Pharmacy · California

Pharmacy colleges in California

CampusPin lists 320 U.S. colleges in California that offer Pharmacy programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Pharmacy trains you to prepare, dispense, and manage medications safely, advising patients and prescribers on drug use, dosing, and side effects.

Schools in California that offer Pharmacy

Pharmacy programs in California: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 320 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

320

Public / private

15 / 35

Universities / 2-year

38 / 12

Cities represented

34

In-state tuition range

$1,104–$63,255

Median in-state tuition

$15,977

Lowest published in-state tuition

Barstow Community College

$1,104

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

Ashford University

31,389 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Pharmacy program

  • Pharmacology and mechanisms of drug action
  • Pharmaceutical chemistry and medicinal chemistry
  • Human anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry
  • Pharmacokinetics and dosing calculations
  • Pharmacy compounding and dispensing labs
  • Drug interaction and adverse-reaction screening
  • Patient counseling and clinical communication
  • Pharmacy law, ethics, and professional standards
  • Experiential rotations in community and hospital settings

Where a Pharmacy degree can lead

  • Pharmacist
  • Clinical Pharmacist
  • Retail Pharmacist
  • Hospital Pharmacist
  • Pharmaceutical Researcher
  • Pharmacy Manager

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 pharmacists median $137,480).

Pharmacy is the study of medications and how they act in the body, blending chemistry, biology, and direct patient care. Students learn how drugs are formulated and dispensed, how the body absorbs and breaks them down, and how to spot dangerous interactions, allergies, and dosing errors. Coursework spans pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacognosy, alongside the law, ethics, and recordkeeping that govern prescriptions. A large part of the work is judgment under real conditions: reviewing a patient's full medication list, counseling someone on how to take a new drug, and consulting with physicians and nurses to adjust therapy. This sets pharmacy apart from a research-focused pharmaceutical-sciences track, which centers on discovering and developing new compounds in the lab; pharmacy is oriented toward the practicing clinician who manages medication use for individual patients.

Becoming a licensed pharmacist requires a professional doctoral degree, typically built on prerequisite undergraduate science coursework and earned over several years of graduate study. The curriculum pairs classroom and laboratory work with supervised experiential rotations, including community and hospital practice settings, so students apply clinical skills before they graduate. Practice requires passing national licensure examinations in pharmacy and meeting state board requirements, and program accreditation and state licensure rules can change, so prospective students should verify current standards directly. Graduates work in community and retail pharmacies, hospitals and health systems, clinics, long-term care, managed care and insurance, regulatory agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry, with some pursuing specialized residencies in areas such as oncology, critical care, or ambulatory care.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of pharmacists, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $137,480 and projects employment to grow about 4.6% from 2024 to 2034; a doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Pharmacy in other states

Other majors in California

Find more Pharmacy schools

Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 320+ Pharmacy programs in California by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

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