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About the College of Pharmacy

Educating outstanding pharmacists for over 100 years, breaking new ground in education, research and patient care.

MUSC Pharmacy has been around since the Chester Arthur administration, just three years after Thomas Edison was credited with inventing the first light bulb.

The MUSC pharmacy program was first established in 1881 and, for more than 140 years, it has been an innovator in pharmacy education. It was the first college in the country to require a clinical experience for its undergraduates and the first to require that its clinical instructors be practitioners. It was the first college in the Southeast to have an American Society of Health-system Pharmacists accredited residency program.

An early advocate for interprofessional education and technology adoption, it has remained a leader in expanding boundaries and ideas. MUSC’s first female professor, Mary Maxine Larisey, Ph.D., was in the College of Pharmacy. One of MUSC’s first two African-American graduates, James Hodges, earned his degree in the College of Pharmacy.

The program leading to a bachelor’s degree began in 1936, the doctor of pharmacy program began in 1973, and the Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences began in 1982.

  • Today, U.S. News & World Report ranks the MUSC pharmacy program among the top 25 percent for pharmacy education.
  • The College of Pharmacy enrolls around 280 students in the Pharm.D. program. It also offers the Ph.D. program (with the College of Graduate Studies), and concurrent degree programs Pharm.D/Ph.D., Pharm.D./MSHI, and Pharm.D./MBA (with The Citadel).
  • In addition, the College of Pharmacy remains closely affiliated with one of the largest and most respected pharmacy residency programs in the country.
  • In 2023, after 80 years in the historic Michael P. Araneo Building on Calhoun Street, the College of Pharmacy moved into a brand new facility in the heart of the MUSC campus
Learn More About Our History

Accreditation Statement

The Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy’s doctor of pharmacy program has been granted accredited status by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

190 S. Lasalle Street
Suite 3000
Chicago, IL 60603-3446
Email contact:  info@acpe-accredit.org
(312) 664-3575
Website: Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education