Pharmacy

In Canada the PharmD program is offered in both English and French. Currently in Canada the PharmD program is a post-baccalaureate program. Students enrolled in the program must have graduated from a CCAPP (Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs) or an ACPE (American Council of Pharmaceutical Education) school with an accredited teaching program or must have passed the PEBC (Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada) Evaluating and Qualifying examinations. As of fall 2007, the PharmD program is offered at the Université de Montréal (in French) and is the first canadian university to give this program instead of the baccalarius program in pharmacy. The PharmD program was offered as a graduate program
In the United States, the PharmD. (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree is a professional degree that prepares the graduate for pharmacy practice. Previously, in the United States, the bachelor's degree in pharmacy was the first-professional degree for pharmacy practice. Some schools and colleges of pharmacy offered a post-baccalaureate graduate Pharm.D. degree. These graduate level degrees became prevalent in US programs in the late 1960's. In 1990, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) mandated that a doctor of pharmacy degree would be the new first-professional degree. Subsequently, most programs transitioned from a full graduate level degree program to a first professional degree program. Currently all accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy in the US offer the Pharm.D. degree. Many also offer post-Pharm.D. graduate programs in specialized areas of the profession.
In Portugal, Pharmacy studies can be accessed after completing 4 years of basic school, 5 years of preparatory school, and three years of high school where afterward the student is submitted to nation wide exams. The process is the same for every degree the student chooses, from medicine to engineering. The student takes the Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (equivalent to the PharmD program) in one of the 9 Pharmacy faculties with their own respective numerous clausus which comprises a 6 year rigorous study (5 with the uniformities in EU teaching). Finished the degree the student then enrolls in the regulatory institution for the Pharmacist profession in Portugal called, "Pharmacists Order" or in Portuguese "Ordem dos Farmacêuticos".
After the enrollment the title of Doctor of Pharmacy is issued. Afterward, Pharmacists can become their career in a limitless number of professional areas that range from community pharmacies, drug development, health research, biotechnology to areas such as forensic sciences, food analysis and toxicology. The student can also choose to become a specialist in one of following areas of activity: Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmaceutical Regulamentation, Hospital Pharmacy, and Clinical Analysis. Each and everyone of them require an additional 5 year professional study program guided by a tutor in the respective area of knowledge. This specialization is composed of regular evaluations performed by the professional order, which at the end of the 5 years performs an exam. After the success at the exam, the Pharmacist then becomes a specialist, respectively, an Industrial Pharmacist, Regulamentation Pharmacist, Hospital Pharmacist, and Clinical Analyst.