When it comes to evaluating pharmacy schools, students looking to become Pharmacists often rely on school rankings to determine which PharmD program will result in the best outcome for their career as a pharmacist.
The term "Pharmacy School Rankings" have become synonymous with US News and World Report rankings, a traditional news outlet that ranks colleges, universities and graduate schools on various programs.
US News and World Report Pharmacy School Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranked 140 Doctor of Pharmacy programs in its 2026 edition, published 6 April 2026. The table below covers the top 38 positions — 40 schools once ties are counted. Every school links through to its full profile here, with admissions requirements, tuition, NAPLEX pass rates and deadlines.
One thing worth knowing before you use it: this ranking is built from a single input. Each score is a school’s average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), taken from a survey of academics at peer institutions. It measures reputation among faculty. It does not measure NAPLEX pass rates, cost, class size or your odds of admission — all of which sit on the individual school pages, and most of which matter more to an applicant than a reputational score separated by a tenth of a point.
2026 U.S. News Pharmacy School Rankings — Top 38
Last updated August 2026. Source: U.S. News & World Report, Best Pharmacy Schools, 2026 edition (published 6 April 2026).
Rank | School | State | Peer score |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4.7 | ||
2 | 4.6 | ||
3 | 4.5 | ||
4 (tie) | 4.4 | ||
4 (tie) | 4.4 | ||
6 (tie) | 4.3 | ||
6 (tie) | 4.3 | ||
8 (tie) | 4.2 | ||
8 (tie) | 4.2 | ||
8 (tie) | 4.2 | ||
11 (tie) | 4.1 | ||
11 (tie) | 4.1 | ||
11 (tie) | 4.1 | ||
14 (tie) | 4.0 | ||
14 (tie) | 4.0 | ||
16 (tie) | 3.9 | ||
16 (tie) | 3.9 | ||
16 (tie) | 3.9 | ||
16 (tie) | 3.9 | ||
20 (tie) | 3.8 | ||
20 (tie) | 3.8 | ||
20 (tie) | 3.8 | ||
20 (tie) | 3.8 | ||
20 (tie) | 3.8 | ||
25 (tie) | 3.7 | ||
25 (tie) | 3.7 | ||
27 (tie) | 3.6 | ||
27 (tie) | 3.6 | ||
27 (tie) | 3.6 | ||
27 (tie) | 3.6 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
31 (tie) | 3.5 | ||
38 (tie) | 3.4 | ||
38 (tie) | 3.4 | ||
38 (tie) | 3.4 |
Scores are peer assessment ratings on a 1–5 scale. Ranks shown through position 38; U.S. News ranked 140 programs in total. There are 147+ ACPE-accredited PharmD programs in the United States, so not every accredited school appears in the ranking — browse every program by state.
What changed since the 2020 edition
This page previously carried the 2020 rankings. If you used it then, here is what has actually moved.
- The top three are unchanged. North Carolina, UCSF and Michigan still hold 1, 2 and 3 — though every score has drifted down, with UNC going from 4.9 to 4.7.
- Wisconsin–Madison rose six places, from 12th to a tie for 6th.
- Minnesota fell from 4th to a tie for 11th and Kentucky from 6th to a tie for 11th — the two largest drops out of the old top ten.
- Ohio State climbed from 7th to a tie for 4th, and Texas–Austin from 10th to a tie for 8th.
- Two schools entered the top ten from outside the old top twelve: UC San Diego at a tie for 6th, and Pittsburgh at a tie for 8th.
- Ties now dominate. Only the top three positions are held outright; everything from 4th down is shared, because the scores compress into tenths.
How much should a ranking shape your list?
Less than most applicants assume. The gap between 4th and 20th here is six tenths of a point on a reputation survey — and faculty reputation is not what determines whether you get in, what you pay, or whether you pass the NAPLEX. For building a real application list, these usually matter more:
- Admissions requirements and prerequisites — whether you are eligible at all
- NAPLEX first-time pass rates, shown on every school profile and far more variable than the ranking spread
- Total cost, and in-state versus out-of-state tuition
- Location — roughly a third of a PharmD is clinical rotations, so where you study shapes where you train
See every accredited pharmacy program by state.