The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has reached a significant academic milestone with the graduation of its pioneer Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students, marking the institution’s full transition to globally recognised pharmacy education standards.
The six-year professional programme—now widely regarded as the modern benchmark for pharmacy training—produced its first set of graduates during the ongoing signing-out activities on campus.
One of the graduates, Joseph Cyril Ifunanyachukwu, described the programme as a transformative step toward patient-centred healthcare. He noted that the PharmD curriculum equips students with strong clinical decision-making skills through extensive hospital training, including a compulsory six-month clerkship.
Unlike an academic doctorate, the PharmD is a professional degree that retains the scientific grounding of the former Bachelor of Pharmacy while expanding into critical areas such as pharmacovigilance, patient counselling, and evidence-based therapeutic care.
Another graduate, Ugwueze Queendaline Chiamaka, said completing the demanding six-year programme felt surreal. She recalled that the relationships she built and the leadership roles she assumed were among the most memorable aspects of her journey. Balancing leadership with academics, she added, was challenging, but she managed it by breaking tasks into stages.
With project defences already completed, the signing-out activities officially mark the conclusion of their academic obligations.
The graduation of this pioneer class places UNN among Nigerian universities that have fully adopted the PharmD model, aligning pharmacy education in the country with international clinical practice standards.
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