Prevalence, Structure, and Barriers of Academic Pharmacy Fellowships: A Survey of Program Directors

This study characterized academic pharmacy fellowship programs, with particular attention to teaching, research and scholarship, practice, and service, as well as institutional and program director demographics and barriers to program offering. By providing contemporary data on program structure, this study sought to inform the broader discourse on workforce development in academic pharmacy.

A 35-item online survey was distributed to academic pharmacy fellowship program directors and pharmacy practice department chairs at 138 US colleges and schools of pharmacy in July 2025. Data were presented using descriptive statistics and analyzed by the unpaired t test and χ² test.

Fifty-two usable responses were received (38% response rate). Twenty colleges and schools of pharmacy reported an academic pharmacy fellowship program. Most programs reported fellow engagement in classroom teaching (>90%) and assessment (>80%), while engagement in course design/leadership (<50%) was less frequent. Fellows were engaged in most facets of research (>80%), and there was an emphasis on scholarship of teaching and learning (86%). Grantsmanship was less frequent (<40%). Clinical practice was included in 95% of programs, with some providing introductory (24%) and advanced (67%) experiential precepting opportunities. The most common barrier to program offering was lack of funding (44%).

Academic fellowship programs provide structured exposure to teaching, research, practice, and service, potentially addressing gaps that may exist in traditional postgraduate training pathways. Continued expansion of these programs, improved program visibility and funding, and greater collaboration among institutions and professional organizations may help strengthen the pipeline and cultivate the next generation of academic pharmacists.