The
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP),
located in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees
in pharmacy and a variety of other
health-related disciplines. Originally known as the
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, it was the first
college of pharmacy in
North America.
Many of the institution's graduates have gone on to play
significant roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Some of today's
best known pharmaceutical companies were founded by or led by these
graduates.
History
The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) began in 1821,
when 68 Philadelphia apothecaries met in Carpenters' Hall to
establish improved scientific standards and to train more competent
apprentices and students. A year later, they organized and
incorporated the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP), the first
college of pharmacy in the United States. Although matriculation
was originally limited to men, the college became co-educational in
1876. The college initially emphasized the biological and chemical
sciences as mainstays of the curriculum in pharmacy, but later
instituted separate curricula in three other areas: bacteriology,
biology, and chemistry. In 1921, the name of the institution was
changed to
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and
Science, with State authorization to grant not only the
baccalaureate degree but also the master's and doctorate in all
four disciplines.
Primarily a commuter campus through its early days, the institution
began to transform into one in which residential life and
extracurricular activities played a larger role in student
development. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the
institution's application for university status in February 1997.
In recognition of the broad spectrum of new health and science
programs introduced by the institution, the college changed its
name to reflect the range of academic opportunities offered to its
students. On July 1, 1998, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and
Science officially became the University of the Sciences in
Philadelphia.
Shaping the Profession of Pharmacy
William Procter, Jr., often described as "the father of American
pharmacy," was a PCP professor from 1846-1874, as well as serving
as an officer of the board. He was instrumental in the founding of
the American Pharmaceutical Association, the national professional
society of pharmacists, founded and organized in Philadelphia in
1852. It is now called the American Pharmacists Association (APhA),
the first established and largest professional association of
pharmacists in the United States. The more than 50,000 members of
APhA include practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists,
pharmacy students, pharmacy technicians, and others interested in
advancing the profession
In 1868, John Maisch, PCP professor (1866-1893) and dean
(1879-1893) proposed the creation of a pharmaceutical board to be
appointed by the governor of each state and established the term
“registered pharmacist.” He shared his proposal with each governor,
and by 1878 nine states had adopted pharmacy laws that licensed
pharmacists. Every state now, of course, has a Board of Pharmacy
which regulates the practice of pharmacy.
Started in 1820, the U.S. Pharmacopoeia laid down the standards for
manufacturing drugs. For more than a hundred years, PCP faculty
members were instrumental in its development, serving as editors
throughout many editions.
In 1825, the first periodical in the United States devoted to the
art and science of pharmacy, the American Journal of Pharmacy, was
published by PCP.
PCP professors Franklin Bache and George B. Wood compiled a
comprehensive commentary on drugs, the Dispensatory of the United
States of America. First published in 1833, the Dispensatory was
authored and edited for more than a hundred years by successive
generations of faculty at the college.
In 1885, PCP professor Joseph P. Remington published the Practice
of Pharmacy, which soon became established as the standard text in
the field. Later renamed Remington: The Science and Practice of
Pharmacy, this comprehensive reference work remains widely used
throughout the world and is still compiled by the University. USP
is in final preparation for the 21st edition, which is also
published in Spanish.
Marvin Samson Center for the History of Pharmacy
The Marvin Samson Center for the History of Pharmacy is an integral
part of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. The
Center’s mission is to serve as an educational, cultural, and
research resource for the University, pharmacy professionals,
historians, and the general public through its collections of
artifacts, objects, and records representative of all aspects of
pharmacy, including the pharmacy college’s history. Through
changing exhibitions, tours, and programs, the Center aims to
deepen appreciation of the past, present, and future significance
of the pharmacy industry in the broader social context and in the
development of American life, especially in the City of
Philadelphia and the region.
Campus Expansion Program
The university doubled the size of the campus in 1998 when it
acquired an adjacent, vacant industrial site. (This site was
formerly the home of the original Breyers Ice Cream factory which
closed its Philadelphia operation in the early 1990s.) An Athletic
and Recreation Center (ARC) opened in August 2003 and the McNeil
Science and Technology Center (McNeil STC) was officially dedicated
September 2006. Additional building projects are being planned for
the years to come.
The McNeil Science and Technology Center houses many new
classrooms, computer research rooms, and teaching laboratories as
well as the undergraduate and graduate programs in biology,
bioinformatics/computer science, and math/physics/statistics. The
centerpiece of the center is a 400-seat auditorium equipped with
modern audio/visual equipment.
Academics
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia has 23 majors for
students to choose from including two recently introduced programs,
Humanities and Science and Fitness and Health Management. Students
will engage in the study of both Humanities and Science, with
courses directed to higher studies of their choice including
medical school, law school, and biomedical writing.
In the Fitness and Health Management program, students will be
provided a foundation for graduate degrees or careers in athletic
training, sports administration, fitness/wellness, health education
and other related fields that combine health sciences with exercise
physiology, kinesiology, and sports psychology. Rather than
focusing on illness and pathology, the curriculum focuses on the
prevention of health problems.
USP also offers a Masters program in Biomedical Writing. This is
the only graduate program in the United States that is geared
towards preparing and training medical writers in preclinical and
clinical research, medical communications, journalism, and medical
publications.
Colleges & Majors
The
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy offers a
Pharm.D. degree as well as
B.S. degrees in
Pharmacology and
Toxicology,
Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management,
and
Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The
Samson College of Health Sciences offers B.S.
degrees in
Fitness and Health Management,
Health
Science, and
Medical Technology.
On top of a Health
Science degree, the college also offers a Master's of Occupational Therapy (M.O.T.), a
Doctor of Physical
Therapy, (D.P.T.) and in conjunction with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine
, an M.S. in Physician Assistant
Studies.
The
Misher College of Arts & Sciences offers
B.S. degrees in
Biology,
Biochemistry,
Bioinformatics,
Chemistry,
Computer
Science,
Environmental Science,
Humanities and
Science,
Microbiology,
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, and
Psychology. The school also offers an
M.S. in
Health
Psychology, Science Teacher Certification, and courses of
study in Pre-Medicine, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, and
Pre-Dentistry.
The
College of Graduate Studies offers many
Post-Baccalaureate programs resulting in an M.S. (with or without a
thesis),
M.B.A.,
M.P.H.,
Ph.D., Pharm.D., M.O.T,
or Transitional D.P.T degree or a Science Teacher Certification.
The college's non-thesis M.S. programs are in
Biochemistry,
Bioinformatics,
Biomedical
Writing,
Cell Biology and Biotechnology,
Chemistry,
Health Psychology,
Health
Policy,
Pharmaceutics, or
Pharmacy
Administration. The college's (thesis) M.S. programs are in
Biochemistry,
Cell Biology and Biotechnology,
Chemistry,
Pharmaceutics,
Pharmacognosy,
Pharmacology and Toxicology, or
Pharmacy
Administration. The MBA programs include Online, Executive,
and Evening programs in Pharmaceutical Business, an MPH program
(Master of Public Health) and this division also offers a Health
Policy Concentration. The college offers Ph.D. programs in
Biochemistry, Chemistry, Health Policy, Pharmaceutics,
Pharmacognosy, and Pharmacology and Toxicology.
The
Mayes College of Healthcare Business &
Policy offers three MBA programs in pharmaceutical
business, B.S. degrees in pharmaceutical marketing and management,
Long Term Care Facilities Management,
Regulatory
Affairs and Compliance, and
Global Healthcare
Leadership as well as a Ph.D. in
Health Sciences
Management. This College was launched in Fall 2007 with
support from alumna
Kate Mayes.
Minors
Minors are offered in the following: Biochemistry, Bioinformatics,
Biology, Biophysics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Fitness and
Health Management, Forensic Science, Humanities, Literature,
Mathematics, Microbiology, Music, Pharmaceutical Business,
Pharmaceutical Marketing, Physics, Social Sciences (Communications,
Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Social Sciences), Spanish,
Statistics, and Writing.
Exchange Agreements
The
university has an exchange agreement with the University of
the Arts 
that allows ten students from each university to
take one course a semester at the other.The university also
has an agreement with the New York University
Study Abroad Program that will allow USP students
to study at NYU campuses in Asia, Africa, and Europe for a semester
or a year.
The J.W. England Library
The Library of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia was
formed in 1821 at the second meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Since its beginnings the Library has been considered one of the
premier collections of pharmaceutical science in the country. In
1973, the Library moved into its present quarters, the
free-standing Joseph W. England Library. Small but specialized, the
collection is particularly strong in pharmacy, pharmacognosy,
pharmaceutics, and foreign drug compendia. Other areas of
specialization include toxicology, pharmacology, and physical
therapy. Contained in the Leopold Helfand Rare Book and Archives
Room is a collection of seventeenth and eighteenth century
botanicals, including a book once owned by Isaac Newton. Since the
University and its graduates were fundamental to the building of
the United States pharmaceutical industry, the University Archives
are of interest to anyone researching the origins of the
pharmaceutical industry.
Alumni
USP has launched the careers of many innovative and pioneering
individuals in the field of health care, including the founders of
six of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies:
Major pharmaceuticals
- John Wyeth (Class of 1854) - Founder
of John Wyeth & Brother, which is now part of Wyeth.
- William R.
Warner (Class of 1856) -
Co-founder of Warner-Lambert Company, Inc., which merged with
Pfizer and whose consumer business was later
sold to Johnson &
Johnson
.
- Sir Henry Wellcome (Class of
1874) - Co-founder of Burroughs Wellcome and Company, which is now
part of GlaxoSmithKline.
- Robert McNeil (Class of 1876) -
Grandfather of Robert L. McNeil, Jr. ('38), Founder of McNeil Laboratories Inc., now part of
Johnson &
Johnson.
- Silas M.
Burroughs
(Class of 1877) - Co-founder of Burroughs Wellcome and Company,
which is now part of GlaxoSmithKline.
- Josiah K. Lilly Sr. (Class of 1882) - Father of
Eli Lilly ('07). President of Eli
Lilly and Company. The company was founded by Josiah's father,
Colonel Eli Lilly.
- Eli Lilly (Class of
1907) - President of Eli Lilly and
Company. The company was founded by Eli's grandfather, Colonel Eli Lilly.
- Gerald F. Rorer (Class of 1931) - Founder of Rorer
Pharmaceuticals, which is now part of Sanofi-Aventis.
- Robert L. McNeil, Jr. (Class of 1938) - Chairman
and CEO of McNeil Laboratories
Inc., now part of Johnson & Johnson. Campus building named after him.
Accomplished alumni
Alumni Contributions
USP alumni have also contributed to the inventions of well-known
products, including:
- Hires Root Beer extract
- Photocopy toner and electrographic inks
- Polyurethanes
- Silicone-based adhesives
- Water repellency treatments
- Gas discharge laser development
- Plant growth regulators
- Personal Lubricants
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