The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy was founded in 1892 as the New Jersey College of Pharmacy by a group of citizens dedicated to the interest of pharmacy. It was incorporated into Rutgers University in 1927. The college was housed at various locations in downtown Newark, and after 1925 in its own building in north Newark. During these years, most students lived at home and commuted to classes. In 1971, the college was relocated to the Busch Campus in Piscataway, adjacent to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and also near the Library of Science and Medicine and other buildings related to the basic sciences at Rutgers University. In December 2001, the school was renamed from the College of Pharmacy to the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in recognition of the many significant contributions and achievements of alumnus Ernest Mario and to reflect the fact that the school only offers a doctoral professional degree. Ernest Mario is a 1961 graduate of the school and is recognized as one of the most distinguished executives in the pharmaceutical industry.

Today, the school accommodates both resident students (housed at one of the residential campuses in the New Brunswick area) and commuters. Under either arrangement, pharmacy students have access to all cultural and other extracurricular activities within the university.

The six-year, professional degree curriculum for the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) is structured to educate and prepare men and women for practicing the profession of pharmacy in the community, medical institutions, organized health care facilities, or the pharmaceutical industry by developing high levels of theoretical comprehension and professional skill required for competence in each of these areas. In addition, the Pharm.D. program is designed to create independent thinkers and problem solvers who know how to communicate and counsel health care professionals and patients and who are knowledgeable in all aspects of drug therapy.

The curriculum offers a combination of courses in the biological, physical, and social sciences and the humanities, and an expansive variety of new clinical field experiences, which is the hallmark of the program. Finally, because the pharmacist functions in the context of contemporary society, the curriculum is shaped to develop in the student a sensitivity to the socioeconomic, ethical, and legal aspects of professional life, and an appreciation of the artistic and cultural currents of modern civilization.

These objectives are realized through a balanced program of study in chemical biology, clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice and administration, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, the natural and social sciences and the humanities, and a structured clinical experience program.