Why study Pharmacy / Biopharmaceutical Sciences at MC?
Maryville College offers a program of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Maryville College and the Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) College of Pharmacy, the East Tennessee State University Gatton College of Pharmacy, or Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The program consists of three academic years at Maryville followed by four academic years at one of these colleges of pharmacy. This is an alternate track for receiving a B.A. from Maryville College in which requirements for the senior year of study are completed at the college of pharmacy as part of the first year of pharmacy school.
All general education required of the Biopharmaceutical Sciences major and major-related courses must be completed by the end of the junior year at Maryville College. During the junior year, the student applies to one or both of these Colleges of Pharmacy; admission is determined by the individual school. Students in the program select a senior study topic in consultation with faculty members at both Colleges. Students can be awarded the BA in Biopharmaceutical Sciences upon completing enough hours at the College of Pharmacy to bring the total in the program to 128, including specific courses outlined in the catalog.
Any student interested in pursuing the dual-degree option in Biopharmaceutical Sciences is urged to consult the Dual-Degree Coordinator in the Division of Natural Sciences as early in the first year as possible. The program is highly structured, and most of the courses are part of a sequence. It is designed for students entering with a math ACT score of 24 or higher.
Meet a Current Scot
Shelby Anderson
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Shelby Anderson came to Maryville College to get a degree, but along the way she found a life that makes her pursuit of it all the more enjoyable.
She’s a Young Life leader in the Maryville community, a member of the Maryville College Concert Choir, a member of the American Chemical Society and a McGill Fellow, and throughout her extracurricular accomplishments, she’s never lost sight of the goals of her work in Biopharmaceutical Sciences.
“The program has been incredibly helpful on my track to pharmacy school,” she says. “The relationships I’ve built with faculty and advisors has increased my confidence in communicating with professionals. The classes I’ve taken are preparing me to succeed in the classroom because MC professors are always encouraging us to ask questions and explore every aspect of the course. The professors make it a point to challenge their students as well as support them in any way they can.”
Meet a Recent Grad
Erin Buckley ’20
Currently: Student at University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy
Erin is currently in her fourth and final year of pharmacy school and working as a pharmacy intern at Walgreens. Presentation requirements at MC gave her the confidence to interact with people, and academic requirements prepared her for pharmaceutical studies.
“The rigorous biochemistry academic coursework made my transition to professional school very smooth because I had already been exposed to a good bit of the material presented in my pharmacy classes in my undergraduate STEM classes. I was able to pick up the material quicker than those who were seeing and learning the information for the first time,” she said. “The Senior Study gave me a good foundation in research and how to produce posters for presentation and lab report writing, which is necessary if you decide to work with faculty on research projects throughout your time as a pharmacy student.”