Quinsigamond Community College Signs Articulation Agreement with MCPHS

Pre-Pharmacy Students given unique opportunity 

Quinsigamond Community College is paving the way for students to earn their graduate pharmacy degree more efficiently and economically through its new articulation agreement with Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services (MCPHS).

The new agreement will give eligible QCC students the opportunity to attain a graduate degree from MCPHS directly after earning an associate degree from QCC. QCC students who are accepted into the graduate degree program are not required to have a bachelor’s degree; saving them substantial money and time. Normally it would take a pharmacy graduate student approximately eight years to complete his or her graduate degree. Eligible QCC students must have an associate degree  from the General Studies - Pre-Pharmacy (GSPH) program and have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 (with no grade less than a “C”; additional requirements apply), in order to be considered for admission into MCPHS’s Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) graduate program.

“Our community college associate degree program is the only one in the state that has been accepted for the doctorate program at MCPHS. This is a testament to our program and our students,” said QCC Chemistry Professor Dr. Dilip Patel. “When you enter MCPHS from QCC, you are 2.5 years ahead of other students.”

QCC’s GSPH program prepares its pre-pharmacy students for success through smaller class sizes and a personal touch from professors, which helps students stay focused and on task. Students who enter into the MCPHS program will be on an accelerated pathway and will take classes year-round, in order to graduate in three years with their PharmD degree. While the program is rigorous, the rewards are vast.

“Students save a great deal of money and are able to enter the workforce as pharmacists a lot sooner; earning as much as $110,000-$120,000 to start,” Professor Patel continued. “The students are dedicated and work hard. We’ve had 10 of our students accepted into MCPHS for this Fall semester 2018. ”

Daniel de la Torre, Coordinator of QCC Transfer Affairs & Articulation, notes that in order to participate in this articulation pathway with MCPHS, students need to formally enroll in the General Studies – Pre-Pharmacy (GSPH) program at QCC. He went on to say that “because the GSPH program is so rigorous, it helps students prepare for the demanding expectations of the MCPHS program. Students are encouraged to talk with Dr. Patel, or see me or Beth Fullerton in Transfer Services for more information about the agreement.”

MCPHS is making up to 10 spots available each Fall semester for qualified QCC General Studies - Pre-Pharmacy program graduates. To learn more, visit the college's Pre-Pharmacy Program.