Executive Summary
Throughout its 132 year history, the College of Pharmacy (CoP), has been a leader in education, discovery, and innovation. More than 20 years ago, the CoP expanded its pharmacy program to the Duluth campus to meet the needs of greater Minnesota. In 2022, we proudly added the medical laboratory science (MLS) (TC campus) and occupational therapy (OT) (TC/Rochester campuses) programs, building on our commitment to interprofessionalism and serving the diverse needs of the state. With community as our cornerstone, we assume shared responsibility for creating a healthy and caring organization dedicated to serving others through education, research, practice, and service.
Our faculty researchers are renowned in the areas of drug design/delivery, and optimization of patient care via medication management and new approaches to patient/system-level health care challenges. Faculty work across the entire translational continuum to address some of the toughest problems in health care. Experts in scholarship of teaching/learning bring innovation to our educational programs and shape the academies.
We are fortunate to have more than 13,000 living alumni, collaborators at the University, and partners throughout Minnesota who help us prepare students, advocate for our professions, and achieve our mission.
Enrollment: Fall 2023
| Undergrad | Graduate and Professional | Non-Degree | Total | %BIPOC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 679 | 0 | 729 | 28.3% |
Headcounts: Fall 2023
Official Headcount, includes secondary appointments
Top 5 Points of Pride
- Pharmacy proram. recognized among the best by U.S. News
- MLS program is oldest program in the U.S.; only one in Minnesota
- OT program is only public doctoral‐level program in Minnesota
- Ranked by AACP within top 10 pharmacy schools in total research revenue 2019-2022 (most recent data).
- Nearly $26 million in sponsored research awards in 2023.
Degrees, Retention & Graduation Rates
2022-2023 Degrees & Certificates Granted
| Undergrad Degrees | Masters Degrees | Doctoral Degrees | Certificates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 | 173 | 0 |
1st-Year Retention Matriculated 2022 | 4-Year & 3-Year Grad Rate Matriculated 2019 | 6-Year Grad Rate Matriculated 2017 |
|---|---|---|
BS (MLS): 91% OTD: 93%; PharmD: 97% | BS (MLS): 76% OTD: 90% PharmD: 91% | BS (MLS): 81% OTD: 94%; PharmD: 91% |
- At present, most BS MLS students matriculate in their third year. Of the 11 third-year students beginning the BS MLS program in 2022, one withdrew.
- The BS MLS degree is intended to be completed as part of a 4-year undergraduate experience; the PharmD is a 4-year professional degree.
- The OT degree is a 3-year professional degree.
* Excludes $17.2M in sponsored revenues
Revenue does not include carryforward or net transfers.
* Excludes $17.2M in sponsored expenditures
Expenditures may exceed revenue when carryforward is used.
Key Areas of Strength & Strategic Opportunities
Strength: Collaboration and interprofessionalism serving as a foundations for practice advancement
The CoP’s long-standing commitment to interprofessionalism and its collaborative spirit have enabled it to be a nationally recognized leader in advancing clinical practice, engaging with communities and partners across the state, advancing new models of care, and advocating for changes in health care.
Strength: Diverse research expertise spanning the translational continuum
Areas of excellence that often span the entire translational continuum include: substance use disorder, rare diseases, cancer, pharmacogenomics, and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few. Our research centers, led by faculty experts, are not only working to solve some of society’s toughest health challenges, but also to prepare the next generation of scientists and health care professionals.
Strategic Opportunity: Growing and refining world-class degree programs that support health care workforce needs of pharmacy, MLS, and OT in Minnesota.
We are uniquely poised to address challenges in higher education, health care, and society’s unmet needs. Moreover, with a breadth of faculty expertise, we have the opportunity to work together across all disciplines to prepare the workforce of the future. We are currently seizing this opportunity by:
- Transforming our PharmD curriculum (referred to as MNspire) through the use of contemporary, active learning, and student centered strategies.
- Developing a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) to support the workforce needs of the pharmaceutical industry and related businesses.
- Expanding the MLS program to meet the overwhelming workforce shortage of medical laboratory scientists.
- Evaluating the feasibility of an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program.
Strategic Opportunity: Expansion of the research enterprise.
While the CoP has a rich history of success in research that has yielded substantial contributions to health in our society, we are poised to expand our research enterprise. Although research at the CoP spans the entire translational continuum, faculty research programs often focus on one component of the translational pipeline (i.e., basic research, clinical translation, implementation and dissemination research, outcomes and effectiveness). We recognize the need for improved infrastructure, and coordination across the continuum to increase the number of collaborative awards.
2 At present, most BS MLS students matriculate in their third year. Of the 11 third-year students beginning the BS MLS program in 2022, one withdrew.
3 The BS MLS degree is intended to be completed as part of a 4-year undergraduate experience; the PharmD is a 4-year professional degree.
4 The OT degree is a 3-year professional degree.