PharmD Support
Open Letter to the Community
The distinguished history and reputation of the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy have allowed us to maintain a strong applicant pool and outstanding student body. However, the pharmacy landscape is changing. The number of pharmacy school applicants nationwide is declining at a time when the number of accredited pharmacy schools has exploded (from 87 in 2005 to 140 today) and State support for higher education is declining. The national competition for outstanding pharmacy students is at an all-time high.
The University of Michigan College of Pharmacy has begun a plan to restructure its tuition and scholarship program for the PharmD program over the next three years, beginning with the 2017-18 academic year. This plan includes a shift in tuition to reduce the differential between resident and non-resident tuition rates for students in our professional degree program, thus creating a tuition and scholarship structure that allows us to compete for the best students.
The plan also includes expanded flexibility for the allocation of our substantial scholarship program, assuring that we can mitigate tuition increases for current in-state students. Our scholarship program is considered the most generous program of any College of Pharmacy in the nation, thanks to our alumni and friends of the College.
These proactive changes in our tuition and scholarship model will allow us to build on our success as a national program. In June 2017, the Board of Regents approved a 9.6% increase in tuition for Michigan residents and a 7% decrease in tuition for non-Michigan residents in our PharmD program. We recognize that this is a substantial increase in tuition for Michigan residents. Our new tuition and scholarship model allows us to minimize the impact on our current students and continue to attract the best students in Michigan, the nation, and around the world.
Go Blue!
Dean Jim Dalton
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Listing Row
- Why is the College of Pharmacy changing the tuition structure?
The national competition for outstanding pharmacy students is at an all-time high. The number of pharmacy school applicants nationwide is declining at a time when the number of accredited pharmacy schools has exploded (from 87 in 2005 to 140 today) and State support for higher education is declining. Reducing the differential between resident and non-resident tuition rates for students and changing our generous Alumni scholarship program allows us to compete for the best students.
- The new plan states that the College of Pharmacy hopes to reduce the differential between resident and non-resident tuition rates. Are there other Colleges at UM that have little or no difference between resident and non-resident tuition rates?
Yes – Both the Roth Business School and the Law School have a similar tuition differential between resident and non-resident tuition rates.
- Is this plan just a way for the College to increase revenue by charging more tuition?
No, although increasing costs mean we must increase revenue in order to ensure that we provide the best opportunities for our students. This new plan will actually cause the College to lose revenue until we break even several years from now. Although resident tuition is rising, non-resident tuition is decreasing at the same time and the effort to ensure our current students are held harmless to these changes for the duration of their time at Michigan will be expensive.
- Is UM COP moving to accepting more non-Resident students?
Not intentionally, although with the reduction of non-resident tuition we do expect to be more competitive nationally with students that are from other states. This means we may see a slight increase in non-resident students. Currently the percentage of non-resident students accepted at UM COP is ~ 35-40%.
- Does this new tuition plan impact BSPS and/or PhD students at the college of Pharmacy?
No, this tuition and scholarship plan only impacts our PharmD program.
- What is the actual increase in dollars for residents of Michigan?
The 2017-18 tuition rate for residents of Michigan will be $13,778 per term, which is an increase of approximately $1200. The tuition rate for non-residents of Michigan will be $19,537 per term.
- Are UM COP's generous P3/P4 scholarships going away?
The College is developing a new comprehensive scholarship program for the 2018-19 year, that will look very different from the current scholarship program. We expect details of the new scholarship program to be launched from our COP website in the fall. Current students received a letter with details about how the existing scholarship program will be leveraged to support them through the transition to this new tuition and scholarship model.
- Are any other COP scholarship programs going away?
The very limited P1/P2 scholarship program will be reconstructed, along with the P3/P4 program to provide a more competitive and comprehensive program. However, any current student awarded a P1/P2 scholarship will maintain that scholarship fully. The Dean’s Scholarship and the Leaders Scholars program will also remain intact.
- Will there be additional changes in future years?
Tuition is assessed each year by the Regents in June; 2018-19; details will be provided after their June 2018 meeting.
- Who can I talk to if I have more questions?
We are happy to discuss these changes and help answer any questions you may have. You can either call our main College phone line 734-764-7312 or email mich.pharm.admissions@umich.edu.
