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Major · Health Professions

A catchall code for pharmacy programs that don’t fit the named siblings

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other (CIP 51.2099) is a federal catchall for pharmacy and drug-related programs that don’t map cleanly to a named code in the 51.20 family. About 582 degrees are awarded each year across 16 colleges, almost all at the bachelor’s level. Specific program content varies sharply by institution.

Schools offering
16
Annual completions
582
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$107k

About this major

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other (CIP 51.2099) is a federal catchall code. Its formal definition is plain: any instructional program in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration not listed elsewhere in the 51.20 family. In practice, the umbrella collects programs in industrial pharmacy, regulatory affairs, drug-development support, and pharmacy-business or administration tracks that institutions design around regional employers. Specific program content varies considerably from one school to another, so the syllabus and program name carry more signal than the CIP label.

The major fits students who already enjoy chemistry and biology at the coursework level and who are weighing pharma, biotech, or pharmacy-adjacent industry as a career direction. Comfort with science prerequisites, an interest in how drugs are developed, regulated, marketed, or administered, and a willingness to verify each program’s curriculum directly with the school all help. Two students with the same credential title may have followed substantially different programs, so reading the institution-specific course list is the only reliable way to know what you’ll actually study.

About 582 degrees are awarded each year under this code, almost entirely at the bachelor’s level — only 14 associate completions exist across two schools (EDP University of Puerto Rico and Mount Wachusett Community College). The 16 colleges granting this degree include Long Island University (135 bachelor’s/yr), Saint Joseph’s University-Philadelphia (108), Duquesne (106), Ohio Northern (75), and University of South Carolina-Columbia (72). The single career listed in the packet, Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary at $105,620 median with 17.3% projected growth, requires a doctoral or professional degree, so it cannot be read as a typical bachelor’s destination. It signals that no standard BLS occupation maps cleanly to this CIP — graduates’ actual paths depend heavily on the specific program and whether they layer a PharmD, PhD, or master’s on top of the bachelor’s.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary $106k +17.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$107k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if a specific program at a specific school genuinely matches your interest — an industrial pharmacy track, a regulatory affairs concentration, a drug-development pre-prep program, or a pharmacy-administration path not covered by a named CIP. You’re comfortable verifying the credential gate yourself and asking each school which graduate program, professional school, or employer pipeline its curriculum supports. Pharma sales, clinical research coordination, regulatory affairs associate, and drug-safety associate are realistic bachelor’s-only destinations, and the option to layer a PharmD or master’s on top is open. The reported $106,828 five-year median gives you a defensible floor, but only because most of that figure reflects graduates who continue to professional or graduate study.

Think twice if your goal is a clear, standardized pre-PharmD ramp — Pharmaceutical Sciences (CIP 51.2010, 1,455 completions/yr) is the larger, more uniform track, and most students preparing for pharmacy school file there. Reconsider this route if you want the patient-facing pharmacist role; that path requires a four-year ACPE-accredited PharmD after the bachelor’s and is not optional. The single career listed in the packet, Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary at $105,620, is a doctoral-level academic role and not a typical bachelor’s destination, so don’t treat the wage figure as an entry-level signal. And if you’re drawn to pharmacy-technician work specifically, look at the dedicated Pharmacy Technician/Assistant CIP and its PTCB certification path before committing to a 51.2099 associate’s — only two colleges nationwide grant any associate’s under this code.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Long Island University Brookville, NY 0 135 135
Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA 0 108 108
Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA 0 106 106
Ohio Northern University Ada, OH 0 75 75
University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC 0 72 72
University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, LA 0 45 45
St. John Fisher University Rochester, NY 0 17 17
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian San Sebastian, PR 11 0 11
Drake University Des Moines, IA 0 4 4
Mount Wachusett Community College Gardner, MA 3 0 3
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Pharmaceutical Sciences

1,455 completions/yr

Pharmacy

258 completions/yr

Pharmaceutics and Drug Design

180 completions/yr

Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management

33 completions/yr

Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy

32 completions/yr

Industrial and Physical Pharmacy and Cosmetic Sciences

19 completions/yr

Clinical and Industrial Drug Development

15 completions/yr

Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

13 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does ‘Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other’ actually mean?
CIP 51.2099 is a federal catchall: it captures any pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, or pharmaceutical administration program that doesn’t fit one of the named codes in the 51.20 family. The CIP definition is deliberately broad — anything not listed elsewhere — so two students holding this credential at different schools may have studied substantially different curricula. Programs filed here often cover industrial pharmacy, regulatory affairs, drug-development support, or pharmacy-business tracks that institutions design around regional employers.
How does this compare to Pharmaceutical Sciences (51.2010) or Pharmacy (51.2001)?
The named siblings are clearer in scope. Pharmaceutical Sciences (CIP 51.2010, 1,455 completions) is the standard pre-pharm and pre-research bachelor’s in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmaceutics. Pharmacy (CIP 51.2001, 258 completions) and Pharmaceutics and Drug Design (CIP 51.2003, 180 completions) are narrower variants tied to clinical or formulation work. CIP 51.2099 sits next to all of them and overlaps with several, but the curriculum and credential gates depend entirely on which program your institution offers.
Is this a viable pre-PharmD bachelor’s?
Sometimes, but it’s not the default route. Most students using a bachelor’s as a pre-PharmD ramp file under Pharmaceutical Sciences (CIP 51.2010, 1,455 completions/yr) — that code is the standard preparatory track and is co-located with PharmD schools at MCPHS, Nova Southeastern, Ohio State, and elsewhere. A 51.2099 program may serve the same function at a particular school, but the licensed-pharmacist track requires a PharmD, an ACPE-accredited four-year doctoral program completed after undergraduate study. Verify with each program whether its curriculum prepares you to apply directly to PharmD programs.
What kinds of jobs does this major lead to at the bachelor’s level?
There’s no clean BLS career mapping. The packet’s only listed career is Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary at $105,620 median — a doctoral-level academic role that almost no bachelor’s graduate enters directly. That signals the CIP doesn’t map to a single named occupation. In practice, bachelor’s graduates who don’t go on to a PharmD or PhD tend to land in industry-support work in pharma and biotech: pharmaceutical sales, clinical research coordination, regulatory affairs associate, drug-safety associate, and quality-assurance roles. Where you actually end up depends on which 51.2099 program you complete and which employers it feeds.
Why is the bachelor’s earnings figure so high — $106,828 — for a major with no clear job mapping?
The figure reflects who’s in the cohort five years out, not what a bachelor’s alone is worth. A large share of completers go on to layer a PharmD, a research PhD, or a master’s in regulatory affairs on top of the bachelor’s before earnings are measured. Pharmaceutical Sciences (CIP 51.2010) reports the same $106,828 five-year median for the same reason. A bachelor’s-only stop point in 51.2099 typically lands in the moderate-pay industry-support roles described above, well below the headline figure.
What about the associate’s track listed under this CIP?
The associate’s footprint is vestigial. Of the 16 colleges in the data, only EDP University of Puerto Rico (11 associate completions) and Mount Wachusett Community College (3) report any associate awards under this code — 14 students nationwide, against 568 bachelor’s. Programs that look like pharmacy-technician training mostly file under a different CIP, Pharmacy Technician/Assistant, which has its own dedicated code, certification path (PTCB CPhT), and standardized scope. If you’re considering a community-college pharmacy track, look at that named code first; an associate’s under 51.2099 is a niche outlier whose content depends entirely on the specific school.
Where are programs concentrated, and what should I read into the school list?
Long Island University leads at 135 bachelor’s completions per year, followed by Saint Joseph’s University-Philadelphia (108), Duquesne (106), Ohio Northern (75), and University of South Carolina-Columbia (72). University of Louisiana at Monroe (45) and St. John Fisher (17) round out the bachelor’s-granting tier, and Drake University reports just 4 bachelor’s under this code despite running a well-known direct-entry PharmD program — a sign that most of its pre-PharmD students are reported under other codes. Because 51.2099 is a catchall, the school you choose effectively defines the major. Ask each program directly what its graduates do and whether the curriculum supports the path you’re aiming for.