Pharmacy education in India has been primarily focused on the pharma industry, in order to achieve self-sufficiency in medicines at affordable prices. Advent of globalization, penetration of the Internet, increasing western influence and rising patient expectations have led to the Pharmacy Council of India introducing PharmD in 2008, with pharmaceutical care as its primary educational focus.  PharmD is the first professional degree, and a prerequisite for licensing to practice as a pharmacist in many countries. Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences is among the pioneers in having introduced PharmD from the very beginning, supported by a team of teachers with excellent international exposure at leading universities and health centers of USA and Canada.  The multi-speciality clinical environment provides an exemplary training ground for practice-based pharmacy education. PharmD curriculum focuses on core pharmacy courses in the first two years, followed by four years in the clinical setting.

PharmD students are fully integrated into the multi-disciplinary, multi-speciality health care team of 2032 bedded Kasturba Hospital from the fourth year, concluding with a  first-rate comprehensive muti-speciality internship in the final year. Interns may also train themselves at other recognized centres in India or abroad for a maximum of three months. PharmD trains students to work in hospital settings, relevant industry environments and to pursue higher degrees or clinical research in the international setting.

• Patient care, intimate contact with clinicians and other members of the health care team
• Opportunity to participate in several international seminars and continuing education programs
• Carrying out research projects in collaboration with many reputed universities in India and abroad
• Proper training in solving drug query and literature search
• Hands-on training on different software like SPSS, Micromedex and Winnonlin.
• Industrial training to meet the existing demand

• The course is conducted as per the annual basis
• Three sessional exams will be conducted in each subject and the average will be calculated as best 2 out of 3
• The academic performance of a student is evaluated at two levels, internally by the course instructors concerned and at the university level as per the Manipal Academy of Higher Education procedure laid for the conduct of the university examination.
• Theory examination pattern: Section A: long essays; Section B: short essays; Section C: give reasons for the following
• Practical examination pattern: synopsis, major experiment, minor experiment and viva voce
• Attendance: 80% is the minimum attendance required to be eligible to appear for the university exams