Program Recruitment

UCSF Health Pharmacy Enterprise Policy #200.03
Revised: 9/15/2016*

The University of California, San Francisco participates in the ASHP Matching Program for the following residency programs:

Among these, the PGY2 in Infectious Disease currently has candidate status and the PGY2s in Medication Safety and Transplant have pre-candidate status. Early commitment is considered annually by residency program directors.

The Residency Program Directors and residents recruit potential residency applicants at the Residency Showcases at the California Society of Health-System (CSHP) Annual Seminar and the American-Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting. The PGY2 programs also participate in the Personnel Placement Service (PPS) that occurs annually at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.

Application information for the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) is published in the ASHP directory of residency programs and is available on our website. Each residency program outlines their deadline for applications and special requirements for acceptance (See below).

Application Information (PhORCAS)

Applications for all accredited programs are accepted beginning in the Fall and coincide with the opening of the PhOCAS portal. All applicants must register for The Match-ASHP Resident Matching Program AND submit an application through PhORCAS.

The deadline for applications and all special requirements for acceptance is updated annually and is identified in PhORCAS for each residency training program.

PGY1 Pharmacy Practice

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D. or M.S./B.S. with clinical experience, be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

  1. We request one or more of your three references should come from a preceptor who you have worked with in a clinical setting, related to an APPE in acute or ambulatory care. The preceptor should be able to comment on your scope of responsibility, total patient load, and level of autonomy, clinical abilities, and organizational and time management skills.
  2. All letter writers should comment on a minimum of 7 of the 13 evaluable characteristics.
  3. A cover letter should be provided that addresses which elements of the UCSF PGY1 Pharmacy Practice program you are most interested in and how each element relates to your personal goals.
  4. Please include a response to the essay statement below.

    ESSAY: Reflect on a challenging situation (personal or professional) that required you to question your values or assumptions. How did you deal with the situation? What did you learn from the experience?

    (NOTE: The essay response should be uploaded in the Supplemental Information section in PhORCAS..Space is limited to a max of 5 MB and must be provided in the following format: .pdf, .doc, .txt, .rtf.


PGY2 Critical Care

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics. Applicant must also include a cover letter stating why he/she decided to pursue specializing in critical care pharmacy and how a Critical Care PGY2 Specialty Residency at UCSF will aid in his/her career goals.

PGY2 Infectious Diseases

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by the start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics. Applicant must also include a cover letter stating why he/she decided to pursue specializing in infectious diseases pharmacy and how an Infectious Disease PGY2 Specialty Residency at UCSF will aid in his/her career goals.

PGY2 Oncology

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D. or M.S./B.S. with clinical experience, be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics. Applicant must also include a cover letter stating why he/she decided to pursue specializing in oncology pharmacy and how a Oncology PGY2 Specialty Residency at UCSF will aid in his/her career goals.

PGY2 Pediatrics

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D. or M.S./B.S. with clinical experience, be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

  1. When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics.
  2. Responses to both of the following essay are also required for acceptance. Each essay response should be no longer than one page in length. An application will not be reviewed if either statement is missing.

    (NOTE: These essay responses should be uploaded in the Supplemental Information section in PhORCAS. Space is limited to a max of 5 MB and must be provided in the following format: .pdf, .doc, .txt, .rtf.)
    1. How did you decide to pursue specializing in the area of pediatric pharmacy? What UCSF PGY2 pediatric program elements interest you most and how do each of these relate to your personal goals?
    2. Reflect on a challenging situation (personal or professional) that required you to question your values or assumptions. How did you deal with the situation? What did you learn from the experience?

PGY2 Medication Safety

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D. or M.S./B.S. with clinical experience, be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics. Applicant must also include a cover letter stating why he/she decided to pursue specializing in Medication Use Safety and how a Medication Safety PGY2 Specialty Residency at UCSF will aid in his/her career goals.

PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant

Interested applicants should have a Pharm.D. or M.S./B.S. with clinical experience, be eligible for California licensure and a California intern license, have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency by start date, and submit the standardized application materials through PhORCAS.

Special Requirements for Acceptance

When submitting a letter of recommendation through PhORCAS, the letter writer must comment on at least 7 of the 13 characteristics. Applicant must also include a cover letter stating why he/she decided to pursue specializing in Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy and how a Solid Organ Transplant PGY2 Specialty Residency at UCSF will aid in his/her career goals.

*Name updated from Department of Pharmaceutical Services to UCSF Health Pharmacy Enterprise in June 2022