Pre-pharmacy programs prepare people to attend pharmacy school. Students take courses in natural and physical sciences, in addition to taking general writing, computer use, and social science courses. During their undergraduate years, students often seek some form of practical experience with patients or in labs or clinics.

Pre-pharmacy programs can be considered the "prerequisite" phase of pharmacy studies. Typically it takes six years to get your Pharm.D. degree, or Doctor of Pharmacy. This includes two years of undergraduate pre-pharmacy (prerequisite) study and four years of professional pharmacy study.

In pre-pharmacy programs, you take a prescribed sequence of courses that focus on natural and physical sciences. This includes biology, chemistry, and zoology. You also take anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and organic chemistry. In addition, you take several math courses, such as calculus and statistics. In addition, you take general education courses required by your school. These usually include writing, psychology, sociology, and other general liberal arts courses.

Several four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. offer pre-pharmacy programs. Typically you enroll in the pre-pharmacy program with the intention of staying at that school for your Pharm.D.