Office of Experiential Education

The experiential education section of the Pharm.D. curriculum allows students to gain hands-on experience in a variety of practice settings. The pharmacy practice experiences are divided into Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). The Office of Experiential Education is led by the Assistant Department Head for Pharmacy Practice.

Students complete a minimum of 300 hours of IPPEs beginning in the first semester of the P1 year through the P3 year. There are two summer IPPE courses. The first is completed between the P1 and P2 years and is set in the community pharmacy setting. In the summer after the P2 year, students complete a second IPPE in the hospital and health-system setting. In addition, IPPE hours are included as part of the pharmacy skills course series.

There are 40 weeks of APPEs in the Pharm.D. curriculum. These experiences begin the summer following the P3 year and are conducted in various practice settings. Required APPEs include community pharmacy, health-system pharmacy, internal medicine and ambulatory care. Students also have the opportunity to explore areas of practice through elective APPEs.