An early assurance admission and reverse transfer initiative will provide pharm-school seats at the Medical College of Wisconsin to qualified St. Norbert students.

New Partnership Speeds Route to Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Early assurance admission for SNC’s qualified pharmacy-bound students is guaranteed as a result of a new partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.

The reverse transfer program will provide Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) seats for full-time students who successfully complete program prerequisites.

“St. Norbert College is delighted to be expanding its partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin,” says President Tom Kunkel. “This is a true win-win-win. St. Norbert students get additional value and opportunity for their tuition dollar. MCW gets bright and motivated students for its groundbreaking new school of pharmacy. And the state of Wisconsin gains additional health-care professionals.”

The program provides an accelerated route for students to earn both a Bachelor of Science degree in natural sciences and their Pharm.D. degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Prospective students interested in obtaining dual degrees at St. Norbert and MCW can gain admission to MCW at the same time as being admitted to St. Norbert. The dual degree program takes six years to complete, including three years of undergraduate curriculum followed by three years of Pharm.D. curriculum at MCW. Students who successfully complete their first year in the MCW School of Pharmacy will fulfill final requirements for a bachelor of science degree through “reverse transfer” of those credits.

This accelerated program eases some of the financial burden of school tuition for students seeking to obtain both a B.S. and Pharm.D. degree.

“This partnership demonstrates a joint commitment to educating the pharmacists of the future,” says George MacKinnon, founding dean of MCW School of Pharmacy. “The agreement enhances our pipeline program, providing the opportunity for the MCW School of Pharmacy to engage with prospective students while they are still completing their undergraduate coursework.”

Students who are admitted to the program will be invited to participate in a minimum of two School of Pharmacy programs and events each year during their undergraduate study, including career discussions and shadowing opportunities with MCW’s clinical partners. Additionally, students will be partnered with a faculty mentor from MCW and will potentially have access to undergraduate research opportunities at MCW.

The program agreement strengthens an established educational partnership between MCW and St. Norbert. The new Gehl-Mulva Science Center is currently home to MCW-Green Bay’s administration offices and classrooms.

The MCW School of Pharmacy is the only three-year Pharm.D. program in the Midwest that is located at an academic medical center, providing access to world-renowned resources at Froedtert Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for students and faculty alike. The aim of the MCW School of Pharmacy is not only to educate the pharmacists of the future but also to create new and innovative practice models and inter-professional health-care teams that leverage the role of the pharmacist to deliver patient-centered care with improved health outcomes.

April 4, 2017

St. Norbert students, whether bound for pharmacy school or not, have the opportunity to engage in significant drug research even during their undergraduate years. A few years ago, we brought you news of Isabella Benassi ’12 and Izzy Rauguth ’11 and their work on the effects of resveratrol, a compound which inhibits the growth of tumors in mice, in combination with additional inhibitors. It was all part of our Investigation Through Collaboration magazine feature about undergraduate research.

And readers of last month’s @St. Norbert may remember the story of our med-school bound roommates, John Grady ’17 and David Holzer ’17, both currently engaged in a study of the ability of bracken fern and garlic mustard extracts to arrest the growth of human breast cancer cells.