History and Legacy of University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UCPS), Kakatiya University

The origins of the University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UCPS) trace back to the academic year 1974–75, when Osmania University introduced a four-year pharmacy degree program under the guidance of the (late) Sri Kaluri Hanumanth Rao Garu, Reader in the Department of Chemical Technology. The following year, the program was relocated to the Arts and Science College in Warangal, then affiliated with Osmania University. Sri P. Amareshwar, the program’s first faculty member, worked closely with Hanumanth Rao Garu to run the course.

In its formative years, students attended basic science and English classes at the Arts and Science College, medical-related courses and practicals’ at Kakatiya Medical College, and engineering subjects at the Regional Engineering College (now NIT Warangal). Some classes were also conducted at the Postgraduate Centre (PG Centre). With these institutions spread over more than ten kilometers, the need to consolidate the program under one roof became evident.

This vision began to take shape in 1976 when the state government upgraded the PG Centre into the newly established Kakatiya University. By the academic year 1978–79, the pharmacy program was officially shifted to the university’s main campus. Initially, students resided in private accommodations, but they were soon housed in the hostels of Kakatiya Medical College and the PG Centre. After the program’s relocation to the university campus, dedicated hostel facilities were provided in Nayeem Nagar, just outside the campus. As the program matured, it gained independent status and evolved into the University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UCPS), with its own building and infrastructure on campus.

UCPS went on to attract many distinguished academicians from across the country, including Prof. C. K. Kokate, Prof. V. Malla Reddy, Prof. D. Rambhau, Prof. P. Amareshwar, Prof. Y. Madhusudhan Rao, Dr. Hargovind Singh Rathore, Prof. M. C. Prabhakara, Prof. D. R. Krishna, Prof. A. V. N. Appa Rao, and Prof. S. S. Apte. Notably, many UCPS alumni returned to join its faculty after completing their postgraduate training. By the mid-1980s, UCPS had emerged as one of India’s premier pharmacy institutions, earning a reputation for academic excellence that extended far beyond regional and national borders