Exploring the Cost of Pharmacy School

The cost of attending a PharmD program can be intimidating especially in an uncertain economic climate.  Certainly more expensive than your Bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical science or the health sciences, your pharmacy education does come with a hefty price tag.  Fortunately, most pharmacy programs are committed to assisting students financially to allow them to achieve their goal of earning a PharmD degree and enter the workforce as a pharmacist.  

Almost all pharmacy schools awarding a doctorate of pharmacy degree provide financial aid or assistance in the form of a pharmacy program scholarship(s), grant(s), and loans (federal, university-specific, and private).  The overall student financial aid package is usually very robust. While the pharmacy education is undoubtedly an expensive undertaking, federal student aid can make many of these programs affordable.   

The numbers provided below are for the cost of attendance, including tuition, annual student fees, and other miscellaneous expenses.  While these tuitions don't take into account any potential student financial aid packages that may be available through a particular university, college of pharmacy, or doctorate of pharmacy program, these numbers do serve as a realistic reminder of the cost of pharmacy school.

Pharmacy School is Expensive

Without a doubt, pharmacy school is expensive and meaningfully material investment, but is also evidence of your commitment to the profession and willingness to devote your career to better the health and wellness of others.

The average annual cost of attendance at an accredited PharmD program from a public university is currently over $23,000 for in-state students and over $38,000 for out-of-state students.  Private universities offer PharmD programs as well, typically at a premium.  The average cost of attendance for a doctorate of pharmacy program at a private university is over $44,000 annually.  The tuition varies significantly from college to college.  

There are no shortage of these pharmacy degrees being offered either. Currently there are over 140 accredited colleges of pharmacy who award a doctorate of pharmacy degree.  There are PharmD programs that offer tuition rates under $10,000 per year and there are also programs whose cost of attendance is over $80,000 per year. 

Are some programs 10x more valuable than others to overall earning potential? Most likely not. 

Do some programs offer opportunities that will differentiate yourself from other candidates in job interviews? Most likely yes. 

Ultimately these questions can’t be answered by ranking schools by tuition alone, but tuition is (and should be) a significant consideration when choosing a pharmacy school that is right for you.

The Best Value: In-state, public universities

If you happen to live in a state with a public university that offers a PharmD program, consider yourself fortunate.  Generally, these programs offer the best value and often have the best resources available as they are connected to a larger institution.

These are the cheapest public institutions (annual in-state tuition for pharmacy students):

These are the states ranked by cheapest annual tuition for public institutions for a PharmD degree:

If you don’t live in a state with a public university that offers a doctorate of pharmacy degree, you can attend an out-of-state public institution, but at a premium.  Here are the states ranked by average tuition for out-of-state at public pharmacy schools:

Private pharmacy schools are options to those with a less competitive resume. Often as much as or more than out-of-state tuition, private pharmacy schools are an option as well, albeit an expensive one.  These private institutions account for the majority of the newest pharmacy schools.  Typically located in popular urban areas, these schools are often more attractive to candidates with the financial means to live in more expensive urban environments while in school.  The most affordable private colleges of pharmacy are indicated below (annual tuition):

While many colleges of pharmacy will award a doctorate of pharmacy degree in 4 years, some institutions have accelerated programs which allow the pharmacy student to graduate a year early, in 3 years.  Not only does this reduce the number of year that the student is paying tuition, but it also increases the number of years of a graduate’s earning potential as a pharmacist. 

These schools forgo the traditional time off in the Summer, and instead opt for year-round schooling.  While this aggressive schedule can be stressful, it can be a benefit in the long run.  The list of the cheapest accelerated (3-year) programs are below:

The cost of tuition doesn’t take into account the cost of living.  If you’re college of pharmacy is in an urban area, most likely you’re cost of living will be much higher than those schools located in rural locations.  The ultimate cost of attendance includes many factors and the cost of tuition is merely one factor determining whether a program or college of pharmacy is right for you.

Source:

• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy