Welcome to the Graduate Diploma in Pharmacy Leadership (GDPL)!
Accelerating Your Development as a Pharmacy Leader
Pharmacists like you can now elevate their readiness for leadership roles in just 11 months. The Graduate Diploma in Pharmacy Leadership (GDPL) is an online program comprised of five courses designed for pharmacists to immediately apply the leadership knowledge and skills they gain to their workplace.
Program Overview
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Diploma in Pharmacy Leadership (GDPL) program is designed to prepare pharmacists with leadership aspirations to respond to the profession’s demand for outstanding leaders with a broad perspective of the healthcare system, and a solid understanding of how pharmacy connects with it. Led by influential faculty members with accomplished careers, and with curricular contributions from the UBC Sauder School of Business, the GDPL’s 11-month, online program (with a mandatory one-week in-person leadership immersive component) allows pharmacists to apply learned leadership knowledge and skills to their jobs in real-time.
100% of program participants said it is helping them develop the following leadership competencies they have set out to achieve for themselves:
- Lead effectively in an evolving pharmacy landscape/make a larger impact
- Take on roles where they can advance the profession
- Better prepare them for the demands of the profession
- Stand out in a competitive job market
- Move to a role where they can develop or enhance professional leadership skills
- Deal better with day-to-day workplace challenges
- Experience general personal growth
- Improve confidence in leading a team effectively
- Help others grow and improve
- Network with like-minded leaders, colleagues, and peers
87% of program participants identified that the program is helping them gain new confidence and clarity in their career goals, and 100% of them stated that they would recommend the program.
Message from the Program Director
Program Details
Grounded in the latest thinking on leader development (Am J Pharm Educ. 2024;88(12):101317. doi:10.1016/j.ajpe.2024.101317), the GDPL curriculum is intentionally designed to cultivate leadership through a contemporary, evidence-informed approach. Recognizing that leadership capacity in developing leaders grows from a foundation of skill acquisition, identity formation, and self-regulation, the program supports pharmacists in exploring their passions, building on their lived experiences, and navigating leadership challenges authentic to the workplace. With built-in training in coaching methodologies and frequent touch-points with expert mentors, we provide an approach to leader development that moves beyond traditional assessments such as exams, offering meaningful opportunities for students to build on their prior experiences, leverage real-time opportunities in their workplace, and reflect critically on their leadership journey.
In this program, students embark on a transformative journey where leadership knowledge and skills become the catalyst for personal and professional growth. The program offers opportunities to engage with a professional coach. Thoughtfully designed activities help students unlock their leadership potential, adopt effective strategies for advancement in their professional endeavours, and chart their roadmap for success.
The Curriculum
The program grants a Graduate Diploma in Pharmacy Leadership (GDPL) credential and is comprised of five courses, designed to be completed in 11 months. The curriculum is delivered online (with mainly asynchronous and some mandatory synchronous components), making it accessible and flexible for pharmacists who live and practice across urban and rural areas. Only a small portion is conducted in-person during the mandatory 1-week program orientation and leadership immersive in September, at the UBC Vancouver campus.
Small class size comprised of pharmacists from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.
Five Sequential Courses:
Themes across the curriculum also include the “leader identity formation”, and equity, diversity and inclusion in leadership.
The GDPL curriculum is aligned with the LEADS in a Caring Environment framework, a well-recognized and adopted guide for leadership development in health professions in Canada. The five leadership domains of the LEADS framework (Lead Self, Engage Others, Achieve Results, Develop Coalitions and Systems Transformation) represent an evidence-based model for leadership development around key skills, behaviours, abilities and knowledge to lead in the Canadian health care system.
The GDPL Faculty
The GDPL leverages the Faculty’s experience and track record of excellence within the UBC and pharmacy communities. The quality of faculty who have been involved in the design of the GDPL have the expertise, innovation and scholarly record to deliver program excellence. Pharmacists enrolled in the program will learn from expert and award-winning faculty with exemplary teaching experience and who collectively bring decades of experience developing, inspiring and supporting students, as well as leading within a range of domains in the profession.
Admissions
If you are a licensed pharmacist or are eligible for pharmacy licensure in your local jurisdiction and are interested in applying to the GDPL Program, we invite you to learn details through the link below.
See admissions information
Tuition and Fees
Tuition is calculated per credit as listed in the UBC Academic Calendar for graduate diploma programs, plus applicable additional fees as approved by the Board of Governors or Student Societies. Program tuition for the 2026–2027 academic year for domestic and international students is assessed in 3 equal instalments of approximately $3,470 CAD and $5,900 CAD respectively, payable in September 2026, January 2027 and May 2027.
Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the Board of Governors and are subject to change. In alignment with the University, tuition is payable in September, January and May, based on a schedule of 6 credits per academic term. Detailed information on tuition and other student fees can be found in the UBC Academic Calendar.
To Get Started
Pharmacists interested in beginning their leadership journey in the GDPL are invited to complete the straightforward online application form and connect with program advisors for support at any point in the process.
Book an appointment with an advisor
Information Sessions
The next information session will be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.
Contact Us
To speak with a GDPL program representative, contact our office at 604-822-1945 or pharmsci.gdpl@ubc.ca.