Skip to Content

College of Pharmacy

  • Close-up of an iron gate

College of Pharmacy Climbs in AACP Funding Rankings


There’s great news to share for the UofSC College of Pharmacy. 

In the most recent Funded Research Grants Institutional Rankings report released by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the college jumped into the Top 25 in total funding for 2021. In fact, the college moved up several spots in multiple categories according to the rankings that were released this summer.


From 42nd to 25th...

The college made a tremendous leap from 42nd in 2020 to 25th in 2021 in total funding, with an increase of just over $8 million, more than doubling the funding received.

An increase of more than $1.7 million...

The college increased its funding from the National Institutes of Health by more than $1.7 million, while adding three additional funded investigators.

An increase of just over $2.1 million...

The college increased its federal funding grants by just over $2.1 million.

Ranked 2nd among peers...

The college ranks second among our peer institutions*, just behind the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for non-federal grants awarded. The college increased its funding in this category by nearly $6 million.

Scott Sutton, chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Outcomes and Sciences, notes that the mission of the College of Pharmacy encompasses the tripartite mission of teaching, service (including the clinical practice of pharmacy), and research.

“The College of Pharmacy has achieved record highs in research grant submission, grant funding, published papers, presentations, and cited works,” he says. “These achievements will allow the College to continue empowering pharmacy students, researchers, educators, and practitioners to transform health care.”

Michael Wyatt, chair of the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences adds that the funding increases represent the dual strengths of the college’s faculty and represents years of consistent hard work over the past several years, along with efforts to rapidly respond to the pandemic by developing the saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 testing.

Beyond the numbers, the research accomplished by the funding impacts lives and helps improve the world around us.

“In science, one must be very diligent and thorough when planning and carrying out science; yet one must also be able to very rapidly respond to rapidly changing circumstances that demands we adapt and change our thinking,” he adds. “Beyond the numbers, the research accomplished by the funding impacts lives and helps improve the world around us.”

“Our college is committed to supporting a variety of critical areas of pharmacological research, including the development of new medications, quality assurance, and innovation in educating our future pharmacists,” says Stephen J. Cutler, dean of the College of Pharmacy. “Our continued growth in applying for and receiving research funding, especially at the level of the National Institutes of Health, is indicative of the dedication of our faculty in finding cures for diseases, improving patient outcomes, and expanding the role of pharmacy in health care.


Topics: Research Areas, Research Centers and Facilities

* Peer institutions include schools/colleges of pharmacy at the University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Medical University of South Carolina, Mercer University, University of Mississippi, University of North Carolina, Presbyterian College, University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University.


Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©