Discovery, production, control, distribution, safe and effective use of medicines and drugs are the primary roles and responsibilities of a student graduating with a pharmacy course, not just sitting on the counters of medical shops as most people would assume. A pharmacist is the person, who knows everything about medicines even more than doctors.

1. Major Pharmacy Degree
Courses in India

2. Discovery, production, control,
distribution, safe and effective use
of medicines and drugs are the
primary roles and responsibilities
of a student graduating with a
pharmacy course, not just sitting on
the counters of medical shops as
most people would assume.

3. A pharmacist is the person,
who knows everything about
medicines even more than
doctors.

4. Physical and chemical properties of
drugs, therapeutic doses, side-
effects, interactions with other
drugs, etc. are intensively studied
in their whole course duration.

5. In India, we have numerous
pharmacy degree courses and
here is the list of them,
explaining how each one is
different from the others.

6. DIPLOMA IN PHARMACY
(D. PHARM)
D. Pharm is a 2 year course
followed by a 3 months
internship which must be
completed in a hospital or a
community setting.

7. After the completion of the
diploma course, one can get a job
in a pharmacy shop or even start
one of their own. This course
covers all the basic concepts of
pharmacology without going
deeper into the specializations.

8. BACHELOR OF PHARMACY (B.
PHARM)
B. Pharm is a bachelor's degree
with a duration of 4 years study in
Institutions approved by both PCI
and AICTE. Students with a diploma
in pharmacy can get admissions in
2nd year B. Pharm through lateral
entry.

9. B. Pharm degree graduate
can pursue a postgraduate
degree in higher education
or start working right away.

10. MASTER OF PHARMACY (M.
PHARM)
After successful completion of B. Pharm
course, one can join the Masters, which is
a 2 year course. The second year, mostly
comprises research works leading to a
dissertation in any pharmaceutical
discipline, for instance pharmaceutics,
pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry,
or pharmacognosy.

11. DOCTOR OF PHARMACY
(PHARMD) -
The Pharm D program constitutes 6
years of full-time study (5 years + 1
year internship). It was introduced in
2008 by the Indian Government and
the PCI, with the aim of producing
pharmacists who had undergone
extensive training in practice sites.

12. This in depth knowledge and
practical skills are necessary to
provide pharmaceutical care to
patients with global standards.

13. Curriculums of these pharmacy
courses are highly industrial and
product-oriented with an intense
focus on basic sciences and
medicinal chemistry. Admission
procedures in the best pharmacy
colleges in Kerala and universities
vary at times, with various states
having their own entrance exams.

14. For the admission of post-
graduation, students can attend a
national level entrance examination,
Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test
(GPAT). The marks scored in GPAT
are taken into consideration in
various colleges.