The School of Pharmacy at College of Notre Dame of Maryland has been awarded candidate accreditation status from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
The designation is an important step for the school as it welcomes its second incoming class of students pursuing doctoral studies in pharmacy.
Candidate status is granted to a new program that has students enrolled but has not had a graduating class. The classification marks ACPE’s expectation that Notre Dame’s program will become fully accredited as it develops in accord with stated plans and within a defined time period (generally by the time the first class has graduated).
Graduates of a class designated as having candidate status have the same rights and privileges as graduates of an accredited program.
The School of Pharmacy, the first on the campus of a women’s college in the nation, welcomed its first class in fall 2009. Nearly 500 applications were received for 70 seats, with students coming from 15 states. Applications for the class entering this fall nearly doubled, with 966 received for the 70 seats.
The School of Pharmacy is a four-year, first professional degree program (doctor of pharmacy) consisting of 148 credit hours of study. The program’s fourth year is dedicated to a prescribed set of courses delivered in actual practice settings.
Five focus areas are used as the basis for the school’s curriculum: leadership development; women’s health across the lifespan; public health; the care of diverse populations; and professionalism.