Applicants are required to have an acceptable course for each of the prerequisites listed below. Course descriptions and codes listed are for the Waterloo examples of acceptable prerequisite courses.
Science and math
Detailed descriptions of the required courses listed below can be found on the Undergraduate Calendar.
Biology
- Cell Biology (BIOL 130)
- Genetics (BIOL 239)*
- Microbiology (BIOL 240)*
Chemistry
- General Chemistry 1 (CHEM 120 or CHEM 121)
- General Chemistry 2 (CHEM 123 or CHEM 125)
- Biochemistry (CHEM 237)
- Organic Chemistry 1 (CHEM 266)
Science labs
- Lab 1 – General Chemistry lab 1 or 2
- Lab 2 – Any Biology lab
- Lab 3 – Any Biology or Chemistry lab
Math
- Calculus 1 (MATH 127)
- Statistics (STAT 202)
*Applicants in their third year of study or higher may complete the BIOL courses listed or substitute them with any 300- or 400-level Biology content courses, examples can be found on the UW Biology course listing.
- A course with a BIOL subject code is not automatically considered an acceptable substitute.
- Acceptable substitutes should focus primarily on biology concepts and topics. Courses that are largely focused on statistics, quantitative methods, or mathematics, even if offered under a BIOL course code, may not be accepted.
English
Any ENGL course that requires a significant amount of reading, critical thinking, analysis, and writing. The following are important considerations when choosing a course to fulfill the English academic requirement for admission:
- The course must be offered by the English Department.*
- Must have writing assignments, exclusive of exams, that comprise a minimum of 30% of the final course grade.
- High school English courses (such as IB, AP or British A-level) cannot be used to satisfy this requirement, but instead may be used to fulfil one of the two half-credit Social Science/Humanities requirements.
*COMMST or Social Science/Humanities courses may be used to satisfy the ENGL course requirement. However, the course must meet the criteria listed above. In addition, honour’s thesis and master’s thesis courses may also be considered to meet the requirement.
Social Sciences and/or Humanities
Any two Social Sciences and Humanities courses are required. The following are considerations when choosing a course to fulfill this requirement:
- Courses should focus on society and how humans interact and develop as a culture. They should not focus on natural sciences, mathematics, computing, or finance.
- Courses can be introductory (100-level) or advanced level (200+ level).
- No more than one in English may be used to satisfy this requirement.
- You may combine one term/semester of Humanities with one term/semester of Social Sciences, or two terms/semesters in the same discipline or subject area.
Examples of acceptable courses
The course information below provides examples of the known Biology, Chemistry, Math, and English courses, or combinations of courses, which may be used to meet specific prerequisite course requirements for the PharmD program.
Specific examples will not be listed for Science labs and/or Social Sciences/Humanities prerequisite course requirements.
Reminder: applicants may complete the course requirements at any accredited post-secondary institution.
Listed below are Ontario universities, as well as some Canadian universities. Due to the large number of post-secondary institutions, we cannot list all institutions.
Please note that although we do provide guidance regarding academic requirements, we cannot conduct a formal review of academic qualifications until an official application has been submitted. We strongly encourage applicants to send inquiries and submit their application well in advance of deadlines.
If you do not see your institution listed below, or you do not see a specific course within your institution listed below, you may email pharmacy@uwaterloo.ca for more information.
AP, IB, and British A-Level Credits transfer credits may be used to satisfy the PharmD prerequisite requirements if they have been recognized and awarded by your post-secondary institution. An exception is that high school English courses cannot be used to satisfy the 0.5-credit English (ENGL) requirement. For more information, please visit the University of Waterloo's AP and IB transfer credit webpage.