Pharmacy Outcomes

Graduation rates

The Harding University College of Pharmacy offers a 3.5-year professional doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree pathway. The first cohort to complete this revised curriculum graduated in December 2024. Classes before December 2024 completed a traditional four-year curriculum. The following table provides a summary of on-time graduation rates for the last six graduating classes:

% on-time graduation = # of graduates/# admitted X 100; *total graduate percentage per cohort; § Students still progressing 

NAPLEX results

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) reports pass rates for individuals who take the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). NABP states that their data aggregation rules for the report are as follows:

• Examinees are grouped by both the school they graduated from and the year they graduated
• Examinees who graduated before OR after the reported years are NOT included in the report
• Examinees who tested before OR after the reported years are NOT included in the report
• Examinees who did not receive a score on an exam attempt are NOT included in the report

Due to Harding’s switch in June 2021 from a traditional 4-year curriculum to a shortened 3.5-year curriculum, two cohorts graduated in calendar year 2024 -- 30 graduates in May 2024 (4-year curriculum) and 25 graduates in December 2024 (inaugural 3.5-year curriculum). Therefore, NABP’s Passing Rates for 2023-2025 Graduates report displays commingled data for Harding’s two 2024 graduating cohorts. The reported first-time pass rate of 65.4% includes data for the 52 NAPLEX attempts by any Harding alumni who graduated in calendar year 2024. The individual Harding cohort NAPLEX pass rates are displayed in the table below.

In calendar year 2025, a single cohort of 23 students graduated in December. For the 2025 graduation year, NABP shows that Harding’s first-time and all-time pass rates in 2025 were 0%. However, only a single first attempt and a total of two attempts occurred in 2025. Most Harding December 2025 graduates did not test by the end of 2025. The majority will test in 2026.

This table displays Harding’s NAPLEX first-time pass rates by dividing the number who passed the NAPLEX on their first attempt by the number of students who graduated in the cohort. The date when they tested is not taken into account. The all-time pass rate is calculated by dividing the number who have passed their NAPLEX to date by the number of students who graduated in the cohort.

*Data is available for six December 2025 alumni as of 2/18/2026; for this rate, the denominator was limited to the number of individuals who are known to have taken the exam
#As reported by NABP

With the shift to a December graduation, most Harding alumni will take the NAPLEX in the calendar year following their graduation year. For instance, many of the December 2024 graduates did not take the NAPLEX until 2025. This affects the rates reported by NABP due to their reporting rules.

NABP-reported NAPLEX pass rates for the past three years may be viewed by following the link to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website.

Student achievements

57% of the class of December 2025 are actively applying for residency training to begin in July 2026; another 39% have secured employment in pharmacy. 36% of the class of December 2024 and 40% of the class of May 2024 secured post-doctoral residency positions upon graduation. Members of the classes of 2024 and 2025 distinguished themselves on a national level, earning accolades such as placing in the top 10 of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition, receiving the NCPA Foundation Presidential Scholarship, the APhA-ASP Region 6 Operation Substance Use Disorder Award, the APhA-ASP National 2nd Runner-Up for Over-the-Counter Medicine Safety, and the APhA-ASP National 2nd Runner-Up for the Division AAA Chapter Achievement Award. Notably, two members were selected by the NCPA to complete in-person Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) at the NCPA's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Similarly, another student was chosen by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to complete an in-person APPE at their headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. Additionally, some members of the class were inducted into the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. On the state level, one member was honored as student of the year by the Arkansas Association of Health-System Pharmacists (AAHP), while others presented their research posters at the AAHP Fall Seminar and at the Arkansas Summit for Antimicrobial Stewardship.

84% of graduates from the two 2024 classes confirmed having positions in pharmacy at or near graduation. Since 2020, an average of 36% of students per cohort have obtained PGY1 residency positions upon graduation. Since 2022, 7% of cohorts have obtained PGY2 residency/fellowship positions. Alumni have obtained high-ranking pharmacy positions at institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Houston Methodist, Baylor Scott and White, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, and Huntington Hospital in southern California. Locally, alumni serve patients in Arkansas through innovative clinical pharmacy positions at community and hospital pharmacies throughout the state, as well as in ambulatory care clinics such as Arcare.