In the initial stages of pharmacy education in the country, pharmacists qualified from other states were appointed into the government services of the state.

The first generation pharmacists of the state felt the need of pharmacy education in this region of the country and started the Government of College of Pharmacy (GCP), in Bangalore under the Drugs Control Department in 1964.

At first, Government College of Pharmacy only offered D. Pharm. and B. Pharm courses. Later on M.Pharm. courses were introduced. Now the institution offers D.Pharm, B.Pharm and PG courses in four specializations namely M.Pharm (Pharmaceutics) , M. Pharm (Pharmacognosy), M. Pharm (Pharmacology) and M.Pharm (Pharma Chemistry).

GCP caters to the needs of meritorious and economically backward students, as the cost in private institutions are very high, along with the state of art infrastructural facilities are the highlights of the institution. The students and teachers are provided with well equipped laboratories, a voluminous library, Wi Fi internet facilities for the upgradation and undertaking challenging research activities. The institute has proclaimed 8 out of the first 10 ranks in the PGCET exams conducted in 2011. Research activities are progressing at an accelerated pace as indicated by the number of research publications in a year (about 30 papers in various national and international journals).