Pre-Pharmacy and Pre-Veterinary Tracks (USA): PharmD, DVM and the PCAT/GRE Routes

Two professional tracks, two destinations

Pre-pharmacy and pre-veterinary are course-and-experience plans, not majors. Pre-pharmacy leads toward the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD); pre-veterinary leads toward the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). Both are pursued alongside an undergraduate major and each has its own prerequisites, testing situation and centralized application.

This guide maps admissions structure and testing only. It contains no clinical, treatment or animal-health content, and following it does not guarantee admission. Always confirm current requirements on the official sources, because both fields have had recent changes.

Pre-pharmacy: PharmD prerequisites and program structures

PharmD programs require specific pre-pharmacy coursework — commonly biology, general and organic chemistry, physics, math/statistics, and others — with exact requirements varying by school. AACP publishes a summary that shows how prerequisites overlap across programs.

Program structure comes in two broad shapes. A traditional "2–4" path means you complete at least two years of prerequisite study, then apply to a four-year professional PharmD program. A "0–6" (direct-entry) path admits students from high school into a combined pre-pharmacy plus professional sequence. Confirm which structure a given school uses on its official page.

• 2–4: at least 2 years of prerequisites, then a 4-year professional PharmD program
• 0–6: direct entry from high school into a combined pre-pharmacy + professional sequence
• Prerequisites vary by school — check AACP's resource and each school's page
• Apply through PharmCAS for most programs

Pre-pharmacy: the PCAT is retired; PharmCAS application

A major recent change: the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) was retired on January 10, 2024, and is no longer offered. Pharmacy admissions today generally proceed without the PCAT, though each school sets its own testing and admissions requirements, so verify what (if anything) a program requires.

Most PharmD programs use PharmCAS, the centralized pharmacy application service. One PharmCAS application can go to multiple participating schools. Application cycles, deadlines and supplemental steps differ by program and change each cycle — confirm them on PharmCAS and each school's official site.

Pre-veterinary: DVM prerequisites and experience hours

DVM programs require science prerequisites — typically biology, general and organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry, math/statistics and others — that vary by school. The AAVMC publishes a course-prerequisite chart and the VMSAR directory, which detail requirements for U.S., Canadian and international veterinary schools in one place.

Veterinary admissions place strong emphasis on documented experience, commonly split into veterinary experience (under a veterinarian's supervision) and broader animal experience. Programs describe how to log these hours in the application. Because expectations vary, map each target school's required courses and experience expectations early on the official AAVMC and school sources.

Pre-veterinary: testing and the VMCAS application

Most veterinary schools apply through VMCAS, the Veterinary Medical College Application Service run by the AAVMC, which lets you apply to multiple schools with one application. The VMSAR directory is the official reference for each school's prerequisites, tests and deadlines.

Testing requirements vary: some schools require the GRE, some have made it optional, and policies change between cycles. The AAVMC advises confirming each school's GRE policy and deadlines directly. Do not assume a single rule applies — verify every school's testing requirement on its official page and in VMSAR.

Pre-pharmacy vs. pre-vet at a glance

Both tracks share a heavy science prerequisite base and use a centralized application, but they differ in destination degree, testing and experience emphasis. Pharmacy leads to the PharmD (PCAT now retired) via PharmCAS; veterinary medicine leads to the DVM via VMCAS with strong, documented animal/veterinary experience and school-specific GRE policies.

If you are choosing between them, work backward from the official prerequisites, application service and experience expectations of the schools you are considering, and verify every requirement — these are among the areas that change most often.