North American-Trained PharmD (NTPD)

Omniah Elmorshedy, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

“One thing this program taught me was how to approach different patient scenarios, how to check and follow guidelines and provide evidence-based recommendations, and how to communicate with my patients. It taught me how to be a better provider.”

Lokendra Upadhyay, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

“I’d been out in the working world for several years and then I thought to myself, ‘I need to get a PharmD because I need to be relevant and I’m a working person, I have a family, so I needed something flexible.'”

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Irene Croswell, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

“Most of my career has been in community pharmacy so this program has exposed me to more practice settings, use of technology, and kept my knowledge current.”

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It gives you the training you need to compete . . . It’s updated my knowledge of my profession and how I interact with my patients."

Fred Asamoah

PharmD, NTPD Graduate

As time went on and the longer I had been out of school, there seemed to be more of a gap between the pharmacy students I was precepting. I would recommend this program because of the flexibility that it offers."

Pat Dominquez

PharmD, NTPD Graduate

I was able to incorporate the program into my work and family schedule . . . As a full-time working pharmacist I was able to do the program, increase my knowledge, and still be able to do my job and take care of my family."

Chinedo Ozioko

PharmD, NTPD Graduate

What I really liked about the program is that it’s flexible. It let me choose courses, make up my own schedule, but it was also structured so it kept me on track . . . I’d recommend this program because of the excellent support from the staff that you receive."

Kristi Parmiter

PharmD, NTPD Graduate

I signed up mainly because of the quality of the program and I thought it would get me a better position . . . Since then, I’ve been able to land probably my dream position."

Joe Tabler

PharmD, NTPD Graduate

The NTPD Program requires the completion of at least 57 semester credit hours of didactic coursework* and 36 credit hours of experiential training in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), or rotations, for a total of 93 semester credit hours.

Learn more about the didactic curriculum and experiential training in the Didactic and Experiential Curriculum tabs.

A program overview and timeline can be found here.

All students have six years to complete the program requirements. To offer maximum flexibility, the program’s courses may be completed in a part-time or full-time format. The NTPD Program encourages students to complete, at a minimum, four to six credit hours per semester for a part-time format.

Upon admission into the NTPD Program, all students will schedule an advising call. During the advising call, every student will receive an individualized plan defining how and when the student will complete the didactic and experiential requirements. Any student can request an advising call at any time during the semester.

*NOTE:

If you are a student admitted prior to spring 2024, please work with your advisor for your individual academic plan.

This didactic curriculum builds on students’ baccalaureate degrees, focusing on a combination of professional skills courses (e.g. Patient-centered communication, Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacogenomics, Evidence-based Medicine & Literature Evaluation, Interprofessional Education courses, Public Health & Health Outcomes, Clinical Capstone, and others) and pharmacotherapy courses, which are the core of the didactic curriculum.

Pharmacotherapy courses address the pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics and professional skills development specific to the disease state. For example, the cardiovascular course includes:

The pathophysiology of common cardiovascular disorders, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and dysrhythmias;
Pharmacotherapeutic management of patients with these disorders, including design of patient-specific individualized drug therapy treatment plans;
Pharmacokinetics of drugs used to treat cardiovascular disorders;
Basic cardiovascular physical assessment skills, such as blood pressure monitoring;
Problem-based case discussions of patients with cardiovascular disorders;
Other appropriate clinical skills development activities.

Beginning Spring 2024, the NTPD Program experiential training curriculum includes 36 weeks or 1440 hours of advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) in the following practice areas:

Community Pharmacy – Required / ACPE Core
Ambulatory Care – Required/ ACPE Core
Health System Acute Care / General Medicine – Required/ ACPE Core
Health System Institutional – Required / ACPE Core
Elective One
Elective Two

The required APPE rotation practice areas are community pharmacy, ambulatory care, health system acute care / general medicine, and health system institutional In addition, there are two elective APPE rotations. Elective APPEs may be selected from a variety of medicine subspecialties, such as neurology, oncology, nutrition, infectious disease, critical care, psychiatry and pediatrics. Students can choose from other elective rotation choices including: pharmaceutical care projects, community pharmacy, education, administration, industry, managed care and clinical research.Students have increased flexibility in how they complete the APPE rotations. The APPE rotations can be accomplished by performing live rotations on a full-time basis and in cooperation with the rotation preceptor.

In addition, the APPEs may also be completed through a combination of live rotations and challenging some APPEs for academic credit through a credit-by-challenge submission, within the APPE guidelines of the program.

More information about the APPE rotations and credit-by-challenges is located on the Experiential website page with the Current Student section for Online Students.

The North American-Trained PharmD (NTPD) Program is open to pharmacists who are licensed in the United States or Canada and are in good standing with the licensing agency, provided the following requirements are met: 

The applicant received a baccalaureate degree from a five-year pharmacy program accredited by ACPE or Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) and holds a valid license to practice pharmacy in the United States or Canada; or
The applicant received a pharmacy degree from a non-United States or non-Canadian program and holds a valid license to practice pharmacy in a United States jurisdiction, having passed the FPGEE/FPGEC from the NABP, assuring education equivalency to an ACPE-accredited program.
Please Note: The Distance Degrees and Programs (DDP) Office offers two ACPE accredited PharmD programs: the NTPD Program and the International-Trained PharmD (ITPD) Program. All licensed pharmacists who are not licensed to practice pharmacy in the United States, or are licensed to practice in Canada but were educated outside of Canada (ie, a non-CCAPP-accredited school) or whose program was not CCAPP-accredited are encouraged to review the admissions requirements for the ITPD Program.

University policies require background checks for all students upon admission. The Admissions Committee reserves the right to consider exceptions to admissions policies on a case-by-case basis. 

Students may begin the NTPD Program in the fall semester. Applications are accepted at any time for the NTPD Program, provided the applications are received prior to each semester's deadline. Application deadline is July 15. We will not be accepting new applications after this application cycle.

If the deadline falls on a weekend or United States holiday, then the deadline will be the next business day. Please contact the DDP Office if there are concerns about meeting the application deadline. Otherwise, applications received after the semester's deadline will be considered for the next admissions cycle. Students may request to defer their admission up to 1 year after their initial admission term. Students who fail to enroll in any course within that year may be required to reapply. Admission extensions to the NTPD program will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

As a student of the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, all NTPD students are subject to all school and program policies as our entry-level PharmD students, including the ethics and conduct code and academic advancement policies. A full list of these policies is located on the Policies and Procedures webpage.

To apply to the NTPD Program, applicants must complete ALL of the application materials listed below. All application materials are reviewed by the School of Pharmacy Admissions Committee.

PLEASE NOTE: Successful completion of the NTPD program’s pathway to the PharmD degree does not ensure eligibility for licensure in the US, as each state sets its own requirements for licensure.

Application Materials

Submit directly from the applicant’s school to the DDP office official transcripts from ALL colleges and/or universities the applicant attended, including the institution from the locally-approved or accredited school of pharmacy the applicant graduated.

Applicants will have all their transcripts evaluated by an official credential evaluation transcript review service. A full list of credential evaluation services can be found on the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website https://www.naces.org/. Applicants must have their transcripts evaluated by course and have an official copy of the completed transcript evaluation sent directly to the DDP office from the evaluation organization.

A notarized copy of the applicant’s current pharmacy license and a copy of the photo identification used in the license notary process. On a case-by-case basis, online verification of licensure by the DDP admissions team may be used in place of this.

As noted in the Active Pharmacy License policy, the DDP Office requires an active United States or Canadian pharmacy license as an admissions requirement for all applicants and for current students to remain enrolled in the program. All applicants and current students are required to inform the DDP Office of any changes in their license status, such as expiration, suspensions, restrictions, and/or the receipt of any letters of admonition. All students should provide proof of updated licensure upon licensure renewal. Failure to successfully maintain your license or notify the DDP Office of any changes to your license will lead to disciplinary sanctions up to and including to dismissal from the program.

Three recommendations are to be submitted through the online application. Recommendation forms will be sent electronically to recommenders listed in the online application. Contact the DDP Office with questions about this process.

Recommendations will be completed by people who know the applicant's professional, academic, and/or personal achievements or qualities well. As such, references must be from professional contacts, such as employers, supervisors, former faculty, preceptors or professional colleagues. References from clergy, family members, friends or politicians will not be accepted.

The NTPD  Program requires all applicants to be proficient in the English language, as detailed in the program’s technical standards. As such, all applicants will demonstrate English language proficiency by meeting minimum scores on one of the following tests: (1) TOEFL iBT, (2) TOEFL Essentials, or (3) IELTS, AND a passing score on the ACTFL OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview-computer).

Score Minimums:

TOEFL iBT Score – Applicants must achieve the following minimum scores in EACH section:
- Speaking: 22
- Writing: 21
OR TOEFL Essentials Score – Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 9. The required minimum scores on EACH of the individual components of the test are:
- Listening: 9
- Speaking: 9
- Writing: 9
OR IELTS Score – Applicants must achieve a minimum composite score of 6.5 and the following minimum scores in EACH section: 
- Listening: 6.5
- Speaking: 7.0
- Writing: 6.0
AND ACTFL OPIc – Applicants must achieve a level of Advanced-Low or higher.

Exam Score Date – Exam scores must be no older than two years from the program application deadline date. If the applicant took the exam more than two years ago, then the applicant will need to retake the exam to complete the admissions process. Case-by-case exceptions will be considered.

Didactic or experiential coursework from other ACPE accredited doctor of pharmacy programs will be considered on a case-by-case review basis by NTPD Program faculty. The NTPD Program will award no more than 12 transferable credit hours per student or applicant. Complete details regarding the transfer of credit process are outlined in the Transfer Credit for Previous Coursework policy.

After the application deadline date, the Admissions Committee will review each applicant’s admissions packet. Those applicants who will move forward in the admissions process will be contacted to complete an interview.

The interview process is designed to assess the applicant's knowledge of the profession, communication and ability to perform in a positive, professional manner when working with others. To be considered for admission, applicants must participate in the interview process. The DDP Office will contact applicants to schedule an appointment to complete the interview, which will be conducted via telephone.

Tuition and Fees

New tuition rates are established each spring and normally go into effect fall semester. An outline of the current tuition and fees (US dollars) is located below in the tuition tab.

Once students have registered for classes, a bill for tuition and fees will be generated through the Bursar’s Office; students will not receive a paper bill. All tuition and fees are due within 30 days of the first day of class.

Students will not be able to register for subsequent semesters unless the bill from previous semesters has been paid in full. Once the payment is received and processed, an official statement of payment will be available online for use with taxes or for employee reimbursement programs.

Refunds - Students who drop a class within the guidelines specified below will receive an adjusted tuition bill. The drop/add date is located on the DDP academic calendar. Any refunds due will be processed automatically by the Bursar's Office.

Drop Date	Remaining Course Load	Tuition Due	Tuition Refund
Before Drop Date	Zero or any course load	0%	100%
After Drop Date	Zero or any course load	100%	0%

NTPD Program - 2024-2025 Tuition and Fees (pdf)

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Scholarships and Financial Aid

Scholarships sometime become available for students. An email will be sent to each student's UCDenver email account to inform students of any scholarship opportunities. In addition, scholarship information may be included in the News section of the School of Pharmacy website.

Financial aid information is available from the Anschutz Medical Campus Financial Aid & Scholarships Office.

All students have up to six years to complete the program. On average most students complete the program in 3 - 4 years. *Every individual’s situation is unique to them. Depending on the student’s professional and personal life circumstances the Distance Degrees and Programs Office does it’s best to accommodate and offer flexibility for all our students.

* The NTPD program’s didactic curriculum is in transition for new admits of the 2024-25 Academic Year, so this timeline may change.

Not usually. All didactic curriculum is carried out online and can be done remotely from your home. When it comes time to complete rotations, the Office of Experiential Programs along with your academic advisor will do their best to help assist in finding rotations for you in your home state, however they are not always guaranteed. Students are always welcome to come to Colorado where a site will be guaranteed and will be required to if a site cannot be found in the student’s chosen area.

Find more information on the experiential training portion of the curriculum.

There are no minimum or maximum numbers of courses you must enroll in. You can tailor each semester’s enrollment to accommodate other professional or personal commitments. If you want to complete the didactic portion (online coursework) in 2 years, you should plan to enroll in 6-9 credits per semester. Please work with Financial Aid to determine the number of credit hours needed to qualify for financial aid.

Yes, we do allow students to complete rotations at their place of employment, provided the site can offer an experience that aligns with the educational needs of the program. Additionally, there must be no conflicts of interest between the student’s job and educational experience. Students may not be paid for any rotation hours.

Most definitely! Remember our program is flexible and caters to working pharmacists. You are welcome to take a semester off. Keep in mind three or more consecutive semesters off will result in deactivating your student record and you will need to resubmit required documentation in order to reenroll in the program. In addition, all students are required to complete the program within six years. Any time taken off is time included in the required timeframe. It is important to speak with your advisor before taking a break from the program.

Students must perform 36 weeks or 1440 hours of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations. Students complete six rotations, and each rotation is six weeks in length, 240 hours per rotation. All rotations are typically full-time eight-hour days. Students should speak to their employer well in advance to ensure full support is provided. Part time rotations outside of Colorado may be available with the full cooperation of the site and preceptor.

Past and current work experiences can be taken into consideration. The DDP Office allows the option of a credit by challenge to be submitted in place of certain rotations. Credit-by-challenges are exclusive to the NTPD program. Students provide evidence listed in the challenge to show they meet the objective of the clinical rotation using past or current experience.

You can find the topics that are accepted for credit by challenges in the following credit by challenge information. Your academic advisor would also work with you to assist in credit by challenges and let you know what experience you have can be used.

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

North American-Trained PharmD Program

Omniah Elmorshedy, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Lokendra Upadhyay, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Irene Croswell, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Application Materials

Tuition and Fees

Scholarships and Financial Aid

For more information contact:

Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

North American-Trained PharmD Program

Omniah Elmorshedy, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Lokendra Upadhyay, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Irene Croswell, PharmD, NTPD Graduate

Application Materials

Application Form

Personal Statement

Transcripts

Pharmacy License

Photo Identification

Recommendations

Resume/CV

Application Fee

English Language Proficiency

Transfer Credit for Previous Coursework

Interview

Tuition and Fees

Scholarships and Financial Aid

How fast can I complete the program?

Can I complete the program and keep my full-time job?

Am I allowed to complete rotations part-time?

Do I have to come to Colorado?

What is the maximum and minimum number of courses I can take each semester?

Do I have to find my own rotation sites?

Are all courses offered every semester?

What is total cost of the program?

Can I complete rotations at my place of work?

Can I take semesters off during the program?

How long are rotations? Do I have to take time off of work to complete them?

Can my work experiences meet any requirements?

For more information contact:

Noah Schlueter MA

Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences