Founded in 1872, it is the oldest pharmacy school in California and the western United States.

For 41 consecutive years it has been the top recipient of NIH funding among all US pharmacy programs, with a total of $40.9 million in awards in 2020 (increasing almost $15 million from the previous year).

At the time, the school became the first in the West and the tenth in the United States.

The objectives of the founders were to “advance pharmaceutical knowledge and elevate the professional character of apothecaries throughout California.”[4] On June 2, 1873, the college affiliates with the University of California, shortly after the Toland Medical College affiliates.

[5] In 2018, it transitioned its PharmD curriculum from 4 years to a 3-year, year-round program.