Dive Brief:
- Washington University in St. Louis plans to take over the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy's campus and acquire its pharmacy college, according to announcements Monday from the institutions.
- Wash U plans to make UHSP’s St. Louis College of Pharmacy the university’s 10th academic school and rename it the WashU St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Meanwhile, UHSP said that it will phase out programs that don't transfer to WashU.
- WashU said the acquisition would “expand its academic portfolio and strengthen interdisciplinary connections across medicine, public health and the life sciences.”
Dive Insight:
WashU has several degrees in medical and related sciences but no pharmacy program. Meanwhile, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, founded in 1864, says it was the first pharmacy college west of the Mississippi River.
Sandro Galea, dean of WashU’s public health school, said that integrating UHSP’s pharmacy college “deepens WashU’s interdisciplinary approach to health and population sciences.”
While the pharmacy program is central, UHSP has two dozen undergraduate majors — from biopsychology to medical humanities to neuroscience — along with a handful of other graduate programs aside from the Pharm.D. degree.
Following the 2026-27 academic year, UHSP said that its pharmacy college would become part of WashU, and its programs in its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Global Population Health and College of Graduate Studies will be phased out. WashU said some programs beyond the Pharm. D. would transfer to it, though it didn’t specify which or how many.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, which UHSP said could take between 12 and 18 months. “In the meantime, both universities will be working through the specifics of the transition plan,” the university added.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In fiscal 2024, UHSP property and equipment assets were valued at $119.4 million after depreciation, and it had $99.1 million in long-term debt, according to its latest audit.
UHSP has seen its enrollment gradually hollow out since the mid-2010s. Between 2019 and 2024, fall headcount declined 37.5% to 648 students, which was down by over half from levels a decade earlier.
WashU, meanwhile, had 16,357 students in fall 2024, a figure that has remained relatively stable in recent years.
Analysts with S&P Global Ratings said last year UHSP “is affected by demographic pressure, which we view as a social risk, with fewer graduating high school students in the surrounding region anticipated for the next several years that could accelerate a historical trend of declining enrollment.”
The ratings agency at the time revised its outlook for UHSP’s BB+ bond rating to negative, pointing to heavy draws of just over 15% from its endowment as it looked to boost its enrollment.
“Though financial resources remain sufficient, the draws have weakened the university's financial flexibility,” the analysts said in a November release.
In announcing the WashU acquisition, UHSP leaders acknowledged the financial pressures on the university. Neal Sample, chair of UHSP’s trustee board, pointed to an effort to turn the university’s finances around, including by expanding its athletic and academic programming.
“Despite these efforts, the realities of the higher education landscape and long-term financial projections made it clear that we needed a sustainable solution that would secure our mission, students and legacy,” Sample said of the acquisition.
WashU hasn’t been immune to financial pressures either. Last fall, officials announced the university would lay off some 300 employees to help save $52 million annually, citing dramatic cutbacks in federal research funding.
In a FAQ about the acquisition, WashU officials said the deal “builds on the university’s financial strength and supports growth in a critical area of health sciences education.”
