The Pharmacy Student Population: Applications Received 2014-15, Degrees Conferred 2014-15, Fall 2015 Enrollments

INTRODUCTION

This report presents data that describe the 2014-15 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in 2014-15, and fall 2015 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from the 135 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 or 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.

2014-15 APPLICATION POOL

The 2014-15 Application Pool Survey was conducted online in October 2015 with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 135 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. After follow-up correspondence, 133 colleges and schools (98.5 percent) submitted the requested information. Included in the application pool are students who applied for admission and submitted all required application materials between September 2014 and August 2015 for the entering class of fall 2015. Numbers reported represent the number of applications, not applicants, and may represent multiple applications submitted by individual applicants.

During the period September 2014 through August 2015 the reporting institutions received 76,525 applications for admission.

In 2014-15, females submitted 59.9 percent of the applications to pharmacy colleges and schools; males submitted 39.2 percent; gender unknown/not reported submitted 0.8 percent. White Americans submitted 36.7 percent of the applications, Asian Americans submitted 32.4 percent of the applications, and underrepresented minorities submitted 17.0 percent of the applications (Black or African American, 11.5 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 5.1 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.2 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2 percent). Applications submitted from students that identified as two or more races totaled 4.5 percent and 3.9 percent of the applications were submitted by foreign, nonpermanent residents [Table 1]. For the eleventh consecutive year, colleges and schools of pharmacy received more applications from out-of-state residents (54.2 percent) compared to 45.8 percent from in-state residents. The higher percentage of out-of-state applicants can be attributed to the ease of applying to colleges and schools of pharmacy in different states through PharmCAS.

Table 1.

Distribution of 2014-15 Applications by Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Applicant^a

Over 72 percent (72.7 percent) of the applications to colleges and schools of pharmacy were submitted by individuals who had 3 or more years of postsecondary experience (3 or more years of college/no degree, 25.0 percent; baccalaureate, 45.4 percent; master’s, 1.9 percent; doctoral degree, 0.4 percent), [Table 2].

Table 2.

Distribution of 2014-15 Applications to First Professional Degree Programs by Gender and Previous Postsecondary Experience of Applicant^a

2014-15 DEGREES CONFERRED

The 2014-15 Undergraduate and Professional Pharmacy Degrees Conferred and Graduate Pharmacy Degrees Conferred surveys were conducted online in October 2015, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 135 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2015. After follow-up correspondence, 132 colleges and schools (97.8 percent) submitted the Undergraduate and Professional Degrees Conferred Survey and 133 institutions (98.5 percent) completed the Graduate Degrees Conferred Survey.

Professional Degrees Conferred

Numbers of degrees conferred by U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy from 1965 to 2015 are presented in Table 3.

Table 3.

Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1965-2015 by Degree and Gender

First Professional Degrees Conferred

In 2014-15 123 colleges and schools of pharmacy reported conferring the doctor of pharmacy as a first professional degree (Pharm.D.1). Graduating Pharm.D.1 class sizes ranged from 31 students to 307 students (median, 98 students). Nine of the 132 colleges and schools did not confer degrees in 2014-15. These schools were new programs whose students had not yet progressed through the entire curriculum (California Health Sciences, Chapman, Keck Graduate Institute, Fairleigh Dickinson, Manchester, Marshall, Cedarville, North Texas, and Texas at Tyler).

In 2014-15 there were 13,994 first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools compared to 13,838 in 2013-14 [Table 4]. The total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2014-15 represented a 1.1 percent increase from the total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2013-14 [Table 5].

Table 4.

Baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD1) Degrees as Percentages of Total First Professional Degrees Conferred 1981-2015

Table 5.

Annual Percentage Change in Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1981-2015 Over Previous Year

In 1979-80, men received 59.5 percent of the first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools and women received 40.5 percent. Over the past 35 years, these percentages have shifted dramatically and, in 2014-15, men received 38.4 percent of the first professional degrees conferred and 61.6 percent of these degrees were received by women. Women received the highest percentage of degrees conferred in 2005-06 (68.2 percent) [Table 6].

Table 6.

Percentage of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1980-2015 by Gender

White Americans received 54.7 percent of first professional degrees conferred in 2014-15. Asian Americans received 24.6 percent of the first professional degrees. Underrepresented minorities received 11.8 percent of the first professional degrees conferred in 2014-15 (Black or African American, 6.9 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 4.1 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.3 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.5 percent). The percentage of first professional degree recipients who were of two or more races was 1.8 percent and the percentage of recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 2.9 percent [Table 7].

Table 7.

Percentage of First Professional Degree (BS Pharmacy, BPharm, and PharmD1) Recipients 1980-2015 by Race/Ethnicity

Doctor of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred to Post Baccalaureate Students

Seven colleges and schools conferred the Pharm.D. degree to post baccalaureate students in 2014-15. The number of graduates per institution ranged from 4 to 105 students (median, 37 students). The number of doctor of pharmacy degrees conferred as postbaccalaureate degrees (Pharm.D.2) decreased by 19.5 percent to 273 in 2014-15 from 339 in 2013-14 [Table 5]. More women than men received Pharm.D.2 degrees in 2014-15 (women, 67.8 percent; men, 32.2 percent) [Table 6].

White Americans received 31.5 percent of Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2014-15. Asian Americans received 18.3 percent of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred. Underrepresented minorities received 14.3 percent of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred (black, 10.6 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 3.3 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.4 percent). Students of two or more races received 0.0 of Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2014-15 The percentage of Pharm.D.2 degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 17.9 percent, up from 10.0 percent in 2013-14 [Table 8].

Table 8.

Percentage of Postbaccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (PharmD2) Recipients 1980-2015 by Race/Ethnicity

Graduate Degrees Conferred

The number of graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) conferred has shown annual fluctuations over the 50 years data have been consistently gathered and reported [Table 3]. The number of M.S. degrees conferred decreased to 720 in 2014-15 from 775 in 2013-14, a 7.1 percent decrease. The number of Ph.D. degrees conferred decreased in 2014-15 to 561 from 565 in 2013-14 (0.7 percent decrease) [Table 5].

The highest percentage of M.S. degrees awarded in 2014-15 (26.4 percent) was in pharmaceutics. The second highest percentage of M.S. degrees was in social and administrative sciences (25.1 percent); followed by pharmacology (19.3 percent); other disciplines (15.8 percent); medicinal chemistry (7.8 percent); and pharmacy practice (5.6 percent). The highest number of Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2014-15 was also in the discipline of pharmaceutics (38.7 percent). The second highest number was in medicinal chemistry (23.7 percent); followed by pharmacology (16.8 percent); social and administrative sciences (9.4 percent); other disciplines (8.2 percent); and pharmacy practice (3.2 percent) [Table 9].

Table 9.

Summary of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees Conferred 2014-15 by Gender and Discipline

More women than men earned M.S. degrees (women, 54.7 percent; men, 45.3 percent); however, more men than women earned Ph.D. degrees (women, 44.4 percent; men, 55.6 percent) in 2014-15. There have only been two years (2012-13 and 2008-09) since AACP began collecting data that women received more Ph.D. degrees than men. The percentage of women receiving Ph.D. degrees decreased from 47.3 percent in 2013-14 to 44.4 percent in 2014-15; however, the number of Ph.D. degrees received by women has grown substantially from 18.0 percent in 1979-80 [Table 6]. This increase can be partially attributed to an increase in the number of foreign females receiving Ph.D. degrees [Table 10].

Table 10.

Number of Doctor of Philosophy Degrees (PhD) Conferred 1980-2015 by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Underrepresented minorities received 6.7 percent of the M.S. degrees conferred in 2014-15 (Black or African American, 3.9 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 2.8 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.0 percent), a decrease from 7.2 percent in 2013-14. Asian Americans received 11.7 percent of the M.S. degrees conferred, up from 9.7 percent in 2013-14. The percentage of M.S. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 1.1 percent and the percent of degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 48.8 percent, down from 49.8 percent in 2013-14 [Table 11].

Table 11.

Percentage of Master of Science (MS) Degree Recipients 1990-2015 by Race/Ethnicity

Underrepresented minorities earned 5.7 percent of the Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2014-15 (Black or African American, 3.2 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 2.3 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2 percent), a decrease from 6.8 percent in 2013-14. Asian Americans earned 16.0 percent of the Ph.D. degrees awarded. The percentage of Ph.D. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 0.4 percent and the percentage of degree recipients that were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 45.6 percent, down from 48.5 percent in 2013-14 [Table 12].

Table 12.

Percentage of Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) Recipients 1980-2015 by Race/Ethnicity

FALL 2015 ENROLLMENTS

The 2015 Undergraduate and Professional Pharmacy Degree Enrollment Survey and Graduate Degree Enrollment Survey were conducted online in October 2015, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 135 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2015. After follow-up correspondence, 133 colleges and schools (98.5 percent) submitted the requested information.

Professional Degree Programs

Fall 2015 enrollments in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs (n= 63,460) represented a 0.7 percent decrease from enrollments in fall 2014 (n= 63,927) [Table 13]. In fall 2015, 61.4 percent of the students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs were females and 38.6 percent were males [Table 14].

Table 13.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs 1980-2015

Table 14.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Gender 1980-2015

White Americans comprised the majority (51.6 percent) of students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs. Asian Americans accounted for 25.3 percent; Black or African Americans, 7.9 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 5.0 percent; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders. 0.4 percent; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.3 percent; and international/foreign students, 3.1 percent. Students that identified as two or more races accounted for 2.3 percent of all first professional degree enrollments. Students where race/ethnicity was unknown accounted for 4.0 percent of enrollees. Enrollments of underrepresented minorities (Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native) as a percentage of total enrollments in the Pharm.D. as a first professional degree programs increased to 13.6 percent in fall 2015 from 12.4 percent in fall 2014 [Table 15].

Table 15.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Race/Ethnicity 1980-2015

Eight colleges and schools reported 936 students who already held a baccalaureate in pharmacy enrolled in doctor of pharmacy degree programs (Pharm.D.2). This was an increase of 0.1 percent from fall 2014. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 22.8 percent of these students (Black or African American, 20.4 percent; Hispanic, 1.7 percent; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islander, 0.2 percent; American Indians/Alaska Native, 0.4 percent). White Americans comprised 25.4 percent; Asian Americans, 21.9 percent; students of two or more races, 0.0 percent; unknown, 16.0 percent; and international/foreign students, 13.9 percent.

Graduate Degree Programs

In fall 2015, the discipline of pharmaceutics had the highest percentage of full-time enrollees at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels (36.6 percent and 37.2 percent, respectively). At the master's level, 24.6 percent of the students were in enrolled in social and administrative sciences programs; 16.5 percent in pharmacology programs; 9.3 percent in pharmacy practice programs; 7.5 percent in medicinal chemistry programs; and 5.5 percent in other disciplines. At the doctoral level, 24.0 percent of the students were enrolled in medicinal chemistry programs; 17.1 percent in pharmacology programs; 10.0 percent in social and administrative science programs; 8.4 percent in other disciplines; and 3.3 percent in pharmacy practice [Table 16].

Table 16.

Summary of Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Fall 2015 Full-Time Enrollments by Gender and Discipline

In fall 2015, more females than males were enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs (females, 57.6 percent; males, 42.4 percent). Women accounted for 47.1 percent of the students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. programs in 2015, a slight increase from 47.0 percent in 2014.

Of the 1,127 students enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs in fall 2015, the majority (58.6 percent) were foreign students. White Americans comprised 21.2 percent of enrollees and Asian Americans accounted for 9.0 percent. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 8.2 percent of M.S. enrollees (Black or African American, 2.8 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 4.9 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.4 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1 percent). Americans of two or more races made up 1.2 percent of enrollees and 2.0 percent of all full-time M.S. degree enrollees were reported as race/ethnicity unknown.

Of the 3,294 students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. degree programs in fall 2015, foreign students were also the largest group, accounting for 51.0 percent of the enrollees. White Americans were the next largest group at 29.8 percent of full time enrollments, followed by Asian Americans 9.4 percent. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 6.6 percent of Ph.D. enrollees (Black or African American, 4.1 percent; Hispanic or Latino, 2.1 percent; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.1 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2 percent). Americans of two or more races accounted for 0.9 percent and 2.2 percent of all full-time Ph.D. degree enrollees were reported as unknown. Over 41 percent (41.8) of full-time and part-time students in Ph.D. programs held a professional pharmacy degree, 10.5 percent of Ph.D. students held a professional pharmacy degree from a U.S. college or school of pharmacy and 31.3 percent held a pharmacy degree conferred by a non-U.S. institution [Table 17].

Table 17.

Fall 2015 Enrollments in PhD Programs by Type of Enrollment (Full-Time, Part-Time), Discipline, and Source of Previous Degree Earned^a