About USN /

The University of Southern Nevada began with the idea from founder Dr. Harry Rosenberg that pharmacy education should and could be better, more effective, and capable of producing highly competent graduates, who would be sought after by employers regardless of the job market. His belief in this idea was so strong that he moved from California to Nevada in 1999, and with $15,000 (one-third of which was his own), rented a 900 square foot office in Henderson to begin the Nevada College of Pharmacy (NCP), which would become one of the most innovative, creative, and cost-effective pharmacy schools in the nation.
 
It was a bold move. There hadn’t been a new college of pharmacy started in over 50 years that was not part of an existing institution. There were a lot of obstacles for such a project—financing, obtaining IRS non-profit status, incorporating, finding adequate facilities, gaining accreditation, obtaining licensure from the Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education, and much more. To assist in this endeavor, Dr. Rosenberg enlisted the support of the Nevada pharmacy community, contacting leaders in pharmacy organizations such as chain pharmacy managers, hospital pharmacy directors, pharmacists leading home health companies, and the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. These individuals became the nucleus of the eventual Nevada College of Pharmacy Board of Trustees, and many are still valued members of the Board today. With the help, support, and advice of these caring leaders in the pharmacy community, the Nevada College of Pharmacy began to take shape.
 
They developed a curriculum (which is still in use today) that emphasizes a student-centered, active learning environment where students participate in experiential education from the very beginning of the program. Rather than semesters or quarters, the curriculum is organized into blocks. The single course schedule helps students focus on each individual topic, and also emphasize active participation in the learning process by incorporating of a variety of hands-on activities in addition to the traditional lecture format. These early hands-on practical experiences enhance and support the didactic curriculum by allowing students to see, feel, and understand what is presented in the classroom in a real-life setting. After restructuring the curriculum into the block format, Dr. Rosenberg realized that a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree could be completed in three years, rather than the traditional four, making the Nevada College of Pharmacy one of the most affordable private colleges of pharmacy in the nation. 
 
The inaugural class of 38 students entered the Nevada College of Pharmacy in January 2001, and by 2002 the class size had more than doubled because of the NCP’s reputation for quality education. Just one year after it began, the NCP rented a new facility more than 30 times larger than the original space to accommodate the rapid growth, and less than three years after it opened, the NCP moved again to the 100,000 square foot campus on Sunset Way in Henderson, where it is today.