The state of Goa claims one of the oldest traditions in the pharmacy education in the Indian subcontinent. The first ever pharmacy course was introduced along with the medical course way back in 1842 at the old Portuguese school known as "Escola Medica de Goa" and later named as "Escola Medica Cirurgicade Goa".

At that time, the pharmacists (farmaceuticos) and doctors ( Medica Cirurgiao) enjoyed the same status in the Goan society as they were educated and trained in the same medical school.

After liberation of Goa in 1961, the institute was renamed as " Goa College of Pharmacy" in the year 1963 and shifted to the present premises which was formerly a Portuguese school. The pharmacy course was upgraded to a full- fledged degree course of Bachelor of Pharmacy under University of Bombay. Later in 1970, the college was recognized for master's degree in pharmacy, under University of Bombay. And the post-graduate programme in Pharmacology was introduced in August 2003.

The college is now affiliated to Goa University and approved by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi and is run by Government of Goa.

The Goa College of Pharmacy, is selected as a Replication Institute under Canada India Institute Industry Linkage Project (CIIILP) in order to respond to the changing needs of the industry effectively. Currently, the institute offers PCI/AICTE approved courses in pharmaceutical technology.

Since inception, the college has been striving to collaborate with the industry for sustainable partnership, contract research and development.