Placement Year (placement route only):
Industrial Placement: Placement route only (120 credits)
Want to see how your studies apply in the real world? In this placement module, you’ll gain valuable industry experience through a 48-week industrial placement with a relevant organisation, where you’ll apply the knowledge from your first and second years. You’ll become part of a dedicated team, working under the guidance of a line manager who will evaluate your performance. Throughout the placement, you’ll also produce a reflective overview of the company and your role, highlighting how you contribute to the success of the organisation.
Final year (national level 6):
Research Project (30 credits)
You’ll carry out original research in a field of your choice, selected from topics provided by the academic staff in the pharmaceutical sciences team. You’ll be mentored by experts who will guide you through relevant techniques and demonstrate how their research contributes to the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and other industries. Along the way, you’ll keep accurate records, including lab books, COSHH forms, and risk assessments, while communicating your findings in professional formats. Ready to conduct your own scientific research and contribute to advancing knowledge?
Contemporary Drug Design (30 credits)
Curious about how drugs are designed using cutting-edge technology? This module focuses on modern drug design methods, including the use of advanced computational tools. You’ll learn through problem-based learning how to investigate the structure and properties of ‘drug-like’ molecules, predicting their binding and energy levels. These insights will connect to chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and reactivity, helping you understand how drugs interact with biological targets identified through bioinformatics. You’ll also explore the latest techniques in hit identification, triage, and prioritisation in the drug design process.
Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing (30 credits)
Ever wondered how pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals are made? In this module, you’ll explore the design and manufacture of both pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Building on your earlier studies, you’ll dive into the production of small molecules and biopharmaceuticals, learning about reactor design, processing, purification, and process engineering. You’ll also cover process design, modelling, and scaling up production.
Advanced Therapeutics and Drug Delivery (30 credits)
In this module, you’ll explore advanced pharmaceutical formulation and how drugs are targeted to specific cells. You’ll learn about delivering small molecules, large macromolecules, and gene therapies. Covering physical chemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology, you’ll dive into topics like nanomedicine, precision medicine, immunotherapy, therapeutic targeting, cellular mechanisms, and combination therapies.
