The Pharmacy Student Population: Applications Received 2016-17, Degrees Conferred 2016-17, Fall 2017 Enrollments

INTRODUCTION

This report presents data that describe the 2016-17 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in 2016-17, and fall 2017 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from 142 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. International/Foreign refers to citizens of a foreign country/permanent residents of a country other than the U.S. Finally, Unknown/Other Gender, a new category in 2017, refers to individuals with unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity.

2016-17 APPLICATION POOL

The 2016-17 Application Pool Survey was conducted online in October 2017 with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 142 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. After follow-up correspondence, 140 colleges and schools (98.6%) submitted the requested information. Included in the application pool are applicants who applied for admission and submitted all required application materials as defined by the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) between September 2016 and August 2017 for the entering class of fall 2017. Numbers reported represent the number of applications, not applicants, and may represent multiple applications submitted by individual applicants.

During the period September 2016 through August 2017 the reporting institutions received 72,941 applications for admission.

In 2016-17, females submitted 61.5% of the applications to pharmacy colleges and schools; males submitted 38.3%; gender unknown/not reported submitted 0.2%. White Americans submitted 35.5% of the applications, Asian Americans submitted 32.4% of the applications, and underrepresented minorities submitted 19.5% of the applications (Black or African American, 12.0%; Hispanic or Latino, 7.2%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.1%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2%). Applications submitted from students that identified as two or more races totaled 2.7% and 4.8% of the applications were submitted by foreign, nonpermanent residents [Table 1]. For the 13th consecutive year, colleges and schools of pharmacy received more applications from out-of-state residents (53.9%) compared to 46.1% 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 2016-17 Applications by Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Applicant^a

Over 76% (76.3%) 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, 34.5%; baccalaureate, 39.3%; master’s, 2.3%; doctoral degree, 0.3%), [Table 2].

Table 2.

Distribution of 2016-17 Applications to First Professional Degree Programs by Gender and Previous Postsecondary Experience of Applicant^a

2016-17 DEGREES CONFERRED

The 2016-17 Undergraduate and Professional Pharmacy Degrees Conferred and Graduate Pharmacy Degrees Conferred surveys were conducted online in October 2017, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 142 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2017. After follow-up correspondence, 140 colleges and schools (98.6%) submitted the Undergraduate and Professional Degrees Conferred Survey and the Graduate Degrees Conferred Survey.

Professional Degrees Conferred

Numbers of degrees conferred by U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy from 1965 to 2017 are presented in Table 3.

Table 3.

Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1965-2017 by Degree and Gender

First Professional Degrees Conferred

In 2016-17, 129 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 273 students (median, 95 students). Ten of the 140 colleges and schools did not confer degrees in 2016-17. These schools were new programs whose students had not yet progressed through the entire curriculum (California Health Sciences, Chapman, Keck Graduate Institute, Marshall B. Ketchum, West Coast, Larkin, Binghamton, High Point, Texas at Tyler, and Medical College of Wisconsin). An additional institution (Utah) did not report first professional degrees conferred in 2016-17.

In 2016-17 there were 14,502 first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools compared to 14,556 in 2015-16 [Table 4]. The total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2016-17 represented a 0.4% decrease from the total number of first professional degrees conferred in 2015-16 [Table 5].

Table 4.

Baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.1) Degrees as Percentages of Total First Professional Degrees Conferred 1981-2017

Table 5.

Annual Percentage Change in Number of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1981-2017 Over Previous Year

In 1979-80, men received 59.5% of the first professional degrees conferred by colleges and schools and women received 40.5%. Over the past 35 years, these percentages have shifted dramatically and, in 2016-17, men received 38.1% of the first professional degrees conferred, 61.9% of these degrees were received by women, and 0.1% were received by individuals with unknown/other gender. Women received the highest percentage of degrees conferred in 2005-06 (68.2%) [Table 6].

Table 6.

Percentage of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred 1980-2017 by Gender

White Americans received 53.2% of first professional degrees conferred in 2016-17. Asian Americans received 25.0% of the first professional degrees. Underrepresented minorities received 13.4% of the first professional degrees conferred in 2016-17 (Black or African American, 7.8%; Hispanic or Latino, 5.1%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.3%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.3%). The percentage of first professional degree recipients who were of two or more races was 1.8%, the percentage of recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 2.4%, and individuals with unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity received 0.1% of degrees conferred [Table 7].

Table 7.

Percentage of First Professional Degree (B.S. Pharmacy, B.Pharm., and Pharm.D.1) Recipients 1980-2017 by Race/Ethnicity

Doctor of Pharmacy Degrees Conferred to Post Baccalaureate Students

Six colleges and schools conferred the Pharm.D. degree to post baccalaureate students in 2016-17. The number of graduates per institution ranged from 1 to 84 students (median, 32.5 students). The number of doctor of pharmacy degrees conferred as postbaccalaureate degrees (Pharm.D.2) decreased by 33.4% to 217 in 2016-17 from 326 in 2015-16 [Table 5]. More women than men received Pharm.D.2 degrees in 2016-17 (women, 71.0%; men, 29.0%) [Table 6].

White Americans received 26.3% of Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2016-17. Asian Americans received 21.7% of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred. Underrepresented minorities received 17.5% of the Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred (Black or African American, 14.7%; Hispanic or Latino, 2.3%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.5%). Students of two or more races received 0.0 of Pharm.D.2 degrees conferred in 2016-17. The percentage of Pharm.D.2 degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 15.2%, down slightly from 15.6% in 2015-16 [Table 8].

Table 9.

Summary of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees Conferred 2016-17 by Gender and Discipline

Table 10.

Number of Doctor of Philosophy Degrees (Ph.D.) Conferred 1980-2017 by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Table 8.

Percentage of Postbaccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (Pharm.D.2) Recipients 1980-2017 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 962 in 2016-17 from 1,023 in 2015-16, a 6.0% decrease. The number of Ph.D. degrees conferred decreased in 2016-17 to 537 in 2016-17 from 547 in 2015-16 (1.8% decrease) [Table 5].

The highest percentage of M.S. degrees awarded in 2016-17 (23.4%) was in social and administrative sciences. The second highest percentage of M.S. degrees was in pharmaceutics (21.2%); followed by medicinal chemistry (20.5%); other disciplines (14.2%); pharmacy practice (10.8%); and pharmacology (9.9%). The highest number of Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2016-17 was in the discipline of pharmaceutics (38.7%). The second highest number was in medicinal chemistry (20.3); followed by pharmacology (18.2%); social and administrative sciences (13.0%); pharmacy practice (5.0%); and other disciplines (4.7%).

More women than men earned M.S. degrees (women, 62.6%; men, 37.2%; unknown/other gender 0.2%); however, more men than women earned Ph.D. degrees (women, 44.9%; men, 55.1%) in 2016-17. 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 to 44.9% in 2016-17 from 45.7% in 2015-16. Overall; however, the number of Ph.D. degrees received by women has grown substantially from 18.0% in 1979-80 [Table 6].

Underrepresented minorities received 11.2% of M.S. degrees in 2016-17 (Black or African American, 6.1%; Hispanic or Latino, 4.1%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.6%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.4%), a decrease from 12.3% in 2015-16. Asian Americans received 13.4% of the M.S. degrees conferred, up from 10.7% in 2015-16. The percentage of M.S. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 1.2% and the% of degree recipients who were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 30.2%, down from 35.3% in 2015-16. Individuals with unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity or citizenship accounted for 0.2% of M.S. degrees conferred in 2016-17. [Table 11].

Table 11.

Percentage of Master of Science (M.S.) Degree Recipients 1990-2017 by Race/Ethnicity

Underrepresented minorities earned 5.2% of the Ph.D. degrees awarded in 2016-17 (Black or African American, 3.4%; Hispanic or Latino, 1.1%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.7%), a decrease from 5.9% in 2015-16. Asian Americans earned 6.1% of the Ph.D. degrees awarded. The percentage of Ph.D. degree recipients who were of two or more races was 0.7% and the percentage of degree recipients that were foreign, nonpermanent residents of the U.S. was 57.0%, up from 48.6% in 2015-16. [Table 12].

Table 12.

Percentage of Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) Recipients 1980-2017 by Race/Ethnicity

FALL 2017 ENROLLMENTS

The 2017 Undergraduate and Professional Pharmacy Degree Enrollment Survey and Graduate Degree Enrollment Survey were conducted online in October 2017, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 142 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. Submission of the data was requested by December 2017. After follow-up correspondence, 140 colleges and schools (98.6%) submitted the requested information.

Professional Degree Programs

Fall 2017 enrollments in Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs (n= 63,087) represented a 0.6% increase from enrollments in fall 2016 (n= 63,464 [Table 13]. In fall 2017, 62.5% of the students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs were females, 37.4% were males, and 0.1% were other/unknown gender [Table 14].

Table 13.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs 1980-2017

Table 14.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Gender 1980-2017

White Americans accounted for 49.4% of students enrolled in the Pharm.D. as the first professional degree programs. Asian Americans accounted for 25.3%; Black or African Americans, 9.0%; Hispanic or Latino, 5.8%; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders. 0.2%; American Indians/Alaska Natives, 0.3%; and international/foreign students, 3.0%. Students that identified as two or more races accounted for 2.5% of all first professional degree enrollments. Students where race/ethnicity was unknown accounted for 4.3% of enrollees, and students with Unknown/Other Gender regardless of Race/Ethnicity comprised 0.1% 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 15.3% in fall 2017 from 14.4% in fall 2016 [Table 15].

Table 15.

Summary of Enrollments in First Professional Degree Programs by Race/Ethnicity 1980-2017

Seven colleges and schools reported 773 students who already held a baccalaureate in pharmacy enrolled in doctor of pharmacy degree programs (Pharm.D.2). This was a decrease of 8.0% from fall 2016. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 21.7% of these students (Black or African American, 18.9%; Hispanic, 2.5%; Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islander, 0.1%; American Indians/Alaska Native, 0.3%). White Americans comprised 32.2%; Asian Americans, 20.3%; students of two or more races, 0.8%; unknown race/ethnicity, 12.3%; international/foreign students, 11.8%, and students with unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity, 0.9%.

Graduate Degree Programs

In fall 2017, the discipline of pharmaceutics had the highest percentage of full-time enrollees at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels (39.6% and 40.2%, respectively). At the master's level, 21.0% of the students were enrolled in social and administrative sciences programs; 13.9% in pharmacology programs; 9.8% in other disciplines; 8.4% in pharmacy practice programs; and 7.3% in medicinal chemistry programs. At the doctoral level, 23.3% of the students were enrolled in medicinal chemistry programs; 16.4% in pharmacology programs; 10.3% in social and administrative science programs; 6.2% in other disciplines; and 3.7% in pharmacy practice [Table 16].

Table 16.

Summary of Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Fall 2017 Full-Time Enrollments by Gender and Discipline

In fall 2017, more females than males were enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs (females, 62.9%; males, 36.8%, unknown/other gender 0.3%). Women accounted for 48.4% of the students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. programs in 2017, a slight increase from 48.1% in 2016.

Of the 1,256 students enrolled full-time in M.S. degree programs in fall 2017, the majority (52.5%) were foreign students. White Americans comprised 22.6% of enrollees and Asian Americans accounted for 7.9%. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 11.2% of M.S. enrollees (Black or African American, 4.7%; Hispanic or Latino, 5.8%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.4%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.3%). Americans of two or more races made up 1.2% of enrollees, 4.3% of all full-time M.S. degree enrollees were reported as race/ethnicity unknown, and 0.3% of enrollees were of unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity.

Of the 3,098 students enrolled full-time in Ph.D. degree programs in fall 2017, foreign students were also the largest group, accounting for 49.1% of the enrollees. White Americans were the next largest group at 31.2% of full time enrollments, followed by Asian Americans 7.7%. Underrepresented minorities accounted for 7.6% of Ph.D. enrollees (Black or African American, 4.3%; Hispanic or Latino, 3.2%; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.0%; American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1%). Americans of two or more races accounted for 1.2%, enrollees with unknown race/ethnicity account for 3.1%, and 0.1% of all full-time Ph.D. degree enrollees were reported as unknown/other gender regardless of race/ethnicity Over 42% (42.6) of full-time and part-time students in Ph.D. programs held a professional pharmacy degree, 11.1% of Ph.D. students held a professional pharmacy degree from a U.S. college or school of pharmacy and 31.5% held a pharmacy degree conferred by a non-U.S. institution [Table 17].

Table 17.

Fall 2017 Enrollments in Ph.D. Programs by Type of Enrollment (Full-Time, Part-Time), Discipline, and Source of Previous Degree Earned^a