Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other.

Degree Overview

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other (CIP 51.2099) is a flexible “catch-all” category for specialized pharmacy-related programs that don’t fit neatly into the more common pharmacy and pharmaceutical science labels. Officially, it includes any instructional program in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration not listed elsewhere.

On a degree-search site, this CIP code matters because it often hides some of the most modern and career-targeted programs in the medication world—programs that combine science, healthcare operations, policy, business, and technology. Instead of training only for the traditional “pharmacist behind the counter” pathway, 51.2099 frequently covers degrees that prepare you to work in drug development, medication safety, regulatory compliance, managed care, pharmaceutical analytics, quality systems, commercialization, supply chain, and leadership. Think of it as the umbrella for “pharmacy-adjacent” and “pharma-systems” degrees that are designed to match how healthcare actually works today.

If you are the kind of student who likes the idea of pharmaceuticals—but you also care about how the system decides which drugs get approved, how they get paid for, how they’re distributed, and how outcomes are measured—this CIP code can represent a perfect fit. It’s for people who want to influence medication use at scale, where the impact is measured in safer protocols, smoother operations, better access, and smarter decisions.

What Is a Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other Degree?

A 51.2099 program is best understood as a custom or interdisciplinary pharmacy/pharmaceutical degree. Schools use it when a program overlaps multiple pharmacy-related areas or focuses on a niche that isn’t captured by the standard CIP categories.

Depending on the school, a 51.2099 degree might resemble a blend of:

• Pharmacy administration and healthcare management
• Pharmaceutical sciences with a focus on development or manufacturing systems
• Regulatory affairs and policy for drug approval, labeling, and compliance
• Pharmacoeconomics, outcomes research, and value-based care
• Clinical research operations and trial management
• Medication safety, quality assurance, and risk management
• Pharmaceutical supply chain, distribution, and logistics
• Pharmaceutical marketing, product strategy, and commercialization

In plain terms, it’s a degree about how medications become real-world healthcare—and how organizations make that process safe, efficient, ethical, and sustainable.

Why This CIP Code Exists and Why It’s Useful

Pharmacy and pharma are evolving fast: specialty drugs, biologics, gene therapies, real-world evidence, stricter compliance, global supply chains, and rising costs have created jobs that didn’t exist a generation ago. Universities respond by building new programs that combine disciplines—and 51.2099 is the category that captures those hybrids.

For students, that’s good news. 51.2099 can signal a program designed around modern roles that sit between science and operations. If you want options beyond traditional pharmacist or bench scientist paths, this code is often where the interesting programs live.

What Will You Learn?

Because 51.2099 is broad, the exact curriculum varies. But most programs share a common goal: helping you understand pharmaceuticals as a system with scientific, regulatory, economic, and operational layers.

Core Skills You’ll Build

Students in this area often learn to:

• Interpret drug and health data to support evidence-based decisions
• Understand the medication lifecycle, from development to post-market monitoring
• Apply quality and safety frameworks to reduce errors and improve outcomes
• Navigate compliance expectations and documentation standards
• Communicate complex scientific or regulatory topics clearly to stakeholders
• Evaluate costs, coverage, and access barriers that shape medication use
• Improve workflows in pharmacy operations, managed care, or industry settings

Topics You May Explore

Coursework may include subjects like:

• Drug development and clinical trials (phases, protocols, ethics, trial operations)
• Regulatory affairs (FDA processes, submissions, labeling, GMP concepts)
• Medication safety and pharmacovigilance (adverse event reporting, risk mitigation)
• Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes (cost-effectiveness, formulary decision-making)
• Healthcare systems and policy (how laws, payers, and providers shape access)
• Pharmaceutical operations (supply chain, inventory systems, dispensing workflows)
• Quality assurance (process controls, auditing, continuous improvement)
• Communication and leadership (project management, stakeholder alignment)

What Jobs Can You Get With This Degree?

A major advantage of 51.2099 is career flexibility. Graduates can work in hospitals, insurance and managed care, pharmaceutical companies, biotech, clinical research organizations (CROs), wholesalers, public health agencies, and health-tech.

Common job directions include:

• Regulatory Affairs Specialist (helping products meet approval and compliance requirements)
• Clinical Research Coordinator / Clinical Trial Manager (supporting studies that test new therapies)
• Pharmacovigilance / Drug Safety Associate (monitoring and analyzing adverse events)
• Quality Assurance Specialist (ensuring processes meet standards in manufacturing or operations)
• Managed Care / Formulary Analyst (supporting coverage decisions and value assessments)
• Pharmacy Operations Manager (improving workflows, staffing, inventory, and patient service)
• Medical Affairs / Scientific Communications (translating evidence into usable guidance)
• Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Analyst (optimizing distribution and availability)
• Health Outcomes Analyst (measuring real-world effectiveness and costs)

Some roles may require additional credentials or graduate study, but 51.2099 is often a strong foundation because it builds cross-functional understanding—a major advantage in pharma and healthcare.

Where Can You Work?

Graduates commonly find opportunities in settings like:

• Hospitals and health systems (operations, medication safety, quality)
• Insurance companies and PBMs (coverage policy, formulary analysis, utilization)
• Pharmaceutical and biotech companies (regulatory, quality, safety, operations)
• Clinical research organizations (trial coordination and management)
• Government and public health (policy, oversight, program evaluation)
• Health-tech and analytics companies (data-driven medication management tools)

This is a degree category that naturally aligns with industries where medications are treated as both science and strategy.

Is This Degree Hard?

Difficulty depends on the program’s emphasis. If it leans toward pharmaceutical science, expect heavier chemistry, biology, and research methods. If it leans toward administration and systems, expect more policy, analytics, operations, and management.

The common challenge is that you’re learning across disciplines. You’re not just memorizing facts—you’re learning how to connect scientific evidence to real-world constraints like regulation, budgets, ethics, logistics, and patient outcomes. That “systems mindset” is exactly what makes the degree valuable.

Who Should Choose CIP 51.2099 Specifically?

This CIP code may be a great match if you:

• Want a pharma career but don’t want a traditional pharmacist track
• Like both science and decision-making (policy, operations, analytics)
• Want roles that influence medication access, safety, and cost
• Prefer “behind-the-scenes impact” that scales across organizations
• Want a versatile credential that can pivot across healthcare and industry

How to Prepare in High School (and Early College)

To build a strong foundation, focus on science, communication, and analytics:

• Take biology and chemistry seriously (especially if the program is science-heavy)
• Build math and data confidence (statistics helps a lot in outcomes and research)
• Practice writing and presenting (clear communication is huge in compliance and policy)
• Explore health and business electives (public health, economics, intro management)
• Try a small project around medications and systems (drug shortages, pricing, access, safety)

If you want a pharmaceutical career that blends science with real-world systems—regulation, quality, safety, value, and operations—CIP 51.2099 is often where the most modern and specialized programs show up.