Best 5 Pharmacy Schools in Florida in 2024

The University of Florida College of Pharmacy has been developing future leaders in pharmacy practice and science for nearly a century. Award-winning faculty across campuses in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando focus on improving health care through pharmacy education, high-impact research and clinical innovation. As one of the Top 5, National Institutes of Health-funded pharmacy colleges nationally, areas of medical breakthroughs include drug discovery and development, pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology, and precision medicine.

The Doctor of Pharmacy program features case-based learning, skills labs and interprofessional activities to empower students as caring medication therapy experts. The recently-revised curriculum provides a strong educational foundation in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, social and administrative and clinical sciences. In addition, students receive professional development and experiential learning opportunities relevant to current industry and workforce needs. As a result, the college has led the nation in matching students into competitive pharmacy residency programs during five of the last six years.

The University of South Florida may narrowly miss out on taking first spot in our list, but it still has a top-notch pharmacy program. The cutting-edge School of Pharmacy at USF is relatively new, having only been opened in 2011. The curriculum in its Pharm.D. degree program is focused on geriatrics, pharmacological leadership, pharmacy informatics and personalized medicine. Clinical rotations are also vital, and they take place at various clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies throughout Central Florida.

Admission to this program is quite selective, as it is limited to 100 students per class. This ensures that students can get plenty of personalized mentoring from faculty members. This program is four years long, as are all Pharm.D. degrees, but there is an accelerated option available for undergraduate honors students. These students can complete their undergraduate degree in only three years, which would mean they would complete the entire program in seven years.

Florida A&M University is a public, historically black institution in Tallahassee. Its School of Pharmacy is known for its excellence in research and has received tens of millions of dollars in grants to fund this research. Florida A&M even has the Center of Health Equity, which aims to reduce disparities in health care in underserved communities.

The Pharm.D. program at Florida A&M is unique in that students enter as undergraduates. This means that the program is six years long, including two years of undergraduate education and four years of graduate education. The program is available on the main Tallahassee campus and on the satellite Crestville campus. The first three years of graduate education focus on learning in the classroom. The last year of the program gives students plenty of practical experience. Exceptional students can even complete a year-long post-graduate fellowship in partnership with St. Vincent’s Health Care.

Nova Southeastern University is one of the leading health science-focused universities in the state, so it should come as no surprise that its School of Pharmacy makes our list. This school is located at Nova’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale. Its Pharm.D. has a similar structure to the other pharmacy schools on this list. The four-year program consists of three years of classroom instruction and summer clinical rotations, while the fourth year is entirely focused on clinical experience.

The clinical rotations in the final year of the degree are seven to eight weeks long each. Students must have successfully completed their coursework and their summer clinical experiences to be eligible for this final year of all clinical experience. The rotations take place in many different areas of pharmaceutical practice, specifically internal medicine, advanced hospital care, ambulatory care, and community pharmacy. This ensures that students will graduate with skills and experience in all aspects of the profession.

Palm Beach Atlantic University may have finished fifth out of the five best pharmacy schools in Florida, but it still offers a solid Pharm.D. This program is located on the university’s main campus in West Palm Beach. Palm Beach Atlantic is a Christian-affiliated school, but it is open to students of all faiths. Students in the Pharm.D. participate in a unique community service program called “Workshop” which instills social responsibility in the students. The Pharm.D. program at Palm Beach Atlantic has a traditional four-year structure, with the first three years being focused on classwork and the last year being focused on clinical experience.

Palm Beach Atlantic also offers two non-traditional pharmacy programs. The first of these is the dual Pharm.D./MBA program. This program may be suited for students who plan to open their own pharmacies in the future. Additionally, Palm Beach Atlantic offers a Bachelor’s in Medicinal Chemistry. Students can complete this program during the first year of their Pharm.D. program if they are willing to enroll in a few additional classes.