Pharmacy (PharmD)

All applicants must:

• Complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of required (core courses and electives) courses by April of the year of application
• Complete a minimum of 1 Regular Fall/Winter session (Sept-April) with a minimum of 24 new credit hours of university level degree-credit courses
• Achieve an AGPA of 3.00 or higher
• Complete the English CASPer test. Applicants must achieve a threshold CASPer score greater than 1.5 standard deviations below the mean for their respective applicant pool in order to maintain their eligibility.
• Meet the University of Manitoba written “W” requirement

Applicants who have completed some of their core courses through an Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) program must still complete one regular session (Sept-April) with a minimum of 24 new credit hours. No credit will be given for any course which was completed more than ten years before the year of application.

All applicants to the College of Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba are required to complete the online CASPer® assessment, to be eligible for admission.

CASPer® is an online test that assesses for the personal and professional characteristics we believe are important for successful students and graduates of our program. In implementing CASPer®, we are trying to enhance fairness and objectivity in our selection process.

Please go to www.takeCASPer.com to create your Altus Suite account and sign up for the Pharmacy/ CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences version of CASPer®.

Test requirements

In order to take the CASPer® test, you will need the following:

• Government-issued photo ID
• Valid email address
• Working webcam
• Working microphone
• Reliable high-speed internet connection

Test dates

• There are a limited number of testing dates available.  Please note that these are the only testing dates available for your CASPer® test.
• You must select College of Pharmacy – University of Manitoba for distribution before the posted distribution deadline.
• Last-minute bookings are not recommended.
• There likely will not be any additional tests scheduled, but the most up-to-date information can be found at this link: https://takealtus.com/dates-times/.

Taking the test

• The CASPer® test can be taken practically anywhere that you can satisfy the aforementioned requirements.
• If you require testing accommodations for CASPer®, you will need to submit the Accommodations Request Form signed by you and your qualified professional three weeks in advance of your desired test date.
• The test typically takes between 60-90 minutes to complete.
• Halfway through the test, there is an optional 10-minute break.

Test content

• The CASPer® test is comprised of 12 sections: eight video-based and four word-based scenarios.
• Following each scenario, you will be required to answer a set of three probing questions in five minutes or less.
• Each of the 12 responses are anonymized and scored by a unique rater, giving a robust and reliable impression of your personal and professional characteristics important to our program.

Preparing for the test

No studying is required, however, you are encouraged to familiarize yourself with the test format via the System Requirements Check and 12 section sample test prior to taking CASPer®.

Additional helpful resources are available free of charge at https://takecasper.com/test-prep/ and https://takecasper.com/faq/.

Test results

CASPer® test results are valid for one admissions cycle.

Applicants who have already taken the CASPer® test in previous years will therefore be expected to re-take it.

For more information about the test, email support@takecasper.com or use the chat function at takecasper.com.

The College of Pharmacy accepts an annual intake of 55 students to the PharmD program. Applications will be accepted under the following three admission categories:

• Manitoba Resident Applicant Pool
• Canadian Indigenous Applicant Pool
• Out of Province Applicant Pool

Please refer to the College of Pharmacy Application Bulletin (PDF)  for details.

Applicants must achieve an Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) of 3.0 or higher. For additional information, see the

• College of Pharmacy Application Bulletin (PDF)

The AGPA will be calculated as follows:

(0.55 x the Core Course GPA) PLUS (0.45 x the Cumulative Other GPA)

The Core Course GPA represents the average for the required prerequisite core courses, inclusive of all attempts.

The Cumulative Other GPA represents the average grade for all courses, exclusive of the prerequisite core courses, completed at the university degree level within the past 10 years, inclusive of all attempts.

All eligible applicants are ranked for selection using an overall score according to the following criteria (subject to eligibility provisions):

• Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) 75%
• CASPer 25%

IMPORTANT: applicants who have previously completed the historic CHEM 1300/1310 (6 credit hours) Introductory Chemistry sequence, rather than the new CHEM 1100/1110/1120 (9 credit hours) requirement, must complete an additional 3 credit hours of 'Other courses (any Faculty)' in order to meet the total of 48 credit hours of course work needed for admission.

If you attended or are attending an institution external to the University of Manitoba please review the Transfer Credit Equivalency Database [DC1] to determine if your course(s) have been previously assessed.

Courses submitted for consideration by external applicants that have not been evaluated as directly equivalent on transfer may be considered by the College of Pharmacy Admissions Committee on a course-by-course basis, for admission purposes only, using the following.
If your course(s) are not a direct equivalent to the University of Manitoba required course listed in Section 2: Eligibility Requirements, B. Required Courses, 1. Required Courses from the University of Manitoba, a syllabus must be submitted for evaluation after the application is submitted and before the listed deadline. The College of Pharmacy Admissions Committee reserves the right to refuse admission if they determine that the prerequisite requirements have not been met.

Applicants must also have completed a 3 credit-hour course which meets the University of Manitoba’s Written English (W) requirement. This can be included as part of the above requirements. 

If your course(s) are not a direct equivalent to the University of Manitoba required course listed in the UM Transfer Credit Equivalency Database [DC1] , a syllabus must be submitted for evaluation after the application is submitted and before the listed deadline. The College of Pharmacy Admissions Committee reserves the right to refuse admission if they determine that the prerequisite requirements have not been met.