Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Key Highlights

• Founded in 1881 and renamed Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2008
• Specialized academic mission centered on pharmacy, health sciences, and biomedical fields
• Separately accredited and operating while a merger with Russell Sage awaits final approval
• Applied facilities and initiatives include CBET and a nonprofit student-operated community pharmacy

Student Life & Environment

ACPHS offers a residential experience on a compact, professionally focused campus. South Hall houses first- and second-year students, while Holland and Princeton Suites provide apartment-style accommodation for upper-level students. Published amenities include furnished rooms, air conditioning, laundry, and live-in residence staff. South Hall residents must purchase the Gold meal plan; the 2026–27 price had not yet been published on the tuition page as of August 20, 2026. Student involvement extends beyond health-profession organizations. The college identifies clubs involving interests such as photography, gaming, and multicultural activities, along with student government. Recreation options include intramural or club basketball, volleyball, skiing, dance, and pickleball, plus fitness equipment and group classes. Intercollegiate Panthers teams compete in basketball, cross country, soccer, track and field, and women’s volleyball. Support services include academic and career guidance, peer mentoring, counseling, health services, and campus safety. Career services provide individual guidance, job fairs, panels, employer postings, and support with internships and employment. Because ACPHS is a specialized and relatively compact institution, prospective students should visit or attend a virtual session to judge whether its close-knit, health-science-centered social environment offers the breadth they want.

Location & Surroundings

ACPHS is located at 106 New Scotland Avenue in Albany, New York’s state capital. The campus sits in an urban health and education district near hospitals, research centers, and other health-care institutions. That setting is relevant to a college whose programs rely on laboratories, clinical education, community work, and professional exposure. The institution also describes eateries, parks, museums, and cultural activities within walking distance. Albany combines the functions of a state-government center and a regional medical and educational hub. For students, this can provide access to public-health, laboratory, pharmacy, hospital, and government settings without living in a much larger metropolitan area. The immediate campus is compact, and both residents and commuters should assess transportation needs for internships, clinical placements, or pharmacy rotations that may occur away from campus. Parking is permit-based and limited by residence and academic status. The official 2026–27 fee schedule lists annual permits of $280 for Albany commuters and $360 for campus residents. Students should not assume that every clinical or experiential site will be reachable on foot or by public transportation.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–27, ACPHS publishes annual tuition of $42,600 for BS programs and the two pre-professional Pharmacy Early Assurance years. Tuition for each professional PharmD year, P1 through P4, is $49,300. Most MS courses cost $1,640 per credit, while Health Data Science, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and Cytotechnology and Molecular Cytology have a reduced $1,200-per-credit rate under the terms shown on the official fee page. These figures replace the record’s older $28,900 tuition value for planning purposes, but the supplied database number has not been altered. Mandatory or commonly applicable charges include a $350 full-time activity fee, $300 full-time health and wellness fee, $280 full-time technology fee, laboratory fees of $100 per lab course, and a one-time $350 orientation fee for new and transfer students. Health insurance is listed at $3,704 unless the student supplies proof of other coverage by the stated deadline. International students pay an additional $200 fee. Annual 2026–27 college housing charges are $7,100 for South Hall, $8,400 for a two-bedroom Holland or Princeton suite, and $7,600 for a four- or five-bedroom suite, plus a $40 resident activity fee. The meal-plan price remained undetermined on the published page, so applicants cannot yet calculate a complete residential total. Institutional scholarships, grants, loans, work-study, campus employment, research-assistant work, and resident-assistant roles may help with costs. Career outcomes will vary substantially among licensed pharmacy, laboratory, research, data, public-health, and further-study pathways; students should compare program-level placement, licensure, and debt information rather than relying on a single institution-wide claim.