From graduating high school senior to Doctor of Pharmacy in just five years?

It will become a reality soon for students in the new Chapman University School of Pharmacy, thanks to an innovative program and a generous grant from The Allergan Foundation. The Allergan Foundation has approved a $500,000 grant over five years to provide scholarships for exceptional high school and undergraduate students who want to take a challenging accelerated five-year program in pharmacy.

Ronald P. Jordan, R. Ph., FAPhA, dean of Chapman University’s new School of Pharmacy, says the five-year Pharm.D. degree will attract “the best and brightest” students.

The traditional path to a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree is eight years of study: four years of undergraduate work to earn a bachelor of science degree, and another four years of graduate work for the Pharm.D. Chapman’s School of Pharmacy plans to individually select high school seniors/entering Chapman freshmen on the basis of their outstanding academic and extracurricular activities, as well as their capacity to complete a rigorous five-year program.

“We are recruiting students now who will enter as Chapman freshmen in fall 2014, and will be admitted to the professional program’s second cohort of students in 2016 after successful completion of the two-year requirements,” said Ron Jordan, R. Ph., FAPhA, founding dean of the Chapman University School of Pharmacy. “We believe there will be great interest in this type of accelerated program, and this very generous scholarship support from The Allergan Foundation will assist Chapman in recruiting the best and brightest students and retaining them throughout the life of the program.”

“The Allergan Foundation is proud to support this groundbreaking program at the Chapman University School of Pharmacy,” said David E. I. Pyott, chairman of the board and CEO of The Allergan Foundation. “There is an extremely high demand for pharmacy professionals in California and nationwide, and this demand only stands to grow in the future. The Chapman University School of Pharmacy stands uniquely poised to help fill the need quickly with this accelerated program, with Doctors of Pharmacy fully educated and knowledgeable about the newest and most essential areas of expertise, including genetics and personalized medicine, biologics, biopharmaceuticals and the very latest in medication and care delivery.”