MCPHS University (formerly Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), is an accredited, private institution located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts. As an institution with a prominent history of specializing in medical careers, the University provides traditional and accelerated programs of study that combine in-depth knowledge with hands-on clinical practice focused on professional education in pharmacy and the health sciences. Its location within the Longwood Medical and Academic Area provides students with academic and clinical opportunities at various prestigious medical and research institutions. Since 2000, MCPHS University has expanded to include two additional campuses, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire.
History
Founded as the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1823 by fourteen Boston pharmacists, MCPHS University is the oldest institution of higher education in Boston. It is also the second-oldest and largest college of pharmacy in the United States, preceded only by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (Now University of the Sciences in Philadelphia), which was founded in 1821. In 1825, the University published the First American Pharmaceutical Library Catalogue, detailing the effects of many pharmaceuticals. In 1852, the University received a charter from the Great Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to grant its first formal degree.
In 1918, the University established the George Robert White Building in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, across from Harvard Medical School to serve as its main campus. In 1979, The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved a change in the University's charter to allow degree granting authority in the allied health sciences, and the University officially changed its name to the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.
The institution would later shorten its name to Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). In 2000, MCPHS added a campus in campus in Worcester, Massachusetts and in 2002 it added another campus in Manchester, New Hampshire. Also in 2002, MCPHS acquired the Forsyth School of Dental Hygienists and incorporated it into the University by adding a Dental Hygiene program. During this period, MCPHS grew to include a School of Pharmacy, a School of Physician Assistant Studies, a School of Optometry, a School of Physical Therapy, a School of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, a School of Dental Hygiene, and a School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics.
To reflect this expansion and the diversity of programs it offers while preserving its well-known acronym “MCPHS,†the institution legally changed its name to MCPHS University in the spring of 2013.
As of April 1, 2016, New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) became part of MCPHS University.
Pharmacy degree program probation
In June 2017, the doctor of pharmacy program was placed on academic probation by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education due to overcrowding in facilities, measuring post-graduation success, the university's internal organization, and too few professors teaching classes. The school is currently building new classrooms, student study areas, and offices that will open in the fall of 2017. The university has also hired five facility and in the process of hiring new professors.
Campus facilities and resources
Boston
MCPHS University's Boston campus is located at 179 Longwood Avenue in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. It is adjacent to The Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Harvard Medical School, and near many other renowned health care institutions, such as Children's Hospital Boston, The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The Boston campus is composed of three main buildings: the George Robert White Building, the Ronald A. Matricaria Academic and Student Center and the John Richard Fennell Building, which are all structurally interconnected to the student dormitories on campus.
A fourth, separate building, The Richard E. Griffin Academic Center, opened in January 2009 to house the University’s School of Nursing, School of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics, Center for Professional Career Development, and University Development. The six-story, triangular building contains nearly 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of classrooms, faculty and staff offices and patient assessment and clinical simulation teaching laboratories. The building also features a computer and technology center, a 230-seat auditorium and a top floor multi-functional room with views of Downtown Boston.
The research facilities at MCPHS University are equipped for each of the academic areas of specialization. There are such specialized facilities as a suite for radioisotope research, a product development laboratory equipped for pharmaceutical tableting, coating and encapsulation and a facility to manufacture liquids, ointments, and sterile cosmetic products. Instruments available include infrared, ultraviolet, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, gas chromatographs, and high-pressure liquid chromatographs. Computer and animal research facilities are also available. In addition, research instrument facilities, if not available on campus, are available at other institutions in the Greater Boston/Cambridge area through clinical and academic affiliations.
Worcester
Located at 19, 25, 40 Foster Street, 28 Mechanics Street, and 10 Lincoln Square in Downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, MCPHS University's Worcester campus houses the institution's accelerated programs in Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Doctor of Pharmacy as well as the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, Doctor of Physical Therapy program, and the Doctor of Optometry program, for post-baccalaureate students.
MCPHS University-Worcester is composed of three main buildings that are known collectively as The Thomas Henry Borysek Living and Learning Center. The Thomas Henry Borysek Living and Learning Center houses administrative and faculty offices, conference rooms, classrooms, a technology center, patient assessment and clinical simulation laboratories, and six floors of suite-style student housing (all with private bedrooms). The basement provides comfortable group study/social (lounge) space for students. A portion of the ninth floor also houses a spacious room, the Fuller Conference Room, designed for conferences, board meetings, receptions and other University gatherings.
On September 21, 2009, MCPHS University officially opened a new academic center in downtown Worcester, the Maher Academic Building at 40 Foster Street. The building houses 30,000 square feet of academic and student space. Two 250-seat auditoria and three "smart" classrooms feature the latest instructional technology and interactive video-conference capability. The street-level multipurpose laboratory includes a model pharmacy that simulates community and institutional practice environments. A student lounge, student meeting rooms, quiet study areas, and faculty offices complete the fully renovated facility.
In mid-June 2010, MCPHS University acquired the property at 10 Lincoln Square (formerly the Crowne Plaza Hotel). This 250,000-square-foot building offers furnished rooms with private baths, parking, a fitness center, dining hall, outdoor patio, and green space. It is also home to two state-of-the-art clinics open to the public: the Eye and Vision Center and the Forsyth Dental Hygiene Clinic.
The 28 Mechanic Street building is home to MCPHS Online, which was formed in 2011. The building provides a formal structure for online programs offered at MCPHS University. This physical facility houses the MCPHS Online staff members charged with the development and oversight of MCPHS Online programs.
Manchester
The MCPHS University Manchester, New Hampshire campus is located at 1260 Elm Street in downtown Manchester. In similar format to that of Worcester, the MCPHS University-Manchester campus offers accelerated programs in Nursing and Doctor of Pharmacy, as well as a Master of Occupational Therapy program and Master of Physician Assistant Studies for post-baccalaureate students. The 33,000-square-foot (3,100Â m2) campus building holds the school's library, classrooms, laboratories, seminar rooms, administrative offices, and student space. Many of the Manchester classrooms are equipped for video conferencing with Worcester classrooms.
Academics
MCPHS University is composed of twelve distinct schools: the New England School of Acupuncture, the School of Occupational Therapy, the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene, the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics, the School of Nursing, the School of Optometry, the School of Physical Therapy, the School of Pharmacy â€" Boston, the School of Pharmacy â€"Manchester/Worcester, the School of Physician Assistant Studies â€"Boston, and the School of Physician Assistant Studies â€"Manchester/Worcester.
The School of Pharmacy includes Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Informatics, and Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business programs. The Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene is the oldest school of dental hygiene in the United States and provides hands-on experience with on-campus dental clinics on MCPHS University’s Boston and Worcester campuses. The School of Arts and Sciences incorporates undergraduate programs in Chemistry, Health Psychology, Public Health, Medical and Molecular Biology, and Premedical and Health Studies. The School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics offers programs in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Radiography, and Radiation therapy. The Schools of Nursing, Optometry, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant Studies offer undergraduate and graduate programs in those subject areas.
MCPHS University offers graduate and doctoral programs in Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, Public Health, Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Optometry, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, Drug Regulatory Affairs, Health Sciences, and Health Policy. The University also offers post-baccalaureate bachelor of science programs and advanced certifications in Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Computed Tomography, Radiography, and Radiation Therapy for Medical Technologists. In 2016, the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) combined with MCPHS University's Worcester campus. The NESA was established in 1974, making it the oldest acupuncture school in the United States.
College relations
MCPHS University-Boston is a member of the Colleges of the Fenway, a collegiate consortium in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. The association promotes collaboration between local schools to enhance the variety of educational programs, to gain economics benefits through shared research, medical, and dining facilities and to provide students and faculty with the opportunity to study, live, and teach in a small college environment while enjoying the resources of a major academic environment comparable to that of a university setting. The consortium includes MCPHS University, Emmanuel College, MassArt, Simmons, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College. Students are able to cross register between institutions and participate in shared social events planned by the Colleges of the Fenway and various groups throughout the campus. Students may also live at either their school of attendance, or in the campus dormitories of the other member schools. The student and faculty environments of each individual institution, however, maintain their unique character and specializations due to the physical separation of each academic campus. Collectively, the colleges represent more than 12,000 undergraduate students, comprising 16.2% of the total Boston population of undergraduates attending four-year colleges, more than 700 full-time faculty and 2,300 course offerings.
MCPHS University-Worcester is a member of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, a collaboration of twelve academic institutions which work to further the individual missions of the member institutions while advancing higher education in the region.
MCPHS University has partnerships with a variety of medical institutions to supplement its educational programs in the Premedical and Health Studies. Depending on which professional pathway a student follows, educational instruction may be provided by institutions such as Temple University for Podiatric Medicine, Drexel University for Histotechnology, Drexel University for Forensic Science, Drexel University for Podiatric Medicine, D’Youville College for Chiropractic Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine for general medicine and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine for veterinary medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine for Dental Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine for Osteopathic Medicine, A. T. Still University for Osteopathic Medicine, Barry University for Podiatric Medicine, and Case Western Reserve University for Anesthesia.
International relations
During the last decade, MCPHS University has made great strides in developing and expanding its international programs. Today there are more than 800 international students from 60 different countries on the University’s three campuses, representing 12% of overall enrollment, which is projected to increase to 20% of the student body within the next five years. 37 full-time MCPHS faculty hold degrees from universities outside the United States, representing 25 different countries on 6 continents. Many faculty are engaged in international projects through the Center for International Studies and the International Center for Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy.
MCPHS University has affiliation agreements with universities and clinical sites in Belize, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Dominica, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Peru, St. Kitts, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Turkey that have produced faculty and student exchanges, international conferences and service learning opportunities The University’s Center for International Studies (CIS) is a network of individuals and departments that provides a spectrum of services to international students drawn to MCPHS University from around the world, and to US students seeking educational and professional opportunities abroad. The Center focuses on student success and global engagement, from enrollment through all aspects of the academic experience, and encourages collaboration among students, faculty, and alumni in achieving an international perspective on healthcare education, research and practice.
MCPHS University partners with the Colleges of the Fenway Global Education Opportunity Center (GEO Center) to provide students with opportunities to study and travel abroad.
References
External links
- Official Website
- MCPHS College Catalog
- MCPHS Supply and Bookstore