On Aug. 21, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)/Idaho State University (ISU) Doctor of Pharmacy program hosted their annual white coat ceremony, an event that marks the beginning of the 2026 cohort's four-year journey to becoming pharmacists. This year’s white coat ceremony was cause for extra celebration, as it marked the 10th anniversary of the partnership’s founding.

Over 100 years ago, ISU established its College of Pharmacy in Pocatello, Idaho. In 2000, the program expanded to Meridian, Idaho, in an attempt to accommodate growing regional healthcare needs. Shortly after, healthcare officials in the state of Alaska began recognizing the growing need for pharmacists here.

After seven years of advocacy to the Alaska state legislature, UA Board of Regents and other state and university officials, ISU made the third expansion of its pharmacy program in Anchorage in 2016.

How exactly does this partnership work? A single cohort joins the program each year split between the three campuses, with students choosing which campus they want to attend. All instruction is offered hybrid and in real time. Whether the instructor is lecturing from Pocatello, Meridian or Anchorage, students at the other two campuses participate in the same lesson, connected through videoconferencing.

After three years in the classroom, students complete one year of clinical rotations. According to Alaska Programs Coordinator Mara Seignemartin, students have many rural and urban opportunities for clinical rotations. “The really neat thing about this program is that students never have to leave the state to get their degree,” Seignemartin shared.

Prior to this partnership, students interested in pharmacy had no choice but to leave Alaska to complete schooling and clinical rotations. Under that model, only about 40% would return to the state as healthcare professionals. Now, 95% of students who attend the program through the Anchorage campus stay in Alaska after graduation.

A decade after obtaining her undergraduate degree, Carrie Urena, Pharm.D., was encouraged by her mother to apply for the program. “My mom was like, ‘You know, they have a program now in state,’ because leaving [Alaska] was not really something I wanted to do.” As an Alaska Native, it was important to Urena to stay in state and for her education to be “given back to the tribal system.”

Urena, like most alumni of the Anchorage program, has continued to live and work in Alaska. She is currently in the process of establishing her own opioid treatment program, Rising Roots Recovery, in Anchorage with plans to open in December of this year. She credits the UAA/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program for connecting her with the Alaska Pharmacy Association and the Alaska Board of Pharmacy, encouraging her to be highly engaged with legislative issues that impact the work she continues today.

Urena encourages prospective students interested in learning more about the UAA/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy to connect with the program staff. “I advocate for the program,” Urena shared. “It’s a great program. It really was a great experience for me.”

Applications to join the 2027 cohort are now open. Those interested in applying or learning more should contact Alaska Programs Coordinator Mara Seignemartin at maraseignemartin@isu.edu or call 907-786-6553.