The Madurai Medical College was instituted on 2 August 1954 by the chief minister K.Kamaraj and the union health minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. The college was affiliated to the University of Madras and permanent recognition was accorded in 1954. C.K.Padmanaba Menon became its first dean in 1963. Currently the College affiliated with The Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R.Medical University, Chennai.

        Among the colleges in India that offer professional pharmacy education, the College of Pharmacy- COP, Madurai, Temple city, as it is widely known- has a unique standing.

Department of Pharmacy was established in 1960 in the pleasant environs of Madurai Medical College, Madurai, with the aim of providing quality education in pharmaceutical sciences. The courses started with Diploma in Pharmacy (1960) followed by Bachelor of  Pharmacy (1963) and Master of  Pharmacy (1974).