Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Program Admissions
The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo offers a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program and is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. DKICP accepts up to 60 students each Fall.
Pharm.D. Admission Requirements for Fall 2025
To be eligible for consideration, students must complete the following:
1. Prerequisite Courses
Students must complete all prerequisite coursework before August 20, 2025 at a regionally accredited institution. Students may be in the process of completing prerequisite coursework at the time of application. Admission is contingent upon the successful completion of all prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of “C” (C- grades are not accepted). DKICP utilizes the overall and science GPAs calculated by PharmCAS. See PharmCAS GPA calculation policies. There are no minimum GPA requirements for admission. However, the average overall cumulative GPA for accepted students is 3.16.
Grade policy update: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions temporarily changed their grading policies to allow students to opt for a Credit/No Credit or Pass/No Pass grading system. Credit/Pass grades will be accepted for the Winter 2020/Spring 2020 terms.
Prerequisite course equivalents worksheets for top feeder schools are available for download.
| Required Pre-Requisite Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Biology I and II with Labs | 8 |
| Microbiology with Lab | 4 |
| General Chemistry I and II with Labs | 8 |
| Organic Chemistry I and II with Labs | 8 |
| Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II with Labs | 8 |
| Calculus | 3 |
| English (including 3 credits composition) | 6 |
| Humanities | 6 |
| A course that includes a world/cultural diversity component | 3 |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences | 6 |
| Economics | 3 |
| Communications (with a public speaking component) | 3 |
| Total | 66 |
If a student has, or will be earning, an Associate of Arts or a Bachelor's (e.g., BA, BS, BBA, etc.) Degree from a regionally accredited institution prior to matriculation, any incomplete prerequisite general education courses in English (with the exception of English Composition), Humanities, Social/Behavioral Sciences, Economics, and/or the World/Cultural Diversity requirement, will be waived.
International Applicants International applicants are welcome to the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy. In addition to the requirements listed for domestic applicants (Before You Apply |PharmCAS, Checklist for Applicants), international applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English. International applicants must have foreign transcripts evaluated by a foreign transcript evaluation service. For more information please see International Applicants Requirements and Exemptions.
2. PharmCAS Application
Students must apply and submit a complete application through PharmCAS. A complete application includes a personal statement, two professional letters of recommendation electronic letters of reference (eLORs) are required, applicable fee(s), and official transcripts from all regionally-accredited colleges and/or universities attended.
Do not send letters of recommendation directly to UH Hilo. Letters of recommendation sent directly to UH Hilo will not be reviewed or considered.
PharmCAS applications are accepted through June 2, 2025. The PharmCAS verification process may take up to four weeks after an application, transcripts, and payment are received.
To view the real-time status of your PharmCAS application, login to your PharmCAS account.
Early decision is no longer offered as an option in PharmCAS Applicants are encouraged to apply early in the admissions cycle to improve their chances for admission.
3. Supplemental Application
The supplemental application is integrated into the “Program Materials” section of PharmCAS.
New this year: there is no longer a supplemental fee!
Once all of the required application components noted above are received, the complete file will be reviewed by the DKICP Admissions Committee.
UH Hilo DKICP operates on a competitive, rolling admissions process.
Early submission is strongly recommended.
Applicants are responsible for tracking the progress of their application and verifying that all necessary documents have been received by the UH Hilo DKICP Office of Student Services. The application review process begins in August 2024 and continues until all seats are filled. Selected students will be invited for an interview and are contacted via email.
Interviews can be conducted in-person or video conference and are closed file. In closed file interviews, the interviewer is not provided with any information about the candidate except for their name. This approach was selected by the Admissions Committee as it helps remove preconceived biases based on students’ experiences, grades, personal statements, etc.
Interviews are conducted from September through June with additional interviews as needed. Applications and interview scores are reviewed by the Admissions Committee for final admission decisions.
Accepted students will be notified by email.
Meeting the minimum qualification requirements does not guarantee admission. All eligible applications are reviewed by the UH Hilo DKICP Admissions Committee which applies multiple criteria to assess applications and select candidates to be reviewed.
University of Hawaiʻi Residency Regulations
Please see Questions and Answers About the University of Hawaiʻi’s Residency Requirements for Tuition Purposes. Please review this information carefully and note that moving to Hawaiʻi solely for educational purposes is not, by itself, sufficient to establish residency.
Questions?
Please review our frequently asked questions page where many of your questions can be answered. You may also email pharmacy@hawaii.edu or call us at (808) 932-7710.