The College

No. 1 in Florida | TOP 5 Nationally

University of Florida College of Pharmacy

Graduation

Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 1 pharmacy college in Florida and in the Top 5 nationally, the University of Florida College of Pharmacy has been developing future leaders in pharmacy practice and science for nearly a century. At campuses in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando, award-winning faculty aim to improve the health of Floridians and people across the world through pharmacy education, high-impact research and clinical innovation. As one of the Top 5, National Institutes of Health-funded pharmacy colleges nationally, the UF College of Pharmacy features preeminent researchers who are leading major medical breakthroughs in areas such as drug discovery and development, pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology, and precision medicine. The college’s online programs are among the largest and most successful in the world, having received multiple national awards for excellence in distance education.

A Tradition of Excellence

Leigh Hall
Leigh Hall, the former home of the UF College of Pharmacy in Gainesville.

Founded in 1923, the University of Florida College of Pharmacy is the oldest college in the UF Health Science Center. It was the first co-educational college at the University of Florida, and the first Ph.D. awarded at UF went to a College of Pharmacy student studying pharmaceutical chemistry. In our century of service to the state of Florida, the nation and world is reflected in the scientific and health contributions of our 14,760 living alumni that reside in all 50 states and more than 45 countries.

Campuses

With campuses in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando, the University of Florida College of Pharmacy offers three vibrant cities for students to choose to study pharmacy. At all three campuses, Pharm.D. student study the same curriculum and state-of-the-art videoconferencing allows for simultaneous learning and peers and professors to be connected in the classroom.

Three UF Pharmacy campuses
  • The Gainesville campus is situated on the flagship campuses of the University of Florida and surrounded by world-class medical facilities at UF Health. Gainesville students enjoy interprofessional opportunities that exist with five other UF Health academic colleges as well as cultural, athletic and recreational activities that come with attending one of the nation’s largest universities. Annual Enrollment: 130  
  • Situated only a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean and the appeal of living near the beach, the Jacksonville campus offers students the opportunity to study pharmacy in a coastal city with many hospitals and health care options for intensive study. The Jacksonville campus offers small class sizes and its location within UF Health Jacksonville provides a professional environment where students can interact with patient and health care professionals on a daily basis. Annual Enrollment: 40
  • The Orlando campus is located at the state-of-the-art UF Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona. Within close proximity to many health care institutions that are leading medical breakthroughs and innovation, UF College of Pharmacy Orlando students benefit from a breadth of hands-on training experience with medical professionals. Orlando’s many cultural and entertainment options appeal to UF College of Pharmacy students living in this thriving metropolitan city. Annual Enrollment: 70

Innovative Curriculum

The UF College of Pharmacy’s approach to training the next generation of pharmacists focuses on interprofessional, team-based learning with an emphasis on delivering patient-centered care. At all three of our campuses, first-year students are engaged in blocked courses taught by faculty across disciplines that introduce future pharmacists to new practice models and clinical experiences. In addition, a tandem co-curriculum provides students with skills to enhance self-awareness, interpersonal communication, patient advocacy and leadership.

Research Excellence

Larisa Cavallari, Pharm.D., director of the Center for Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine, leads a team of researchers that strive to identify genetic variations that affect drug response, with the goal of enabling safer and more effective drug therapy.

Research activities in the UF College of Pharmacy span the entire life cycle of a drug and include broad interest areas such as medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, clinical and translational research, and pharmaceutical outcomes and policy. Led by award-winning faculty, whose discoveries are significantly impacting the lives of patients around the world, the college achieved $32.4 million in total grant funding in 2022. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy ranks UF among the Top 3 pharmacy colleges nationally in NIH, federal and total grant funding. Researchers in the college are using scientific approaches to improve the treatment of a variety of disease through drug discovery, pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, marine natural products, pharmacokinetics/pharmacometrics, pharmacology, developing models of disease, pharmacoepidemiology and patient safety.

Five active centers support these diverse research programs:

Clinical Innovation

Eric Dietrich, Pharm.D., BCPS, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research, partners with Ellen Keeley, M.D., M.S., a professor of cardiovascular medicine, and a multidisciplinary team of caregivers to support a specialized clinic for patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome.
Eric Dietrich, Pharm.D., BCPS, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research, partners with Ellen Keeley, M.D., M.S., a professor of cardiovascular medicine, and a multidisciplinary team of caregivers to support a specialized clinic for patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome.

The UF College of Pharmacy’s clinical footprint in Florida stretches from the Northeast Florida to the Gulf Coast, as UF pharmacists improve the health and lives of the patients they serve. More than 50 clinical track faculty are employed by the college and over 80 percent are actively engaged in clinical practice. Pharmacists practice in 15 different specialty areas including ambulatory care, emergency medicine, infectious disease, pediatrics, precision medicine, oncology, critical care and others.

Through interdisciplinary and collaborative practice arrangements, the college is a national leader in developing and evaluating innovative clinical practice models. Academic partnerships exist with UF Health in Gainesville and Jacksonville and outside partnerships include Nemours Children’s Health in Jacksonville, Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg and Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers. Innovative use of collaborative practice plans creates new training opportunities for pharmacists while generating clinical revenue and serving as a template for other academic institutions.

Nationally Accredited

The college is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education.

UF College of Pharmacy “Pursue Greatness” Video