Requirements for Incoming and Enrolled PharmD Students

Admitted students: prepare to enroll

Upon admission to the PharmD program, incoming students should complete the following requirements before the first day of class:

  • Background study (wait for instruction; the College initiates the process in early July)
  • Immunizations (submit the required form on or after June 1)
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) training

Click the sections below to expand for more details. The other requirements may be addressed after enrollment.

Requirements for all students

As a College of Pharmacy and Academic Health Sciences (AHS) student at the University of Minnesota, you are required to complete all necessary compliance requirements. Below are the items that students must keep up-to-date and submit documentation as instructed to remain compliant. Students who are non-compliant will have a registration hold placed on their record, be unenrolled from future courses, and potentially removed from IPPE/APPE site placements. Students can request a deadline extension via this form. Please contact the Office of Student Services for clarification regarding any requirements.

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Background study

In accordance with state law, the College of Pharmacy performs criminal background checks on all enrolled students. Students who fail the background check may be prevented from participating in curricular activities involving patient contact and may be dismissed from the program. More information is available on the Background Study Requirement statement. Please contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for more information on criminal background checks. Please save the background study confirmation you receive from the DHS - you are responsible for saving these results and sharing them with preceptors as necessary during your PharmD education.

Note that if you change your legal name, you are required to update the background study. Email [email protected] to start the process.

Incoming students will receive a link with instructions on how to initiate the background study in the months prior to matriculation.

Current students log in to the DHS NETStudy homepage to access their background study under "Documents."

Immunizations

AHS (Academic Health Sciences) students are required to have current immunizations and/or tests as a condition of enrollment. Students who do not comply with the AHS immunization policy will have a registration hold placed on their record. Note that some immunization series take up to six months to complete.

Students are also expected to meet site requirements for rotations, even when they differ from University requirements. Some sites may offer an exemption process, while others may not. The inability to meet a site's requirements may impact student placement at specific sites or the ability to engage in clinical activities.

Visit the Boynton Health Services AHS website to access information about the immunization requirements and the form that must be used to submit immunization records. 

  • Incoming students should submit documentation between June 1st and the first day of classes, only after they have received a University student ID number and their umn.edu email account is set up.
  • All current PharmD students are required to self-report an influenza vaccine annually. 

Please go to boynton.umn.edu/myboynton to access your immunization records and to determine what is required to become compliant. If you need to provide your preceptor with a more detailed account of your immunization dates than what is available on the portal, contact Boynton at 612-624-2121 to request your immunization record.

Contact Boynton Health Service with questions:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-626-5571
Fax: 612-626-9768 (Attention Joanne Streeter)

Basic Life Support (BLS) training

  • Incoming students are required to complete an approved BLS certification by the first day of class. Incoming students should submit documentation between June 1 and the first day of class.
  • Current students should renew before certification expires to remain in compliance at all times while a PharmD student.

The College requires all PharmD students to have valid Basic Life Support (BLS) certification upon entering the PharmD program and to maintain that certification throughout the program. This qualification ensures all students have demonstrated the skills necessary to respond during emergencies while participating in experiential education. Only the following certification options meet this requirement:
Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers through the American Red Cross
Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Professionals through the American Heart Association

Training sessions for incoming and current students are held each summer at a discounted rate. These are hosted by a current student organization, and sign-up information is sent via email.

Training is valid for two years. The Office of Student Services verifies training completion. Students who do not have current certification will have a registration hold placed on their record and will not be allowed to participate in required IPPEs and APPEs. Please send a scan or photo of your BLS certification card to [email protected] or bring the BLS certification card to a student services staff member.

HIPAA/ISA training

PharmD students are required to complete a series of training modules annually, including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and University Information Security Awareness (ISA101). Students can search for, view, and complete the training modules at training.umn.edu.

  • To verify the completion of HIPAA training for your preceptor, visit training.umn.edu. Click on "My Training" and click "Print Completed Training Only."

Integrity System

The University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy System of Integrity provides a framework of expectations and responsibilities for members of the College of Pharmacy community. It is intended to promote a positive spirit of community, professionalism, and trust.

  • It challenges PharmD students to adopt principles of professional behavior and responsibility within the context of academic honesty, ethical responsibility, and community standards.
  • It challenges College faculty and staff to uphold, demonstrate, and profess those principles and standards.
  • It encourages all members of the College of Pharmacy community to discuss expectations in the spirit of mutual trust and respect.

The System of Integrity carries with it a twofold responsibility: First, to personally abide by the principles and rules of academic integrity and professionalism, and second, to report possible violations to the Integrity Council.

Prevention of sexual violence training

College of Pharmacy students are required to complete training modules on prevention of sexual violence - recognized by the University of Minnesota as a critical public health problem - that complies with state law requiring postsecondary institutions to provide comprehensive sexual assault training to all students.

Mandatory health insurance

Pharmacy students are required to have health insurance for the duration of the program. Students must complete a Health Coverage Declaration in MyU and either choose to enroll in the University's Student Health Benefit Plan or waive coverage by providing documentation proving they are covered by adequate health insurance. Please visit the Office of Student Health Benefits website for more information about this coverage and the waiver process.

Intern registration and hours

Students are required to become registered interns. The state of Minnesota requires students to obtain a certain number of intern hours (see below) in "traditional compounding, patient counseling, and dispensing", in addition to intern hours accrued in IPPEs/APPEs before becoming eligible for pharmacist licensure. Please consult the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for more information.

Experiential education

The Experiential Education Program is the practice component of the PharmD curriculum. Its goal is to enhance student attitudes, skills, and knowledge to better prepare them to provide pharmaceutical care. As part of this program, students complete rotations in practice sites located primarily around the state of Minnesota. Incoming students should carefully review the Experiential Education Disclosure (submitted when accepting an offer of admission) that provides information about the time commitment, placement, availability of sites, housing, travel, and financial responsibilities of students. Please see the Experiential Education website for more information.

Technology requirements

The College of Pharmacy requires that all students own a portable computing device. We strongly recommend that students consider taking class notes electronically on a laptop or tablet, and the College will provide you with training and assistance to transition to e-notetaking. Visit the Technology Resources webpage for details on device requirements.

Additional Information

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Essential capacities

The College of Pharmacy welcomes diverse applicants. All applicants accepted into the PharmD program need to meet the Essential Capacities as outlined by the College with or without reasonable accommodations. Any pharmacy school applicant or pharmacy student who has questions about whether he or she can meet these standards due to limitations from a disability (physical, sensory, medical, learning, or psychiatric), should contact Disability Resources for a confidential discussion.

Accepted students seeking reasonable accommodations for a disability condition should also contact Disability Resources on the campus on which they are enrolled:

Duluth campus:
Disability Resources
258 Kirby Student Center
1120 Kirby Drive, Duluth, MN 55812
Phone: 218-726-8217
Phone: 218-726-7380 (TTY)
Email: [email protected]

Twin Cities campus:
Disability Resource Center
180 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-626-1333 (V/TTY)
Email: [email protected]

Campus safety information

The University produces an annual security and fire safety report. This report includes information on campus crime statistics; information relating to personal and campus safety, and fire safety; and security policies and programs. The reports are available by campus:

Duluth campus:
UMD Annual Security and Fire Safety Report online
To request a paper copy contact [email protected] or 218-726-7000 or TTY/TDD: 800-627-3529

Twin Cities campus:
Annual Security and Fire Safety Report online
To request a paper copy contact [email protected] or 612-624-2677