Established in 1972, The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia is the first pharmacy school in Malaysia. The School offers Bachelor of Pharmacy and Masters of Pharmacy in Clinical Pharmacy degree by coursework and Masters of Science and Doctoral degrees by research. The degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours is offered through a four-year programme.
 

The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences started its first intake of 22 students in 1972, 4 years after Universiti Sains Malaysia was established in Penang. During its brief history, the School has undergone many changes and developments, both physical and academic. It moved to the present premises in 1991, and now has modern and well-equipped laboratories for teaching and research. The current staff strength stands at 44 full-time lecturers and 20 administrative staff and 42 technical staff members. In addition, the School is also using the services of about 11 part-time lecturers from other schools or centres of the University, 15 honorary consultants/lecturers from the Health Department of Penang, Hospital Pulau Pinang and Hospital Seberang Jaya, 10 honorary lecturers form Kubang Kerian, Kelantan and 30 Pharmacy Preceptors for its clinical program.

To date, the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences has produced more than 2000 undergraduates and around 180 postgraduate students, many of whom are presently holding important positions in the public and corporate sectors. Due to the increasing demand for pharmacy education in Malaysia, the annual intake has increased to 133 students in the 2002/2003 Academic Session. Even with the increase and recent establishment of two more departments of pharmacy in University of Malaya and National University of Malaysia (1995) respectively, entrance requirements into
pharmacy course remains very competitive. The School has started external pharmacy degree programme with University College Sedaya International (UCSI), Kuala Lumpur by smart partnership programme with private institutes of higher learning. Besides that, the School has also started external pharmacy degree programme with Kolej Teknologi Pulau (ICT), Pulau Pinang since the year 2006. There are local postgraduate students as well as those from foreign countries, including students from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Libya, Ghana, Yemen, Sudan, India, St.Vincent, Jordan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Iraq and Nepal.

In addition to teaching the undergraduate programme, which is the main priority of the School since its establishment, research activities are also emphasized and are part of the culture of the School. Since 10 years ago, research activities have increased by leaps and bounds, some in close collaboration with local research institutions and others with foreign universities. Most of the research projects are supported by government or private research grants that are awarded to the lecturers involved. The School also undertakes much consultation work for the local pharmaceutical industry as well as for some multinational companies. Some of the activities include in-vivo bioavailability studies, chemical and drug analyses, pyrogen testing, product development and toxicity and biological assays. The School is also a member of Association of American College of Pharmacy (AACP).