Pre-Pharmacy
Pre-Pharmacy Degrees from Oklahoma City Community College
An associate degree in pre-pharmacy is a great prescription for a bright future.
As a pharmacist, it will be your job not only to dispense drugs prescribed by doctors to your customers, but also to advise doctors on dosages and the effects of medication. Today, pharmacists are also becoming more involved in counseling patients and planning drug therapy programs.
The pharmaceutical business is booming, with researchers discovering new drugs for a variety of ailments every day.
At Oklahoma City Community College, you can earn an associate degree in chemistry with a pre-pharmacy option. Then, you’ll be ready to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete any additional prerequisites before applying to a college of pharmacy.
Fulfill your career potential today! Complete an online community college admissions application.
We’re With You Every Step of the Way
At Oklahoma City Community College, you’ll take a variety of science courses that will give you a strong foundation for success. Small class sizes and distinguished faculty will aid even more in your learning experience.
Since admission requirements vary among colleges of pharmacy, OCCC advisors and faculty want to work with you from the start to make sure you’re meeting all the prerequisites you need.
Pre-Pharmacy Degrees at Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City Community College offers an associate in science degree in chemistry with an option to pursue the specific courses needed for admission to a college of pre-pharmacy: This associate degree program will prepare you to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete any remainingprerequisites before you apply for admission to a college of pharmacy.
At Oklahoma City Community College, if you pursue an associate degree in science in pre-pharmacy, you will study such topics as:
- General Biology
- General Chemistry
- College Physics
- Calculus for Business, Life Sciences and Social Sciences
- Organic Chemistry
Visit OCCC’s online course catalog for full details on all the pre-pharmacy classes and support science classes available. OCCC offers both daytime and evening pre-pharmacy classes. However, due to the hands-on nature of this associate degree program and the required lab work involved, there are not many online classes offered for this major.
Kristy Bailey
Professor of Chemistry
B.S. in Chemistry from Cameron University PhD in Organic Chemistry from Oklahoma State University
Bruce Bailey
Professor of Chemistry
BS (Chemistry)Cameron University, Lawton OK PhD (Organic Chemistry)Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Brenda Breeding
Professor of Biology
My style of teaching is more traditional. If you are a student that enjoys 100 Power Point slides per lecture, I am not the professor to take.
Roger Choate
Professor of Biology
I have spent my entire life here in central Oklahoma. I received my Bachelors and Masters degrees from Central State University (UCO)with my emphasis being in vertebrate anatomy and physiology, as well as ecology. My research was focused on frogs and symbiotic relationships. I enjoy camping, hiking and birding all over Oklahoma and the United States.
Julian Hilliard
Professor of Biology
I have bachelors and masters degrees in zoology, the masters with an emphasis in Paleontology. I'm currently a graduate student again, this time in biological anthropology. My current study area is specific kinds of human anatomical variation, with the goal of answering certain questions about our evolutionary biology. I also like pina coladas and long walks on the beach :)
Fabiola Janiak-Spens
Director of Biotechnology, Professor of Biotechnology and Chemistry
Fabiola Janiak-Spens has been the director of the biotechnology program at OCCC since 2007 and teaches biotechnology and general chemistry courses. She enjoys teaching laboratory skills and watching her student’s succeed in obtaining employment as laboratory technicians following graduation from OCCC. Over the past five years, she has been awarded three, two-year internship partnership grants from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) for biotechnology internship student stipends. Janiak-Spens also coordinates the K12 biotechnology outreach program, providing laboratory supplies and biotechnology activity support to high school science teachers in Oklahoma. Prior to joining OCCC, she worked for 16 years as a research associate in biochemistry laboratories with mentors at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Both her MS and PhD degrees are in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma, Norman. Janiak-Spens also holds a Diplom-Chemikerin degree from the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Fabiola Janiak-Spens was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, before coming to Oklahoma on a student exchange program.
Raul Ramirez
Professor of Biology
I am currently serving as the Biology program co-coordinator and as course co-coordinator for General Biology I and General Biology II (Majors). I received my B.S. at the University of Oklahoma and my M.S. at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. As a student I focused my studies on freshwater fish ecology and consider myself an ichthyologist (study of fish). Although I have not conducted research recently I still attend scientific meetings when possible and regularly read scientific journal articles to keep myself informed on what's new in the sciences. The thing I love most about science is that you are continuously learning new things about the world around us.
Steven Shore
Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Shore is a third generation Oklahoman. Born in Tulsa, he spent most of his early years on a farm several miles south of Tulsa where he raised pigs and participated in 4-H. There were twenty-eight students in the graduating class of the small town high school he attended. After high school, he attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman where he received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in chemistry. Specializing in biochemistry in graduate school, his dissertation research focused on the environment of a growing protein chain using fluorescence spectroscopy. During graduate school, he discovered his love for teaching and decided to pursue teaching as a career. Dr. Shore enjoys spending time with his daughter who currently attends OCCC. He also enjoys hiking in the Wichita Mountains whenever possible. He is a confirmed science geek who likes just about all areas of science and is a huge fan of the British science fiction show "Doctor Who."
Courtney Vahlberg
Professor of Chemistry
I have a Ph.D. in chemistry from OSU and spent 24 years as an analytical chemist for the telecommunications industry. I like watching football (college and pro), the other football, and golf. I like playing golf and reading and working outside. And I really like my chemistry classes.
Changjiang Zhu
Professor of Chemistry
Bachelor, chemistry, Wuhan University, China, 1982Ph. D., chemistry, University of Idaho, 1996
Pre-Pharmacy Careers
After graduating with your associate degree in pre-pharmacy from Oklahoma City Community College, you will likely transfer your credits to a four-year university and eventually apply for admission to a college of pharmacy. However, this degree option also has the flexibility to allow students to explore a variety of life science and physical science degree plans.
Job opportunities for pharmacists are expected to be excellent. Salaries are high, but some pharmacists are required to work nights, weekends and holidays depending on the company.
