submitted by foreign, nonpermanent residents [Table 1]. For the seventh consecutive year, colleges and schools of pharmacy received more applications from out-of-state residents (59.3 percent) compared to 40.7 percent from in-state residents. This increase in out-of-state applicants can be attributed to the ease of applying to colleges and schools of pharmacy in different states through PharmCAS.
Distribution of 2010-2011 Applications by Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Applicanta
Over forty-five percent (45.4 percent) of the applications to the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs were submitted by individuals who had previously obtained a baccalaureate degree or higher (baccalaureate, 42.5 percent; master's, 2.6 percent; doctorate, 0.3 percent), up from 44.5 percent the previous year [Table 2]. Nearly 77 percent (76.7 percent) of the applications to colleges and schools of pharmacy were submitted by individuals who had 3 or more years of postsecondary experience.
Distribution of 2010-2011 Applications to First Professional Degree Programs by Gender and Previous Postsecondary Experience of Applicanta
2010-11 DEGREES CONFERRED
The 2010-11 Professional Degrees Conferred and Graduate Degrees Conferred surveys were conducted online in October 2011, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the dean at each of the 124 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2011. After follow-up correspondence and telephone calls, 124 colleges and schools (100.0 percent) submitted the requested information.
Professional Degrees Conferred
Numbers of degrees conferred by U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy from 1965 to 2011 are presented in Table 3.
Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1965-2011 by Degree and Gender
First Professional Degrees Conferred. In 2010-11, one hundred and two (102) colleges and schools conferred the doctor of pharmacy as a first professional degree (Pharm.D.1). Graduating Pharm.D.1 class sizes ranged from 27 students to 280 students (median, 108 students). Twenty-two (22) of the 124 colleges and schools of pharmacy did not confer degrees in 2010-11. These schools were new programs whose students had not yet progressed through the entire curriculum (Harding, California Northstate, Regis, Saint Joseph, South Florida, PCOM-Georgia, Chicago State, Roosevelt, Rosalind Franklin, Husson, New England, Notre Dame, Maryland Eastern Shore, Western New England, D’Youville, Touro-New York, Thomas Jefferson, Presbyterian, Belmont, Lipscomb, Union, and Concordia).
In 2010-11 there were 11,931 first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools of pharmacy compared to 11,487 in 2009-10. [Table 4]. The total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2010-11 represented a 3.9 percent increase from the total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2009-10 [Table 5].
Baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD1) Degrees as Percentages of Total First Professional Degrees Conferred 1981-2011
Annual Percentage Change in Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1981-2011 Over Previous Year
In 1979-80, men received 59.5 percent of the first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools of pharmacy and women received 40.5 percent. Over the past 30 years, these percentages have shifted dramatically and, in 2010-11, men received 38.2 percent of the first professional degrees conferred, and 61.8 percent of these degrees were received by women. Women received their highest percentage of degrees conferred (68.2 percent) in 2004-05 and 2005-06. [Table 6].
Percentage of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1980-2011 by Gender
White Americans received 59.8 percent of first professional degrees conferred in 2010-11. Underrepresented minorities received 11.5 percent of the first professional degrees conferred in 2010-11 (Black, 6.4 percent; Hispanic, 4.3 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 0.4 percent; American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.4 percent). Asian Americans received 21.5 percent of the first professional degrees. The percentage of first professional degree recipients who were of two or more races was 0.3 percent and the percentage of recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 2.6 percent. [Table 7].
Percentage of First Professional Degree (BS Pharmacy, BPharm, and PharmD1) Recipients 1980-2011 by Race/Ethnicity
Doctor of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred to Postbaccalaureate Students. Twenty-one (21) colleges and schools conferred the Pharm.D. degree to postbaccalaureate students in 2010-11. The number of graduates per institution ranged from 1 to 164 students (median, 7 students). The number of doctor of pharmacy degrees conferred as postbaccalaureate degrees (Pharm.D.2) decreased by 21.3 percent to 415 in 2010-11 from 527 in 2009-10 [Table 5]. More women than men received Pharm.D.2 degrees in 2010-11 (women, 59.8 percent; men, 40.2 percent) [Table 6].
White Americans received 39.0 percent of Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2010-11. Underrepresented minorities received 20.2 percent of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred (black, 11.3 percent; Hispanic, 7.7 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 1.0 percent; American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.2 percent). Asian Americans received 19.0 percent of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2010-11. Students of two or more races did not receive any Pharm.D.2 degrees in 2010-11. The percentage of Pharm.D.2 degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 15.9 percent, down from 17.1 percent in 2009-10 [Table 8].
Percentage of Postbaccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (PharmD2) Recipients 1980-2011 by Race/Ethnicity
Graduate Degrees Conferred
The number of master of science (M.S.) degrees conferred has shown annual fluctuations over the 46 years data have been consistently gathered and reported [Table 3]. The number of M.S. degrees conferred increased from 773 in 2009-10 to 822 in 2010-11, a 6.3 percent increase. The number of Ph.D. degrees conferred increased in 2010-11 to 471 from 450 in 2009-10 (4.7 percent increase) [Table 5].
The highest percentage of M.S. degrees awarded in 2010-11 (26.8 percent) was in pharmaceutics. The second highest percentage of M.S. degrees was in other discipline (25.2 percent); followed by social and administrative sciences (19.3 percent); pharmacy practice (13.3 percent); pharmacology (10.7 percent); and medicinal chemistry (4.7 percent). The highest number of Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2010-11 was in the discipline of pharmaceutics (42.3 percent). The second highest number was in medicinal chemistry (26.3 percent); followed by pharmacology (17.4 percent); social and administrative sciences (8.1 percent); other discipline (3.8 percent); and pharmacy practice (2.1 percent) [Table 9].
Summary of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees Conferred 2010-11 by Gender and Discipline
More women than men earned M.S. degrees (women, 57.2 percent; men, 42.8 percent) in 2010-11; however, more men than women earned Ph.D. degrees (women, 46.9 percent; men, 53.1 percent). 2008-09 was the only year that women received more Ph.D. degrees than men. The percentage of women receiving Ph.D. degrees in 2010-11 increased slightly from 46.0 percent in 2009-10. Despite the decrease from the 2008-09 high, the share of Ph.D. degrees received by women has grown substantially from 18.0 percent in 1979-80 [Table 6]. This increase can be attributed to an increase in the number of foreign females receiving Ph.D. degrees. Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women have a propensity to be underrepresented as Ph.D. recipients. In 2010-11, 23 black women, 2 Hispanic women, and 0 American Indian woman received Ph.D.s. From 1979-80 to 2010-11, 171 Ph.D. degrees were conferred to black women, 62 to Hispanic women, and 5 to American Indian women. [Table 10].
Number of Doctor of Philosophy Degrees (PhD) Conferred 1980-2011 by Gender and Race/Ethnicity
Underrepresented minorities received 7.1 percent of the M.S. degrees conferred in 2010-11 (black, 4.6 percent; Hispanic,1.9 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 0.2 percent; American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.2 percent), an increase from 5.7 percent in 2009-10. Asian Americans received 9.5 percent of the M.S. degrees conferred, down from 10.1 percent in 2009-10. The percentage of M.S. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 0.1 percent and the percent of degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 46.7 percent, up from 45.9 percent in 2009-10 [Table 11].
Percentage of Master of Science (MS) Degree Recipients 1990-2011 by Race/Ethnicity
Underrepresented minorities earned 9.9 percent of the Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2010-11 (black, 7.2 percent; Hispanic, 1.9 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander; 0.8 percent; American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.0 percent), an increase from 4.9 percent in 2009-10. Asian Americans earned 10.6 percent of the Ph.D. degrees awarded. The percentage of Ph.D. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 1.1 percent and the percentage of degree recipients that were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 45.0 percent, up slightly from 44.4 percent in 2009-10 [Table 12].
Percentage of Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) Recipients 1980-2011 by Race/Ethnicity
FALL 2011 ENROLLMENTS
The 2011 Professional Degree Enrollment and Graduate Degree Enrollment Surveys were conducted online in October 2011, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the dean at each of the 124 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2011. Follow-up telephone calls were made to non-responding colleges and schools and to those submitting incomplete data. A 99.2 percent response rate for both surveys was achieved.
Professional Degree Programs
Fall 2011 enrollments in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs (n=58,915) represented a 3.6 percent increase from enrollments in fall 2010 (n=56,841) [Table 13]. In fall 2011, 60.8 percent of the students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs were females and 39.2 percent were males [Table 14].
Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs 1980-2011
Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Gender 1980-2011
White Americans composed the majority (55.4 percent) of students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs. Asian Americans accounted for 24.0 percent; black Americans, 6.7 percent; Hispanic Americans, 3.9 percent; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders, 0.4 percent; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.3 percent; and foreign students, 2.9 percent. Students that identified as two or more races accounted for 1.1 percent of all first professional degree enrollments. Over five percent (5.3 percent) of enrollees were listed as unknown. Enrollments of underrepresented minorities (black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native) as a percentage of total enrollments in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs increased slightly from fall 2010 to fall 2011 (11.2 percent in fall 2010 compared to 11.5 percent in fall 2011) This increase can be attributed to the inclusion of Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander as its own race/ethnicity category this year. In previous years Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders were included in the Asian category [Table 15].
Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Race/Ethnicity 1980-2011
Twenty-one (21) colleges and schools reported 1,341 students who already held a baccalaureate in pharmacy enrolled in doctor of pharmacy degree programs (Pharm.D.2). This was a decrease of 26.6 percent from fall 2010. White Americans composed 38.8 percent; black Americans accounted for 9.5 percent of these students; Hispanic Americans, 4.9 percent; Asian Americans, 18.6 percent; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders, 0.5 percent; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.4 percent; students or two or more races, 0.4 percent; unknown, 10.1 percent; and foreign students, 16.7 percent.
Graduate Degree Programs
In fall 2011, the discipline of pharmaceutics had the highest percentage of full-time enrollees at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels (29.7 percent and 34.8 percent, respectively). At the master's level, 22.4 percent of the students enrolled were in social and administrative sciences programs; 13.8 percent in pharmacology programs; 13.3 percent in other discipline; 12.4 percent in pharmacy practice programs; and 8.4 percent in medicinal chemistry programs. At the doctoral level, 25.8 percent of the students were enrolled in medicinal chemistry programs; 19.3 percent in pharmacology programs; 10.7 percent in social and administrative science programs; 6.9 percent in other discipline; and 2.5 percent in pharmacy practice [Table 16].
Summary of Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Fall 2011 Full-Time Enrollments by Gender and Disciplinea
In fall 2011, more females than males were enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs (females, 55.4 percent; males, 44.6 percent). Women accounted for 48.0 percent of the students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. programs in 2011, down from 49.7 percent in 2010.
Of the 908 students enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs in fall 2011, the majority (52.9 percent) were foreign students. White Americans composed of 24.3 percent of enrollees. Asian Americans accounted for 10.7 percent of the enrollees; Black Americans, 3.6 percent; Hispanic Americans, 2.9 percent; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Americans, 0.6 percent; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.2 percent; and Americans of two or more races, 0.2 percent.
Of the 3,109 students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. degree programs in fall 2011, foreign students were also the largest group, accounting for 50.5 percent of the enrollees. Nearly thirty percent (29.7 percent) were white Americans. Asian Americans accounted for 8.9 percent of the enrollees; black Americans, 4.3 percent; Hispanic Americans, 2.3 percent; Americans of two or more races, 0.3 percent; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.2 percent; and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Americans, 0.1 percent. Nearly thirty-eight percent (37.9 percent) of full-time and part-time students in Ph.D. programs held a professional pharmacy degree: 8.8 percent of Ph.D. students held a professional pharmacy degree from a U.S. college or school of pharmacy, and 29.0 percent held a pharmacy degree conferred by a non-U.S. institution [Table 17].
Fall 2011 Enrollments in Ph.D. Programs by Type of Enrollment (Full-Time, Part-Time), Discipline, and Source of Previous Degree Earneda
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy wishes to express its appreciation to the deans of its member institutions and members of their faculty and staff who devoted their valuable time to complete the surveys that led to this report. This report is an excerpt from the Profile of Pharmacy Students—Fall 2011, published by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (2012).
- © 2012 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
In this issue
Jump to section
Similar AJPE Articles
Cited By...
- No citing articles found.