Students who want to earn a pharmacy degree in Maine will soon have only one option.
Husson University told students and professors on Friday, Jan. 24, that it will close its four-year Doctor of Pharmacy, or PharmD, program after the Spring 2025 semester due to years of declining enrollment, Conrad Dhing, interim dean of Husson’s school of pharmacy, said.
The Bangor-based university will, however, continue offering its two-year Pre-Pharmacy undergraduate program, which students must complete before moving onto the professional doctorate program, according to Sarah Walker Caron, Husson University’s communications director.
Husson is partnering with the University of New England School of Pharmacy in Portland to allow its current pharmaceutical students to complete their doctorate degrees. This means Husson pharmacy students will be able to transfer to UNE “as long as they meet the qualifications, meaning they’re in good academic standing,” Caron said.
“It’s important that we have at least one school of pharmacy in Maine, so I think this is the best option,” Dhing said. “There’s a huge demand for pharmacists and having at least one school of pharmacy in Maine will create enough graduates to practice in the state.”
While Maine students will still be able to complete their education, the loss of one of the state’s two pharmacy schools shows how dramatically demand for the degree has dropped in recent years. It also leads Maine pharmacists who are nearing retirement to wonder who will take over for them in the coming years.
Joe Bruno, owner of Community Pharmacies, said he has watched enrollment in both pharmacy schools decline since Husson’s and UNE’s opened in 2008 and 2009, respectively. When they launched, there was healthy interest in the career path, he said.
“They started with a bang, then pharmacy schools opened all over the country,” said Bruno, who was a professor at UNE from 2013 to 2020. “Then, as there became a glut of pharmacy colleges, enrollment dropped everywhere.”
Husson’s pharmacy program now has just 74 students enrolled, but the school has space for up to 240 students, according to Dhing.
Husson pharmacy students that agree to transfer to UNE will begin classes in Portland in the fall and complete their degrees on time, Dhing said. Their diplomas will be from UNE.
UNE has agreed to honor Husson’s tuition rate, Dhing said.
“Most of the students have expressed that they’re fine with moving to UNE,” Dhing said. “A few have said they’d like to move to other schools, and I’m working with them to help them transfer to the institution of their choice.”
Aside from being a more expensive place to live and two hours away from where they’re currently enrolled, Bruno said he believes Husson closing its graduate pharmacy program could lead to fewer pharmacists in northern Maine in the coming years.
This is because many Husson pharmacy students historically have been from central and northern Maine and returned home to practice after graduating, Bruno said. He fears students who must now attend school in Portland will want to stay in southern Maine after earning their degrees, despite the higher cost of living.
“It’s a different vibe and lifestyle [in Portland], so it’s going to be a challenge to get people to work in rural Maine,” Bruno said.
Bruno said he’s also concerned for the students who may have jobs in Bangor they’ll need to quit in order to move.
Others who are enrolled in the first or second year of their four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program will need to evaluate whether they want or can afford to continue their education at UNE, Bruno said.
“That’s going to be a real strain on them and some of those students are going to find themselves in a pickle,” Bruno said.
