Undergraduate Education-Non-Medical, Bachelor of Science
The Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics has been offering BSc degrees in Major and Honours
Pharmacology either with or without the co-op option for almost four decades. Students are accepted into the Major and Honours specialization at the end of year 1 through the Faculty of Science Specialization Application process.
Following acceptance into the program, your second year of study will be entirely extra-departmental pre-requisite courses, helping build your background knowledge for the discipline-specific courses you will see in your third and fourth years of study. In these courses, our program emphasizes the experimental and laboratory aspects of pharmacology. Students learn both the whole animal and isolated tissue techniques as well as biochemical and chemical procedures. Skills that are stressed include the ability to search for information, design appropriate experiments, carry out experiments individually and as a member of a team, objective and critical data analysis, and effective written and oral communication.
Students in both the Major and Honours Pharmacology specializations can optionally choose to enrol in the co-op work experience program where they spend 12-16 months in academic or industrial laboratories between their third and fourth years of study. Application to enter co-op must be done prior to Oct 1 of year 3 in the program.
*Please note that the UBC calendar incorrectly states the number of credits for PCTH 400; PCTH 400 is a 6-credit (2-term course), as specified on the course information page.
The pharmacology program is competitive and admits a maximum of 24 students per year. To enter the specialization, you need to have completed all prerequisites and obtained a minimum average of 75% in Year 1; in recent years, the academic average for admitted students has exceeded 85%. Progression from Year 2 to Year 3 and enrolment in our PCTH courses requires successful completion of all pre-requisite courses as outlined in the UBC Calendar link above. It is mandatory that all students granted Year 2 specialization in PCTH schedule a short interview with the departmental advisor, no later than the first term of your 2nd year of study; see the form below for further information.
Standard Application Form (PDF)
Specialization Change Requests
This application process is for students who wish to change their specialization into Pharmacology. If you are a Year 2 student and your specialization is already PCTH, you do not need to apply. Instead, indicate your intention to continue in PCTH by contacting the Undergraduate Advisor by March 31st..
If you are in MICB or CAPS, see the bottom of this section for more targeted instructions.
Applicants are assessed on their grades in Years 1 and 2, and may be interviewed by the Pharmacology
Undergraduate Advisor. Preference is given to students who have completed all prerequisite courses and with at least a 60 credits in their combined Year 1 and 2 winter sessions.
You will need to contact the Departmental Undergraduate & Graduate Secretary (anae-pcth.ugmscphd@ubc.ca), who will provide you with an application form to submit no later than March 31st of Year 2. Alternately, you may access the form through the link available to MICB/CAPS students below. Upon completion of the form, the Departmental Secretary will make arrangement for you to see the Undergraduate Advisor.
Please note that we have limited seats in our program at each year level, and transfer into our program is contingent on availability in addition to these baseline requirements. You will be notified upon successful admission to the BSc in Pharmacology. Enrollment in your third-year pharmacology courses will be arranged by the Undergraduate Advisor.
For students in the MICB and CAPS programs, note that there is a coordinated process for these applications to switch to PCTH. See this link for more information on the process and how to apply.
Still have questions? Please contact our Pharmacology Undergraduate and Graduate Secretary (Email: anae-pcth.ugmscphd@ubc.ca).