Student Life

students walking on park path

All your experiences in the UCSF PharmD program will be vital to your pharmacy career.

As a PharmD student, your career will take root in our rigorous, science-based curriculum and blossom in the one-of-a-kind environment of UCSF.

In your three years at the UCSF School of Pharmacy, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Collaborate with peers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, and the discovery sciences.
  • Organize community health fairs, clinics, and service projects for underserved populations.
  • Lead in professional organizations for pharmacy practice, policy, advocacy, and research.
  • Explore the latest innovations in the health sciences and patient care at a world-leading university.
  • Get involved in any of UCSF’s 100+ student organizations (including over a dozen pharmacy-student-specific organizations).
  • Keep active through intramural sports and recreation programs, including basketball, hiking, and kayaking.

Along the way, you will make friendships that position you for a rewarding lifetime of service to patients and health care.

Student perspectives

Current students in the UCSF School of Pharmacy share their experiences in our PharmD degree program.

Valerie.

Year 1

Valerie, Class of 2025

was inspired to pursue pharmacy after observing the difference that a pharmacist made for patients in an urgent care clinic.
Daisha.

Year 2

Daisha, Class of 2024

has leaned on her master’s in education as a health equity intern, working with School faculty to improve how the PharmD curriculum addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Jaime.

Year 3

Jaimie, Class of 2023

has enjoyed working on the puzzle of each patient case she’s encountered during practical experiences in the intensive care unit.

More about our students and alumni

Living in San Francisco

As a UCSF PharmD student, you’ll thrive in the rich culture and intrigue of one of the world’s great urban centers. San Francisco’s famous dining scene, natural beauty, world-class museums, and diverse neighborhoods make this a location like no other.

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This city is beautiful. There's so many different hiking trails, so many different parks to explore, so many different restaurants to go to. There's, really, a lot of amazing ways to spend time in the city and to have fun.

Golden Gate Park has a ton of stuff to do. There's the Conservatory of Flowers. There's the Botanical gardens. There's the Japanese Garden and a tea garden. There's also Ocean Beach, which is very close by, too. You can have bonfires there. You can just lay out on the beach when it's nice out.

The most surprising thing about living in San Francisco so far has been how well the public transportation connects the city. Between the buses and the trains, it's very easy to get around.

The curriculum does allow you to shave off a year. And so because of that, if you think about it, that's one less year of rent that you would be paying. To help offset costs of off-campus housing, they actually give students that are living in the area but aren't on campus a living stipend. And so that helps to cover some of the monthly costs the students living on campus don't have.

The education is unparalleled. The professors that you are going to be coming in contact with are at the top of their field. So while yes, it's expensive to live in San Francisco, coming to UCSF makes it worth it.

More about life as a UCSF PharmD student

Student Life