PPSF Undergraduate Program

The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences started its first intake of 22 students in 1972, 4 years after University of Science 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 premise in 1991, and now has modern and well-equipped laboratories for teaching and research. The current staff strength stands at 37 full-time lecturers and 50 non-academic/technical staff members. A few more academic staff are currently pursuing their doctorate degrees overseas. In addition, the School is also using the services of about 13 part-time lecturers from other schools or centers of the University, including a number of clinicians from the Penang General Hospital for its clinical program.

To date, the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences has produced over 1500 undergraduate and more than 100 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 130 students since 2003. Even with the increase and recent establishment of two more departments of pharmacy in University of Malaya and National University of Malaysia respectively, entrance requirement into pharmacy remains very competitive. In addition to undergraduate teaching, the School also offers postgraduate studies by research leading to Master of Science and Doctoral degrees, and by coursework leading to a Master of Pharmacy degree in clinical pharmacy. Currently, most of the postgraduate students are from overseas, coming from Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and as far as Ghana, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. 

The school also undertakes many 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 biological assays. In the short period of its existence, the School can be proud of its achievements and its standing as one of the premier school of pharmacy in this part of the world. 

School of pharmaceutical sciences is also a member of Association of American College of Pharmacy (AACP) and is the first national pharmacy school to be accredited by the Malaysian Accreditation Board.