The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy is planning to offering a one-of-a-kind online avenue for pharmacy students through its new Accelerated Distance Pathway
(ADP). Pending approval by ACPE at its June 2024 meeting, the new pathway will be ready to launch in January 2025.

The innovative curriculum will gives students more time – three and a half years — compared to most three-year programs, while still allowing for a spring graduation. Students will take the bulk of their courses online and are only required to be on campus for four one-week periods over the entire course of their studies. This pathway will run alongside the traditional four-year in-person pathway, and provides an additional option for graduate students to take advantage of the high quality education PCSP provides for its students.

Pharmacy students in the ADP who complete their prerequisites in three semesters and begin their studies in January may even complete their Pharm.D. in only five years.

PC president Dr. Anita Gustafson hailed the Accelerated Distance Pathway for giving pharmacy students a more flexible online option.

“I am really proud of the School of Pharmacy’s innovative approach to developing this exciting new pathway for students,” she said. “The ADP’s architects have created a curriculum that is student-focused and concise – without sacrificing the standards and quality of teaching that our students are accustomed to receiving. We are confident students who participate in the ADP will continue to produce pharmacists who change patients’ lives and serve their communities.”

College provost Dr. Kerry Pannell said the ADP is a prime example of PC’s commitment to innovation and service to students – and an historic first for the college.

“We designed PC’s inaugural online program with one thing at the forefront – providing our pharmacy students with an expedited opportunity to pursue their professional goals,” she said. “I believe we have achieved that.”

The key to the online courses is, of course, using new technology to allow off-campus participants to engage with their professors in a virtual classroom setting.

“Our faculty is committed to ensuring that ADP students receive the same rigorous pharmacy education to prepare them for practice and serving as a critical part of their patients’ healthcare team,” said pharmacy school dean Dr. Giuseppe Gumina. “We are working hard to give these students the appropriate tools to successfully fulfill their courses of study while also allowing them to do so remotely.”

For more information about the Accelerated Distance Pathway, contact Josh Tyson, director of graduate enrollment, at jhtyson@preby.edu.