diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
index 8541384e8313..05373cd1cbda 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
@@ -28,8 +28,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     "-DINTERFACE64=${optionalString openblas.blas64 "1"}"
   ];
 
-  preCheck = ''
+  preCheck = if stdenv.isDarwin then ''
+    export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH:`pwd`/lib
+  '' else ''
     export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:`pwd`/lib
+  '' + ''
     # Prevent tests from using all cores
     export OMP_NUM_THREADS=2
   '';