Anderson Oconee Pickens

Tri-County is First Technical College in State to Offer Pre Pharmacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/27/2007
CONTACT:  DR. LYNN LEWIS, 646-1437
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- The prerequisite courses needed to apply for entrance into the S.C. School of Pharmacy are now offered by Tri-County Technical College predominantly at its Anderson campus.

This new two-year program, titled Occupational Technology with a concentration in Pre-Pharmacy, is a mix of online and traditional courses, said Dr. Lynn Lewis, dean of Tri-County’s Health Education Division. 

The curriculum gives students the courses they need to have before they can apply to the S.C. School of Pharmacy (campuses located in Charleston and Columbia),” said Dr. Lewis.  “It gives students the same opportunities to apply to enter the School of Pharmacy that a four-year college or university would -- at a fraction of the cost,” she said.

 Tri-County is first technical college in the State to offer this package of classes, and it’s the first time that Tri-County’s Arts and Sciences and Health Education divisions have collaborated to offer a degree program.

“It’s an intense program with a science-dominated curriculum,” said Galen DeHay, chemistry instructor for the Arts and Sciences Division and an advisor the Pre-Pharmacy program.  Students can begin study at any term, he added.

“Although no one can guarantee acceptance into the S.C. School of Pharmacy, our new program gives students increased access and opportunity to apply and matriculate, and that just makes sense economically,” said Dr. Lewis.