ACPE Standards 2025 - Accreditation Standards and Key Elements for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree

Sep 17, 2026

ACPE Standards 2025 outlines the accreditation standards and key elements for professional Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs. It explains ACPE’s mission, governance, and recognition history, and clarifies that standards represent minimum requirements expected to be exceeded through continuous quality improvement. The document emphasizes educational outcomes, assessment of those outcomes, and the curricular didactic and experiential structures needed for evidence-based measures, including expectations for student readiness and continuing professional development. It also provides background for revisions to the standards and the factors prompting reassessment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time1 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Preamble

Importance of Standards

Revision of Standards: Background

Standard 1: Organization and Governance

Standard 2: Curriculum

Standard 3: Experiential Learning

Standard 4: Students and Student Services

Standard 5: Faculty and Staff

Standard 6: Resources

Standard 7: Assessment

Appendix 1 - Required Elements of the Didactic Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum

ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR PHARMACY EDUCATION ACCREDITATION STANDARDS AND KEY ELEMENTS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM IN PHARMACY LEADING TO THE DOCTOR OF PHARMACY DEGREE (“STANDARDS 2025”) APPROVED JUNE 14, 2024 UPDATED JUNE 12, 2025 RELEASED JULY 1, 2024 Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Chicago, Illinois TABLE OF CONTENTS PREAMBLE.................................................................................................................. ii Standard 1: Organization and Governance ........................................................................ 1 Standard 2: Curriculum....................................................................................................... 5 Standard 3: Experiential Learning .................................................................................... 10 Standard 4: Students and Student Services ..................................................................... 14 Standard 5: Faculty and Staff ........................................................................................... 18 Standard 6: Resources ...................................................................................................... 21 Standard 7: Assessment ................................................................................................... 23 Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................... 26 Required Elements of the Didactic Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR PHARMACY EDUCATION STANDARDS 2025 PREAMBLE Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE (until 2003 known as the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education) was established in 1932 for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy, and in 1975 ACPE’s scope was broadened to include accreditation of providers of continuing pharmacy education ([www.acpe-accredit.org](www.acpe-accredit.org)) . ACPE expanded its activities to include evaluation and international-accreditation of professional degree programs internationally in 2011 and entered into a collaboration with the American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists (ASHP) to accredit pharmacy technician education and training programs beginning in 2014. The mission of ACPE is to assure and advance quality in pharmacy education. ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors consists of appointees from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP, academy/educators), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA, practitioners), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP, regulators) (three appointments each), and a public member (one appointment by ACPE) . Since the inception of its accreditation agency recognition program in 1952, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has continuously recognized ACPEas an accreditation agency. ACPE also gained recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in April 2004. State boards of pharmacy require that licensure applicants from the United States have graduated from an accredited pharmacy degree program to be eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination® (NAPLEX®) . Importance of Standards To achieve and maintain ACPE accreditation, professional Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs (hereafter described as ‘programs’) must meet the standards contained in this document. ACPE standards are minimum requirements, and it is expected that programs will exceed these required standards through initiatives designed to ensure continuous quality improvement. These standards describe the various elements needed for quality-assured professional pharmacy education and are based

FAQs

What is the purpose of ACPE Standards 2025?

ACPE Standards 2025 sets the minimum accreditation standards and key elements that professional PharmD programs must meet to achieve and maintain ACPE accreditation.

How do the standards define quality in pharmacy education?

The standards focus on required educational outcomes, the assessment of those outcomes, and structural and process elements needed to implement evidence-based outcome measures.

Why were the standards revised?

ACPE periodically reviews and revises accreditation standards, prompted by experience from accreditation reviews, stakeholder feedback on quality improvement, expansion of pharmacy practice scope, and related environmental factors.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood