Proposed Pharmacy Tuition Changes

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences for Tomorrow Tuition Proposal

The Faculty is preparing to submit a proposal to the Government of Alberta to enhance the entry to practice Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program and its resources, delivery, training, and infrastructure. This will require an increase in the tuition for the PharmD program to be more in line with the cost of delivering entry to practice pharmacist education in Canada. The rationale for seeking an increase hinges on the fact that PharmD programs require more resources to run.

Rationale

Since implementing the PharmD program, the amount of practice skills education has tripled, the amount of advanced placements that are coordinated has doubled, and the program has introduced active learning seminars into almost all courses. All of this has been done with less or similar resources than were used to run the previous BSc Pharm program.

The current median tuition of programs that have switched to PharmD degrees across the country, and are not subsidized heavily by their provincial government, has increased to $17,910 per year as programs have shifted to PharmDs.

The revenue from the proposed tuition increase will be used to improve the quality and student experience in the PharmD program. The increase would come into effect for new incoming students in the Fall of 2022. Current students and students admitted in 2021 would not be subject to a change in their tuition based on this proposal if it were to be accepted.

Comparables

Tuition and fees for the ten PharmD programs across the country are shown below:

comparableprograms.jpeg

The proposal and its enhancements would require a raise in tuition to an average of $17,910 per year in 2022. This is 35% more than what the tuition is expected to be in 2022. This is today’s median of comparable programs that do not receive a substantial provincial subsidy which allows their tuition rates to remain low for provincial residents (Memorial, Laval, and University of Montreal). Note that non-provincial residents attending these schools pay higher tuition.

Increased revenue from tuition will be reinvested into the Faculty to maintain a top tier world class program by supporting quality improvement initiatives.

Student Survey Results

The results from the Tuition Proposal Survey conducted with the current Y1-Y4 students are available for review. 

Upcoming Consultation Activities

Student Town Hall
April 27, 2021 at 09:30 AM

Link to attend is available to all pharmacy students via the student main events calendar and on the student services eclass site.