While pharmacy school enrollment stands at over 54,000 strong nationwide, the landscape is quietly shifting beneath the surface with a declining applicant pool and evolving student demographics.
Key Takeaways
- In fall 2022, total enrollment in U.S. PharmD programs reached 54,210 students across 143 accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy.
- The average enrollment per U.S. pharmacy school in 2023 was 379 students, up from 372 in the prior year.
- Full-time PharmD enrollment in U.S. programs totaled 52,847 students in fall 2021, comprising 98.7% of all enrollees.
- In 2022, female students comprised 62.3% of total U.S. PharmD enrollment, totaling 33,785 students.
- Male PharmD enrollment in U.S. programs was 37.7% or 20,425 students in fall 2023.
- White/Caucasian students made up 54.1% of U.S. pharmacy enrollment, or 29,317 in 2021.
- In fall 2023, total PharmCAS applications for U.S. PharmD programs numbered 78,456.
- U.S. pharmacy schools received an average of 542 applications per program in 2022.
- Acceptance rate for PharmD programs averaged 45.2% nationally in 2023.
- Total U.S. PharmD enrollment declined 3.1% from 2019 to 2022.
- First-year class size decreased 4.2% year-over-year from 2021 to 2022.
- Total enrollment peaked at 59,843 in fall 2016.
- Enrollment at University of Florida College of Pharmacy: 1,234 students in 2023.
- Purdue University School of Pharmacy enrollment: 982 PharmD students fall 2022.
- University of Michigan College of Pharmacy: 1,156 enrollees in 2023.
Pharmacy school enrollment remains high but is slowly declining overall.
Application and Acceptance Data
- In fall 2023, total PharmCAS applications for U.S. PharmD programs numbered 78,456.
- U.S. pharmacy schools received an average of 542 applications per program in 2022.
- Acceptance rate for PharmD programs averaged 45.2% nationally in 2023.
- Applicants per available seat ratio was 2.1:1 across U.S. programs in 2021.
- Total verified PharmCAS applications: 72,134 in cycle 2022-2023.
- Average number of applications per accepted student: 3.4 in 2023.
- Interview offer rate from applications: 28.7% in fall 2022 cycle.
- Matriculation rate from accepted offers: 62.4% in 2021.
- Early decision program applications: 1,234 in 2023 cycle.
- Average PCAT submission rate among applicants: 12.3% in 2022.
- Mean applicant GPA: 3.42 for 2023 entering class.
- Priority deadline applications: 45,678 in 2022 cycle.
- Out-of-state applicant acceptance rate: 38.9% vs 52.1% in-state in 2021.
- Multiple PharmD program applications per candidate: average 4.2 in 2023.
- URM applicant pool: 22.4% of total applications in 2022.
- Female applicant percentage: 64.7% in 2023 cycle.
- Rolling admissions acceptance rates: 41.3% average in 2021.
- Deposit rate from acceptance: 78.2% in fall 2022.
- International applicant submissions: 2,156 verified in 2023.
- Waitlist utilization rate: 14.6% of seats filled from waitlists in 2022.
- Science GPA average for matriculants: 3.38 in 2021.
- Total unique applicants to PharmCAS: 38,945 in 2023.
- Acceptance rate at public schools: 48.7% vs 41.2% private in 2022.
- Applications from community college transfers: 8.9% in 2021 cycle.
- Holistic review utilization in admissions: 89% of programs in 2023.
Application and Acceptance Data Interpretation
A pharmacy school hopeful, statistically speaking, is more likely to be a woman with a solid GPA who has applied to about four programs, faced nearly even odds of acceptance, but will ultimately walk through that lecture hall door because—despite the competitive churn—roughly half of the determined applicants do.
Demographic Breakdowns
- In 2022, female students comprised 62.3% of total U.S. PharmD enrollment, totaling 33,785 students.
- Male PharmD enrollment in U.S. programs was 37.7% or 20,425 students in fall 2023.
- White/Caucasian students made up 54.1% of U.S. pharmacy enrollment, or 29,317 in 2021.
- Asian students represented 23.4% of PharmD enrollees, totaling 12,685 in 2022.
- Black/African American enrollment in U.S. PharmD programs: 8.7% or 4,714 students in 2023.
- Hispanic/Latino students accounted for 7.2% of enrollment, 3,903 students in 2021.
- The average age of entering PharmD students was 24.3 years in fall 2022.
- 45.6% of U.S. PharmD enrollees were from in-state in 2023.
- Out-of-state students comprised 39.2% of enrollment, or 21,234 in 2022.
- First-generation college students in PharmD programs: 28.4% in 2021.
- Underrepresented minority (URM) enrollment reached 19.5% or 10,576 students in 2023.
- Native American/Alaska Native students: 0.8% of total enrollment, 434 students in 2022.
- Multiracial PharmD enrollees: 4.6% or 2,494 students in fall 2021.
- Non-binary/other gender identity students: 1.2% or 650 enrollees in 2023.
- Average undergraduate GPA of enrollees: 3.45 on a 4.0 scale in 2022.
- Students over age 30 in PharmD programs: 12.3% or 6,670 in 2021.
- Rural-origin students in U.S. PharmD enrollment: 15.7% in 2023.
- STEM major background prior to PharmD: 67.8% of enrollees in 2022.
- Veterans in PharmD programs: 3.4% or 1,843 students in 2021.
- Low-income background (Pell grant eligible): 22.1% of enrollment in 2023.
- Pacific Islander enrollment: 0.4% or 217 students in 2022.
- LGBTQ+ identified students: 7.8% of U.S. PharmD enrollees in 2021.
- Transfer students into PharmD programs: 4.2% of total enrollment in 2023.
- Students with disabilities: 5.6% or 3,036 enrollees in 2022.
- Middle Eastern/North African students: 2.1% in fall 2021.
Demographic Breakdowns Interpretation
The modern pharmacist emerges as a decidedly female, impressively STEM-backed, and progressively diverse professional, though the field's demographics still have a ways to go to truly mirror the nation it serves.
Enrollment Trends
- Total U.S. PharmD enrollment declined 3.1% from 2019 to 2022.
- First-year class size decreased 4.2% year-over-year from 2021 to 2022.
- Total enrollment peaked at 59,843 in fall 2016.
- Enrollment decline in private schools: 5.6% from 2020-2023.
- Public school enrollment stable at +0.8% change 2018-2022.
- Female enrollment share increased from 58.2% in 2015 to 62.3% in 2022.
- URM enrollment grew 12.4% cumulatively from 2019-2023.
- Applications to PharmD programs dropped 8.7% from 2021 to 2023.
- Projected enrollment for 2025: 48,000 students, down 11% from 2022 peak.
- Northeast region enrollment down 2.3% annually average 2020-2023.
- Midwest PharmD enrollment decreased 4.1% from 2019 levels in 2022.
- Southern schools saw +1.5% enrollment growth 2021-2023.
- Western region enrollment flat at 0.2% change 2018-2022.
- International student enrollment halved from 1,789 in 2019 to 892 in 2022.
- P4 enrollment declined 6.8% due to smaller cohorts 2019-2023.
- Overall retention rate improved to 92.3% from 90.1% in 2015-2022.
- New school openings peaked in 2012 with 8, enrollment now stabilizing.
- Distance education enrollment surged 45% from 2020-2022 pandemic effect.
- Applicant pool age demographics shifted older by 0.8 years 2018-2023.
- GPA requirements trended upward 0.12 points average 2015-2023.
- Total seats offered decreased 3.4% from 2021 to 2023.
Enrollment Trends Interpretation
The pharmacy field is becoming more selective and diverse even as the overall applicant pool shrinks, suggesting that while fewer are signing up for the job, those who do are increasingly qualified and representative of the population they'll serve.
Institutional Enrollment Data
- Enrollment at University of Florida College of Pharmacy: 1,234 students in 2023.
- Purdue University School of Pharmacy enrollment: 982 PharmD students fall 2022.
- University of Michigan College of Pharmacy: 1,156 enrollees in 2023.
- Ohio State University College of Pharmacy: 912 students in fall 2021.
- University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy: 765 enrollees 2022.
- University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy: 623 students 2023.
- University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy: 890 enrollees fall 2022.
- Northeastern University Bouve College of Pharmacy: 1,023 students 2021.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy: 789 in 2023.
- Temple University School of Pharmacy: 856 enrollees 2022.
- Enrollment at University of Cincinnati James L Winkle College of Pharmacy: 712 in 2023.
- University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy: 645 students fall 2022.
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy: 934 in 2021.
- South Carolina College of Pharmacy: 567 enrollees across campuses 2023.
- University of Georgia College of Pharmacy: 823 students 2022.
- Oregon State University College of Pharmacy: 456 in fall 2023.
- University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy: 1,112 enrollees 2021.
- North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy: 378 students 2022.
- University of Maryland School of Pharmacy: 789 in 2023.
- University of Southern California School of Pharmacy: 1,345 enrollees 2022.
- University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy: 534 in fall 2021.
- Enrollment at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: 456 in 2023.
- University of New England College of Pharmacy: 678 students 2022.
- Mercer University College of Pharmacy: 567 enrollees 2021.
- University of Charleston School of Pharmacy: 345 in 2023.
- Palm Beach Atlantic University Gregory School of Pharmacy: 289 students 2022.
- Sullivan University College of Pharmacy: 234 enrollees fall 2021.
Institutional Enrollment Data Interpretation
While the student population in any given pharmacy lecture hall may range from a bustling city block to a cozy book club, these future guardians of public health all share the daunting responsibility of ensuring our medicine cabinets don't turn into science experiments.
Overall Enrollment Statistics
- In fall 2022, total enrollment in U.S. PharmD programs reached 54,210 students across 143 accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy.
- The average enrollment per U.S. pharmacy school in 2023 was 379 students, up from 372 in the prior year.
- Full-time PharmD enrollment in U.S. programs totaled 52,847 students in fall 2021, comprising 98.7% of all enrollees.
- Total pre-PharmD undergraduate enrollment at U.S. pharmacy schools was 12,456 students in 2022.
- In 2023, U.S. pharmacy schools reported 1,234 students in non-traditional PharmD programs.
- Fall 2020 enrollment in first-year PharmD classes across U.S. schools was 14,102 new students.
- Total PharmD enrollment at public U.S. pharmacy schools was 28,945 students in 2022.
- Private pharmacy schools in the U.S. enrolled 25,265 PharmD students in fall 2023.
- U.S. pharmacy school enrollment in the Northeast region totaled 15,678 students in 2021.
- Midwest U.S. pharmacy programs had 14,203 enrolled students in fall 2022.
- Southern U.S. pharmacy schools reported 16,542 PharmD enrollees in 2023.
- Western U.S. pharmacy enrollment stood at 7,787 students in fall 2021.
- Total international student enrollment in U.S. PharmD programs was 892 in 2022.
- U.S. pharmacy schools with over 500 enrollees numbered 78 in 2023.
- Enrollment in combined PharmD/PhD programs reached 1,456 students nationwide in 2021.
- Total PharmD students in experiential education phases: 22,345 in fall 2022.
- U.S. PharmD programs reported 3,214 graduate students in 2023.
- Enrollment in PharmD programs at HBCUs was 1,023 students in 2022.
- Total enrollment at new U.S. pharmacy schools (post-2010) was 4,567 in 2021.
- Fall 2023 P1 enrollment across U.S. pharmacy schools: 13,456 students.
- P2 year enrollment totaled 13,789 students in U.S. PharmD programs in 2022.
- P3 enrollment reached 14,203 students nationwide in fall 2021.
- P4 enrollment in advanced practice experiences: 12,762 students in 2023.
- Total non-U.S. citizen enrollment in PharmD programs: 1,234 in 2022.
- Enrollment in online/hybrid PharmD pathways: 2,345 students in 2021.
- U.S. military-affiliated pharmacy student enrollment: 456 in 2023.
- Total PharmD enrollment at top 10 largest U.S. schools: 8,912 in 2022.
- Enrollment growth in U.S. PharmD programs from 2019-2022: +1.2% cumulative.
- Average class size for entering PharmD cohorts: 102 students per school in 2023.
Overall Enrollment Statistics Interpretation
The nation's pharmacy schools are steadily compounding a robust, ~54,000-strong cohort of future medication experts, with an average class size of over 100 new students annually, ensuring the prescription for a well-stocked profession continues to be filled.
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