page_title: University of the Sciences
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: University of the Sciences / History
caption_attribution_description: English: University of the Sciences
context_page_description: University of the Sciences, officially the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, is a private university in Philadelphia, United States. USciences offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in pharmacy and other health-related disciplines. USciences was established in 1821 as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, to become the first pharmacy college in the nation.
context_section_description: The history of University of the Sciences began when 68 Philadelphia apothecaries met in Carpenters' Hall in 1821 to establish improved scientific standards and to train more competent apprentices and students. They sought to enhance their vocation, as well as protect public welfare. Nearly a year later, they organized and incorporated the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP), the first college of pharmacy in the nation. 
  Today, the university has 52 degree-granting programs in three colleges. Its more than 2,200 students have enrolled in premier programs in the health sciences, ranging across pharmacy with its direct entry doctoral program to pre-med to physical therapy to healthcare business and health policy. Students study almost the entire range of the health sciences in one of its three colleges:
  Philadelphia College of Pharmacy — North America's first school of pharmacy and the start of the University, graduates the pharmacists and scientists who deliver and discover the healthcare innovations that advance patient care.
  Samson College of Health Sciences — educates the vital healthcare professionals who add immeasurably to the quality of life at each step—from prevention to diagnosis to recovery of the patient care continuum.
  Misher College of Arts and Sciences — provides a specialized undergraduate foundation for the sciences, with research and discovery at its core, for students seeking advanced degrees to lead in the basic and applied health sciences and serve humanity.
  After its conception in 1821, the college began to grow in enrollment, curriculum, and stature. Although matriculation was originally limited to men, the college became coeducational in 1876, and issued the first pharmacy degree to a woman in the United States, Dr. Susan Hayhurst, in 1883. 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.
  As the world of science continuously made advancements throughout the decades, the college evolved and expanded its curriculum to prepare students for the new wave of scientific breakthroughs. The college also enhanced the role of the humanities and social sciences in its science-based curricula. Primarily a commuter campus in 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 broader range of academic opportunities offered to its students. On July 1, 1998, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science officially unveiled its new identity as University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
  A brand update in 2010 refocused the University's messaging and logos. The overall name was simplified for marketing purposes to University of the Sciences in order to emphasize a national and global reach, while a new logo transitioned the USP acronym to USciences to address awareness issues. In addition, the tag line “Where science and healthcare converge” was adopted to define both what the University is and what it is not.
  In September 2017, the University launched a tuition reset for all students who enroll beginning in fall 2018. Undergraduate students will not pay more than $25,000 per year in tuition and general fee* for undergraduate coursework. And for those students who are accepted into one of the University's accelerated, 6-year doctoral programs in pharmacy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy, the University lowered and simplified the tuition and general fee*. The 
caption: Campus entrance
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