Program Overview

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Study to prepare compounds and sterile products, and to dispense medications. This full-time program includes both community and hospital practicum placements.

Credential:

• Diploma

Program length:

• 4 Terms

Area:

• Health & Wellness

School:

• School of Health and Wellness

Post-Graduation Work Permit:

• Yes

About

Prescription for Success. At Bow Valley College’s downtown Calgary campus, students study full-time and complete practicums in hospital† and community pharmacies to obtain a Pharmacy Technician Diploma.

The program has Full Accreditation Status †† with theCanadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP), preparing graduates for thePharmacy Examining Board of Canada's national certification exam. Pharmacy technicians are regulated under the Health Professions Act and register with the Alberta College of Pharmacy.

Registered Pharmacy Technicians have an expanded scope of practice that includes responsibilities such as performing final checks on prescriptions and receiving verbal orders from prescribers. Other tasks include compounding mixtures, dispensing medications, or preparing sterile products such as eye drop compounds or intravenous mixtures. Demand is increasing and pharmacy technicians can earn up to $37/hour.

With over 350 lab hours in a state-of-the-art facility, this program integrates cutting-edge technology and emphasizes hands-on training to produce competitive dispensary-ready graduates. Students learn to prepare sterile products in authentic certified sterile production hoods and operate a PACMED® high-speed automated medication packager.

† Students will be required to travel to various locations in order to complete their practicum placements. Every effort is made to accommodate students in placements within the timeframe of the program, however in rare instances there may be a delay in program completion until a placement can be arranged.

†† The Pharmacy Technician Program of Bow Valley College has been awarded Accreditation Status by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs from January 1, 2023 - June 30, 2028.

Work Integrated Learning

You will be required to travel to various locations to complete your work integrated learning placements. It is each student's responsibility to arrange travel to their clinical and/or practicum sites; placements may be outside the City of Calgary as well as in any area of Calgary. Every effort is made to schedule learners for Work Integrated Learning placements within the time frame of the program. In rare instances there may be a delay in program completion until a Work Integrated Learning placement can be arranged.

Work Integrated Learning placements may include day shifts, evening shifts, night shifts, and/or weekend shifts. Shifts are determined by the placement sites and not the College.

Facilities

The Pharmacy Technician Diploma program has a designated lab. The world-class lab simulates both community and hospital pharmacy practice with individual work areas equipped with computers, phones and dispensing supplies, compounding equipment, certified sterile production hoods, and a high-speed automated medication packager (PACMED®).

Admission Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Minimum 60% in English 30-1, or 70% in English 30-2, or equivalent
• Minimum 60% in:
  • Math 30-1 or Math 30-2 or equivalent
  • Biology 30 or equivalent
  • Chemistry 30 or equivalent

Program Recommendations

• A minimum keyboarding speed of 30 wpm is strongly recommended.
• Applicants are expected to have a working knowledge of personal computers including general business applications and navigating the internet.
• Applicants are expected to have basic math skills including, but not limited to: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and conversion of fractions, percentages, decimals, ratios, problem solving, linear equations and other related calculations.
• Proficient manual dexterity is essential.
• Applicants should be detail-oriented with the ability to problem-solve and multi-task.

Pre-practicum Requirements

• Current Police Information Check (PIC) with a Vulnerable Sector Search (VSS) must be submitted prior to the practicum placements. The existence of a criminal record may postpone or prevent clinical, practicum, or field work placements, and subsequently, successful completion of the program.
• To facilitate your Work Integrated Learning placement with our external partners Rubella vaccination is mandatory and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination is required for many of the sites. Failure to provide evidence of full COVID-19 vaccination will delay program completion. All other immunizations are highly recommended. Up-to-date immunizations are valid for the duration of the program.

Transferability

Transfer opportunities are available to a variety of institutions. Transfer credits are reviewed and accepted on an individual basis by the institution to which you apply.

Available Intakes

• September 2025
• January 2026

Tuition and Fees

Domestic Students

Term	Tuition Fees	Additional Fees	Total Fees*
Term 1	$3,274	$605	$3,879
Term 2	$3,370	$605	$3,975
Term 3	$2,896	$605	$3,501
Term 4	$1,896	$605	$2,501

International Students

Term	Tuition Fees	Additional Fees	Total Fees*
Term 1	$8,265	$605	$8,870
Term 2	$8,692	$605	$9,297
Term 3	$7,477	$605	$8,082
Term 4	$5,052	$605	$5,657

*All tuition and fees are subject to change. Program tuitions are estimates only. Your actual tuition and fees are calculated on actual course registrations and can be viewed under "Statement of Account" in MyBVC or by requesting a Statement of Account from Registrar Services.

Courses

Term 1

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
ENGL1201	English: Composition	3	picturepdf
PHRM1101	Pharmacy Theory	3	picturepdf
PHRM1102	Pharmacy Jurisprudence and Ethics	3	picturepdf
PHRM1206	Pharmacotherapy and Patient Care I	6

Earn at least 3 credits from the following courses:

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM1301	Pharmacy Calculations I	3	picturepdf
PHRM1401	Prescription Processing	3	picturepdf

Term 2

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM1207	Pharmacotherapy and Patient Care II	6
PHRM1402	Community Pharmacy Practice	3	picturepdf
PHRM1501	Hospital Pharmacy Practice	3	picturepdf

Earn at least 3 credits from the following courses:

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM1302	Pharmacy Calculations II	3	picturepdf
PHRM2401	Community Dispensing Lab I	6	picturepdf

Term 3

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM2600	Innovative Pharmacy Practice	3

Earn at least 3 credits from the following courses:

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM2402	Community Dispensing Lab II	3	picturepdf
PHRM2403	Extemporaneous Compounding Lab	3	picturepdf
PHRM2501	Hospital Dispensing Lab	6	picturepdf
PHRM2502	Sterile Production Lab	3	picturepdf

Term 4

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM1205	Specialized Pharmacotherapy	3	picturepdf

Earn at least 3 credits from the following courses:

Code	Course	Credit	PDF
PHRM2997	Entry to Pharmacy Practice	3	picturepdf
PHRM2998	Community Pharmacy Practicum	4	picturepdf
PHRM2999	Hospital Pharmacy Practicum	4	picturepdf