- In September 2025, Université Côte d’Azur will open France’s 25th pharmacy department, located in Nice.
- This interprofessional project brings together academic, hospital, union, and industry stakeholders from the region, with support from the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur.
- The training program is based on a curriculum focused on patient care, environmental health, and artificial intelligence.
Université Côte d’Azur strengthens its health education offering
A ministerial decree dated May 1, 2025 officially confirms the creation of a Department of Pharmacy within Université Côte d’Azur. This initiative, which establishes Nice as the 25th city in France to host a pharmacy faculty, is the result of several years of collaborative work involving all relevant actors: the Faculty of Medicine of Université Côte d’Azur, the Nice University Hospital (CHU), pharmaceutical unions, the URPS PACA Est, the French National Pharmacy Students’ Association (ANEPF), the pharmaceutical industry group LEEM, and the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur.
Meeting strong demand across the pharmaceutical professions
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, President of the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, Executive President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Nice University Hospital, stated:
“I am pleased to finally see this ambitious project come to fruition, for which we have been mobilized for years with Richard Chemla, my deputy for ecological and energy transition, health and well-being, and Xavier Latour, my Vice President of the Métropole in charge of training, higher education and research, alongside Université Côte d’Azur, the Faculty of Medicine, the University Hospital Center, and the pharmacists’ union. The creation of this pharmacy department in Nice next academic year puts an end to an inconsistency at the national level. Indeed, Nice, one of the 12 largest cities in France, was an exception in not having a faculty of pharmacy within Université Côte d’Azur, even though it already offers all major medical and paramedical training programs.”
An innovative pedagogical model
The new department adopts a competency-based learning model built around active teaching methods: simulation, clinical immersion, enhanced mentoring, and analysis of real-life data. It will incorporate digital tools and artificial intelligence in collaboration with 3IA Côte d’Azur. The training program will gradually scale up from 42 first-year students to 70–80 students by 2028.
A stronger territorial presence for pharmaceutical careers
The Department of Pharmacy will be part of Université Côte d’Azur’s future Health Campus, located at the heart of the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur. It addresses three key priorities: training tomorrow’s healthcare professionals locally, strengthening the regional healthcare offering, and supporting health innovation. By embracing the diversity of pharmaceutical careers—community pharmacy, hospital, industry, biology, research—the department aims to be a strategic lever for regional attractiveness in health education and research.
Learn more / Source: Université Côte d’Azur – Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur
