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Home Page > Academics > College Of Pharmacy > About the College
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Welcome from Dean Brian Kaatz |
 Thank you for accessing the web site of the College of Pharmacy at South Dakota State University. I hope you find many interesting things as you look around.
I appreciate your interest in pharmacy and in what we are doing at SDSU for education, service, and research within the profession.
We are very proud of our school. We have talented and ambitious students and skilled and accomplished faculty members. Collectively, the College of Pharmacy at SDSU has achieved some great things, but I honestly believe the best is yet to come!
The College has a long history, going back to the 1880’s. In all those years, the Brookings academic home for pharmacy has been in buildings, past and present, within about fifty yards from each other. That history will continue as we are finishing up planning for a brand new facility, to be built on top of our current building, which will be demolished in May of 2008.
You can see some images of the new Avera Health and Science Center elsewhere on this site, and I encourage you to do so. When the new pharmacy location is completed (we expect Fall of 2010), we will be in a state-of-the-art building attached to a completely refurbished research facility. We will enj0y the fact, at least for a short time, that we will be in the newest pharmacy education building in the country!
Though it will be attractive and brand new, the Center will be just a building. Even more important than buildings are the people and activities within it. The Pharmacy program at SDSU has been blessed with some of the most capable and successful students anywhere, as evidenced by strong student organizations, a wealth of job opportunities upon graduation and a record for passing the national boards that is among the most elite in the country. We always exceed the national averages for scores, and every graduating Doctor of Pharmacy class in the past ten years, except one, has had 100% first-time passage of the NAPLEX test. What a record!
In addition to strong teaching, the College also has an enviable record for research and service. At any time, College faculty are working on projects in search of improved methods of treating cancer, preventing addictions, and predicting diseases through genomics research. Faculty members are also taking care of patients by advising them in the best use of medications and serving as a resource to physicians and other prescribers.
The College admits qualified students after the equivalent of a minimum of two years of pre-pharmacy work. The first two professional years (we call them P1 and P2 years) are on the beautiful Brookings campus, culminating in a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences degree. The program continues with the third (P3) year in Sioux Falls, as we take advantage of the size and scope of medical services in one of the best health care environments in the Midwest.
Shortly after the P3 year concludes, the fourth year begins, with students beginning 40 weeks of experiential hands-on activity in a variety of clinical and practice settings. Although the majority of these experiences will take place in South Dakota, in recent years we have had students plan for Advanced Experiences in at least 10 other states and five foreign countries. Students with a preference can often craft experiences according to their wishes and future career goals.
Whether you are visiting this site to see if you might have an interest in pharmacy, or whether you have a degree and are contemplating a venture into one of the “hottest” health care fields, or whether you are perhaps thinking about a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences……..I hope you have found some worthwhile information.
Please feel free to contact us – and please know you are always welcome to visit.
Brian Kaatz, Pharm.D.
Dean and Professor of Pharmacy Practice
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