To enroll in any of the pharma courses, candidates need to fulfil the eligibility criteria, appear and clear respective admission tests of different pharmacy colleges/institutes. The selection procedure includes academic eligibility, valid scores and rank in entrance tests. Here is a list of Pharma entrance exams: -
West Bengal Joint Entrance Exam | UPSEE |
GUJCET | Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test |
Karnataka Common Entrance Test | TS EAMCET |
BITSAT | AP EAMCET |
ITM NEST | NIPER Joint Entrance Exam |
Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test | Dayananda Sagar University Admission Test |
Central Universities Common Entrance Test | BITS Higher Degree Admission Test |
West Bengal University of Technology Post Graduate Entrance Test | Andhra Pradesh Post-Graduate Common Entrance Test |
GLA University Entrance Test (GLAET) | Uttarakhand State Entrance Exam |
OJEE Post Graduate Admission Test | Integral University Entrance Test |
Jaipur National University Combined Entrance Test | Bharati Vidyapeeth Common Entrance Test |
Goenka Aptitude Test for Admission | DHSG University Post Graduate Entrance Test |
Himachal Pradesh Common Entrance Test | Manipal University Online Entrance Test |
While a person pursuing a career in this field will be able to develop core skills and knowledge after pursuing a Pharmacy course and gaining experience with years of practicing, however, they need to have basic skills set. These include:
Communication skills and interpersonal skills | Medicinal and scientific research skills |
Curiosity and persuasive skills | Business skills like marketing, organizing |
Technical skills | Sharp memory and knowledge |
Therapeutic and counselling skills | Medical writing and ethics |
Determinant and consistency skills | Adaptation ability to dynamic situations |
Pharmacy is offered at different levels and to get admission in any of the Pharma courses, candidates need to fulfill the required eligibility criteria for the course. Check below eligibility criteria for Pharmacy courses:
Diploma in Pharmacy (D. Pharm): Candidates should have completed higher secondary education with science subjects i.e., Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.
Bachelor in Pharmacy (B. Pharm): Candidates must have completed their higher education from the national- or state-level education board. They must have studied Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics or Biology and English subjects. They must complete 17 years of age on December 31 of the year of admission.
Master of Pharmacy (M. Pharm): Candidates who have completed B. Pharm degree with minimum qualifying marks as required from a pharmacy college as approved by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI).
For Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D): For a six-year course, candidates must have completed higher education from any state/national education board. They must have studied Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects with Mathematics or Biology as additional subjects. They must have completed 17 years of age in the year of admission. Or, candidates holding a diploma in pharmacy are also eligible for Pharm. D course provided they fulfill all other conditions as well. On the other hand, for three-year course candidates, who have completed the Bachelor of Pharmacy course from an institute recognized under the PCI, are eligible for Pharm. D course. They must have completed higher secondary education or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics or Biology subjects.
A student pursuing a Pharma course at UG/PG/Diploma/PhD level will be studying the syllabus including specialized pharma subjects, assignments, projects, industrial training, internship, etc. Moreover, the curriculum of Pharmacy courses also includes communication skills development, environmental science studies, ethical practices, and regulations of Pharmacy Council of India. Here we have provided Pharmacy course curriculum at different levels:
Pharmacist: As a pharmacist usually is associated with healthcare centres, individual medical practitioners, hospitals, and every medical association. Their responsibilities include advising medical practitioners in the healthcare industry i.e., doctors, nurses, medical technicians about drugs and their uses, dosage as well as side effects. They also check for safety standards of new medicines developed, advise on medicines with suitable diets, dosages, prescription, or no prescription drugs as well as to suggest the most appropriate form of medications such as a tablet, vaccination, drops, ointments, liquid syrups, inhalers etc. The sales, marketing, and distribution of medicines is also managed by pharmacists.
Pharmacologist: A person holding a degree in Pharmacology specialization works in research and development of Drugs for Pharmacy Industry. A Pharmacologist studies observes and alters the drugs developed as per the standards of Pharmacy Regulations. They majorly work in cardiovascular pharmacology, Neuropharmacology, psychopharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, safety pharmacology, Toxicology, and more.
Food and cosmetic products development scientist: A pharmacy degree holder is not just restricted to preparing drugs but also, they are involved in researching and developing products beyond medicines such as cosmetics and food. There are allergic to a certain food such as gluten allergy, lactose intolerance, etc. and on the consumption of such foods, they develop serious allergies, therefore, a pharmacy scientist researches to develop food free from these allergic elements. In a similar way, they help develop harmless and non-allergic cosmetic products. For a scientist, a laboratory is a workplace, most of the time is invested in writing about research carried out by them along with the right instructions. All the how-to-use instructions, best before/expiry dates, ingredients, and any specific note you find on medicines, cosmetics, and food products is a scientists’ work. They send the guidelines/instructions after lab testing as per the standards set by the regulatory authorities to the manufacturing units.
Clinical Trial Research Associate: This role is relatively crucial because as an associate in Clinical Trial Research, the collection of data in research studies, interpret it as well as document the research. Moreover, the CTR Associate is responsible to verify the vaccinations, medicines, medical devices, and other clinical monitoring tools. They are involved in ensuring that protocols are followed, regulations are considered as well as authenticating the CRT data and information. The CRT associates manage the clinical studies for diseases, diagnostics, and monitoring the clinical study labs as well as risk management in clinical trials.
Indian Recruiters | International Recruiters |
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Lupin | Pfizer |
Cipla | AbbVie |
Piramal | GlaxoSmithKline |
Sun Pharmaceuticals | Johnson & Johnson |
Aurobindo Pharma | Amgen |
Serum Institute of India Ltd | Merck |