Course of Study at the Six-year Department of Pharmacy

The Department of Pharmacy educates pharmacists to play a vital role in patient-centered team-based healthcare. Students acquire the knowledge and skills essential for the proper use of medicines, develop the ethical standards required of healthcare professionals, and establish a scientific foundation enabling them to keep pace with advances in pharmacy. Through long-term research projects (graduation research), students also hone their problem-solving skills.

First-year students study at the Hiyoshi Campus, while second-year students and above study at the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus.

In the first year, students focus on core areas of pharmacy, including physical and analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and life sciences. Pharmacy is a comprehensive science requiring the study of a wide range of fields, including the chemical structure that determines drug properties, analytical methods for examining drug content, and the organs and cellular functions upon which drugs act. From the fall semester onward, students will engage themselves continuously not only in lectures but also in practical sessions involving experiments and observations. Ethical values, a sense of mission and communication skills are cultivated over a period of six years. From the first year, students undertake experiential learning, such as in early clinical placements, and social activities alongside group discussions based on case studies.

In the fall semester of the second year, learning advances to cover knowledge deeply connected with drugs, such as pathophysiology of diseases, effects of medications used, dosage calculations and drug formulations. Students also study subjects related to community health and welfare, such as the environment, disease prevention and food nutrition.

Starting in the fall semester of the third year, the curriculum will focus primarily on courses necessary for practicing pharmacotherapy as a pharmacist, and practical training will center on simulations of pharmacist duties.

The fourth year presents a major challenge. At the end of the fourth year, practical training begins at pharmacies and hospitals. However, before that, students must take the Pharmaceutical Common Achievement Tests to confirm whether they are qualified to stand before patients as trainees.

Practical training is a 22-week clinical placement conducted at pharmacies and hospitals outside the university, from the end of the fourth year to the fifth year. Under the guidance of a clinical pharmacist supervisor at each medical facility, students will perform actual dispensing and medication counseling, in direct contact with patients. In addition to clinical settings, experience in community health - such as serving as a school pharmacist - equips students with the practical skills required of a pharmacist, while fostering the sense of values and sense of mission essential for healthcare professionals. You will also gain practical experience in team-based healthcare, collaborating with physicians, nurses and others to provide the best possible medical care.

Additionally, starting in the fall semester of the fourth year, all students will be assigned to laboratories and begin their graduation research, which will take around two years to complete.

In the sixth year, students select one of the four courses below. Students will

leverage the knowledge and experience they have gained thus far to refine their individual innate qualities and characteristics according to their individual career paths, interests and aptitudes.

At the end of the sixth year, students will take the National Examination for Pharmacists. The pass rate for the National Examination for Pharmacists is at a high level.

There will also be graduation research presentations. Through their graduation research, we have high expectations that students will develop logical thinking skills and a research mindset, enabling them to play a leading role in shaping the future of pharmacy after graduation. The results of graduation research may be presented not only in the university but also academic conferences, or as papers, both domestically and internationally.

The career paths for Department of Pharmacy graduates are diverse. While employment as pharmacists in hospitals and pharmacies is common, other options include positions at pharmaceutical companies, chemical and medical manufacturers, government agencies and pursuing postgraduate studies.

Pharmacist-Scientists with a Ph.D. in Pharmacy, who are well-versed in medical care and have a pharmacist license, will have a passport to success in the increasingly globalized field of medical and pharmaceutical research and development. Keio University’s Faculty of Pharmacy strongly encourages students to take the doctoral program.