Pharmacy (Pre)

A pharmacist is on the front line of healthcare, keeping our communities safe and healthy.

Do you feel a conviction to help others in the medical field, but don’t want to work with blood or bodily fluids? Pharmacists have a highly impactful career helping people ensuring they have the appropriate medications at the correct dosage, and even help figure out what ailment might be occurring. They are considered a link between doctors and patients.

Becoming a pharmacist can involve years of study, and earning an associate degree will be your first step toward your professional medical career. Most advanced degrees within the medical field require upwards of eight or more years of study.

Successfully completing WNCC’s pre-pharmacy emphasis area will give you the first two years of education you will need to enroll in an accredited pre-pharmacy program, allowing you to transfer to a four-year medical college or university. Our program fulfills the requirements needed enabling you to transfer to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).

Award Types

Associate of Science in Pharmacy (Pre)

About the Program

Program Objectives

Provide students with the necessary information and credit to transfer directly to a school providing upperdivision pre-pharmacy studies at a four-year college or university and ultimately acceptance into the graduate level programs in a chosen field.
Provide students with coursework basic to a variety of curricula. Students will be able to change easily their educational goals to other areas, especially in the life sciences, with little or no lost time or earned credits.
Provide a basic knowledge of the physical sciences so that the student can develop an understanding of the physical and chemical properties of the drugs encountered in the pharmaceutical profession.
Provide basic knowledge of the biological sciences so that the student has an understanding of the effects of drugs on the human body.

Curriculum

Career Opportunities

Receiving an associate degree in Pre-Pharmacy is your first step to becoming a pharmacist. This program is intended for you to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program and beyond. In general, pharmacists hold doctorate degrees commonly referred to as a PharmD. With a PharmD, you can pursue careers such as a Drug Information Specialist, Critical Care Pharmacist, and Community Pharmacist, to name a few.

Pharmacists are often on their feet most of the work day, filling prescriptions, consulting with patients, talking with healthcare providers, and cataloging inventory. Pharmacists are often seen as the intermediary between a patient and their primary physician. Because of the immense power of medicines today, pharmacists carry a large responsibility to make valid recommendations for their patients and ensure their safety. Seeing patients get better makes this a profession that’s always giving back.

For more information on any of these career options, contact Career Pathways & Advising at pathways@wncc.edu .

Program Contact Information