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Internships & Post-Graduate Opportunities

Internships

An internship is a great way to broaden your professional experience, learn more about pharmacy, and make connections that will help you after graduation. Whether you want to spend the summer in Iowa or in places like Washington, D.C., Boston, or Chicago, there are diverse opportunities in areas ranging from community and hospital pharmacy to managed care to health policy. Many internships are competitive and have deadlines as early as December, so plan ahead in your search. In addition to information on this page, your Dean’s office may have information on other internship opportunities.
 

Internship Requirements

Internship hours can be obtained from any of the fifty states. In order to acquire internship hours, you must obtain an intern license from the state you wish to practice. Please note that licensure can vary by state, so please contact the Board of Pharmacy responsible for the state you are interested.
 
  • For a national listing of Boards of Pharmacy, click here.
  • For information about internship requirements in Iowa, click here.

 

Chain Pharmacies

There are many opportunities available to complete a chain pharmacy internship. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) maintains an extensive page that allows students interested in community pharmacy practice to search for available internships by chain and by state.
 
  • Walgreens offers both a summer Pharmacy Internship and a Corporate Internship.
  • CVS Caremark has pharmacy internship programs in both Retail Pharmacy and Mail Order Pharmacy (PBM).
  • Other pharmacy internships offered by chain pharmacies include, but are not limited to: Wal-Mart, and Hy-Vee.
 

Managed Care

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy maintains a site with links to information on internships in various areas of pharmacy, including managed care. This list makes it easy to search by state.
 

Pharmaceutical Industry

Companies like Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Merck, and Pfizer offer internships that allow students to see the inner workings of pharmaceutical companies in areas ranging from research and development to management to public relations.

 

Public Health

The Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training Extern Program (JRCOSTEP) allows pharmacy students to spend up to three months interning at divisions of the Public Health Service at sites throughout the United States. Interns may work for federal entities such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health, the Health Care Financing Administration, and the Bureau of Prisons.

The Senior Commissioned Officer Student Training Extern Program (SRCOSTEP) allows pharmacy students entering their final year of school to be paid while in school in exchange for committing to enroll in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps upon graduation. Commissioned Corps officers may work for federal entities such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health, the Health Care Financing Administration, and the Bureau of Prisons. The service obligation is equal to twice the time sponsored.
 

Residencies, Fellowships, & Other Post-Graduate Opportunities

Pharmacy residencies show a new graduate how to apply coursework to everyday practice, while also demonstrating the many career paths available to pharmacists. Pharmacy residencies give the opportunity to obtain one to two years of organized, directed, intensive training in a specific area of pharmacy practice. Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) residencies are a general training in health systems, managed care, or community setting. A Post-Graduate Year 2 (PGY2) residency program is more specialized for advanced training.

Examples of different specialty areas include: acute care, oncology, pediatrics, and pharmacy management. You must complete a PGY1 program before applying to a PGY2 program. To learn more on why you should consider a residency visit the the ASHP webpage. Students interested in American Society of Health-System Pharmacists accredited residencies must use the ASHP match service. For unaccredited residencies you should contact individual residency coordinators. Good places to look for additional information about residencies in particular fields are national associations’ web pages, national association meetings, and your college Dean's office.

Fellowships offer directed, highly individualized, postgraduate learning opportunities. There are a variety of focuses for fellowships, including academic fellowships within educational institutions that are more focused on research, ndustry fellowships which allows the fellow to gain experience with drug research and development, and association management fellowships which provide experience in leadership and running an association for the advancement of the profession. Fellowships are not accredited.
 

Residencies in Iowa

 

Residency/Fellowship Programs in Association Management

 

American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Residency Program

  • The Community Pharmacy Residency Program was established by the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1986 to foster the development of formal postgraduate education and training experiences for pharmacists in innovative community pharmacy practice settings.

 

Indian Health Service (IHS) Pharmacy Residency Program

  • The Indian Health Service offers several residency positions in a progressive and culturally diverse practice setting serving Native American populations. IHS does not participate in the ASHP match. Applicants to IHS residency programs are notified of application results prior to the ASHP match so that they may proceed in the ASHP match process if not selected for an IHS position.

 

Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships

 

Residency and Fellowship Directories

 

Pharmaceutical Graduate Degree Programs

Graduate programs are available in many areas for the pharmacist looking to further their education and research within a specific discipline. Individuals may pursue a master of science (MS) or a doctor of philosophy (PhD) across a variety of areas, including pharmaceutical science, data analytics and information systems, health economics, regulatory sciences, and more.



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