Department of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy

The Department of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy (DCSAP), formerly known as the Department of Pharmacy, was established in 1916. The College was previously under the College of Liberal Arts in 1911 where a 3-year course program leading to the degree of Graduate in Pharmacy (PhG) was instituted to train the students in the field of Dispensing Pharmacy. In 1913-14, the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a 4-year course was introduced with more extensive training in the fields of bacteriology, chemistry, or pharmacy. Thirty-two students started the PhG course where only 8 of them graduated, after which 6 students out of the 8 first graduates continued their studies for another year to obtain the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSP) degree. In 1935, the Board of Regents approved the change of status of the school to that of an autonomous college. In 2005, a 5-year Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy was implemented in response to the global change in the curriculum of pharmacy and pharmacy practice. In 2018, a revised Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program was implemented with a refocused emphasis on Clinical Pharmacy and Social and Administrative Pharmacy to better prepare graduates for contemporary pharmacy practice that features a comprehensive system-based pharmacotherapeutics program leading to a clinical graduation track, providing students with in-depth clinical training and expertise. In 2023, the Department offered the first and only Master of Science in Social and Administrative Pharmacy in the Philippines, further strengthening its commitment to advancing pharmacy education and research in this critical field. These developments converged in the present day when in October 2023, the Department of Pharmacy was officially renamed to the Department of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy (DCSAP) to better reflect its expanded scope and contemporary pharmacy practice focus.

The Department encompasses two vital areas of pharmacy practice: Clinical Pharmacy and Social and Administrative Pharmacy. Clinical Pharmacy focuses on patient-centered pharmaceutical care, involving direct patient interaction, medication therapy management, clinical decision-making, and collaboration with healthcare teams to optimize patient outcomes. Social and Administrative Pharmacy addresses the broader aspects of pharmacy practice, including healthcare systems, pharmacy management, pharmaceutical policy, pharmacoeconomics, pharmacoepidemiology, and the social and behavioral dimensions of medication use. The faculty members of DCSAP include internationally trained experts with doctoral degrees in Pharmacy (PharmD), Pharmacology, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Health Economics and Pharmacoepidemiology, among others. This brings in diverse and specialized knowledge to the Department. DCSAP is also actively training the next generation of faculty members, ensuring sustained excellence in pharmacy education, research and extension services.

Guided by a vision and mission aligned with those of the College and the University, the Department aims to develop future 7-star pharmacists and champions of change in the pharmacy profession. Graduates are expected to uphold the values of honor, excellence, and service, and most importantly, to deliver high-quality pharmaceutical care and patient-oriented pharmacy services for the Filipino people as products of the country’s Premier National University. 

The Department offers the BS Pharmacy program, implemented through a comprehensive suite of biomedical and pharmacy practice courses for a strong and sustained emphasis on Pharmacotherapeutics and Clinical Pharmacy. The BS Pharmacy program has a particular distinction in its vertically integrated Pharmacotherapeutics series comprising 23 academic units, one of the most substantial in the Philippine undergraduate pharmacy education landscape, aimed at providing in-depth, system-based and case-driven training that integrates pharmacology, pathophysiology, and evidence-based clinical decision-making across the lifespan and disease states. The sequence is complemented by Wellness and Health Promotion, Hospital Pharmacy, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmacoepidemiology, and Pharmacy Management courses, ensuring that students develop strong competencies in patient assessment, therapeutic planning, monitoring, and interprofessional collaboration, consistent with contemporary standards of patient-centered pharmacy practice. Foundational pharmacy practice courses are delivered through didactic instruction and progressively enriched through paper cases, case discussions, simulated drugstore activities, community immersion, actual patient counseling, patient medication history taking, and medication therapy management of real patients at the UP-Philippine General Hospital. These experiences are further strengthened through Inter-Professional Education (IPE) activities conducted in collaboration with other UP Manila units, including Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health, and Allied Medical Professions.

Beyond its degree offerings, the Department further reinforces its clinical orientation through the annual Clinical Pharmacy Skills Enhancement Program (CPSEP) for continuing professional development, as well as online microcredential and CPD courses that provide flexible learning opportunities for practicing pharmacists and other healthcare professionals seeking to advance their clinical and administrative competencies.