Pharmacy students can now change majors without jeopardizing graduation timeline
The USC board of trustees approved Friday a Bachelor's of Sciences (B.S.) in Pharmacy degree for the Columbia campus.
“Quite frankly this is something we could have done quite some time ago,” said USC Provost Michael Amiridis.
In the past, students who changed majors after pursuing a pre-pharmacy degree for two years were counted as dropouts in student statistics. However, the only option for pharmacy studies was to pursue the pre-professional degree. In order to receive a degree in another field of study, students were subject to two more years of school.
The program will require no new courses or faculty.
Clemson University offers a bachelor's of pharmacy degree, as do several other schools, Amiridis said. The Medical University of South Carolina does not offer a pre-pharmacy option.
"We're correcting something we should have done," Amiridis said. "After four years, you have done enough, and you deserve a bachelor's of science degree."