The original Faculty of Medicine was one of the first three Faculties, which were created when the University of Ibadan came into being in 1948. Hierarchically, the Faculty was the third in the official listing, coming after the Faculties of Arts and Science. The University became autonomous in 1962 when it severed its affiliation to the University of London and then became to be known as the University of Ibadan (UI). A Committee of Council of the University of Ibadan took decisive steps to restructure the then Faculty of Medicine into a College. This change in designation to a College of Medicine was recommended in accordance with the power conferred on the Council under the University of Ibadan Act Section 4, sub-sections 2 and 3. Thereafter the Council in session at its meeting of Saturday, June 21, 1980 approved the regulations establishing the College and a College status took effect from August 01, 1980. The first Provost of the College, Professor E. Oluwole Akande (now an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology) was subsequently appointed. The College started with two foundation Faculties viz: the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and Pharmacy and the Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Dentistry each headed by a Dean who was of Professorial status. A Postgraduate Institute for Medical Research and Training headed by a Director was also established. At the beginning of the 1982/83 session, the Senate of the University of Ibadan approved the establishment of a Faculty of Pharmacy within the College and the decision became effective from August 01, 1983. Subsequently, two other Faculties were also created from the Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Dentistry. There were Faculty of Public Health, which came into being on January 31, 2002, and the Faculty of Dentistry, which finally took off on April 22, 2002. However, due to genuine aspirations of expanding and revolutionalizing the training of graduates of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Pharmacy pulled out of the College on October 02, 2002 thereby becoming an autonomous Faculty, which is no longer under the general umbrella of the College. The Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences as presently constituted has nine Departments and one Institute, the Institute for Medical Research and Training. Three of these Department participate in the teaching and examination of the Part I programme for the Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MB.BS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degrees. These are the Departments of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology have viable undergraduate and postgraduate programme leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc), Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). These various programmes incorporate appropriate courses which faculty members require in constantly improving and updating the curricula for the MB,BS and BDS Programme. The other six Departments cooperate in covering the requirements for the teaching and examination of the Part II programme for the MB,BS and BDS degree programmes. Of these Departments three of them also offer postgraduate degree programmes, which to all intents and purpose are ground-breaking. These are the Departments of Chemical Pathology (including Immunology), Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Virology. The Department of Chemical Pathology is undeniably in the fore-front and there is no similar Department in any Nigerian University today that had not been started by an alumnus/alumna of the University of Ibadan and where a previous graduate of Ibadan is not on the current list of academic staff of such Departments. Similar observations can be conveniently made for our Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. This Department works very closely along the main areas of interest that are in focus at the Institute for Advanced Medical Research & Training. Postgraduate research work in the Department of Virology has always been and continues to remain a success story. Close to one hundred and twenty viruses have been identified by researchers in this Department. About one hundred of the isolates represent confirmation of findings in other that were first known to the medical world with five or six of them native of Africa. In two other Departments viz: Anatomy and Haematology, postgraduate training presently exists at the Master’s level and this is only as a result of lack of adequate number of postgraduate teachers. The Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology and Pathology do not, at the present time, run any form of postgraduate degree programme. However, registration for the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) can be discussed by prospective candidates in any of the nine Departments of the Faculty.