Everything you need to know about the OSPAP

What is the OSPAP?

The OSPAP is a recognised qualification designed for qualified pharmacists outside the European Economic Area or those who hold an EEA pharmacist qualification which isn't a 'relevant' qualification (other than a UK-recognised pharmacist qualification) who are looking to become registered pharmacists in the UK. To progress to the next stage of registering as a pharmacist in the UK, you must complete the OSPAP postgraduate diploma (PgDip).

The course content is reflective of the accreditation requirements of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)(opens in new tab) who accredit both our OSPAP and our MPharm courses.

Entry requirements

Before you can apply to study the OSPAP course, you must first apply to the GPhC(opens in new tab) and pass their adjudication process, which involves them assessing your qualifications and your English language skills (for example, your IELTS score). Please note, if you experience any issues with the adjudication process, you must contact the GPhC directly – the University can't help with this.

When you apply to the GPhC, you'll choose a preferred institution at which you wish to study the OSPAP – so make sure you've done your research to see which university and course suits you the best (don’t worry, you can choose more than one!). The GPhC will then send your form to the institutions for whom you've shown a preference for further assessment. You can apply to the University of Sunderland via our online application form before you've received your GPhC adjudication letter. Your application will be put on hold, and we won't invite you to an interview until we've received your adjudication letter.

As part of your application, we'll ask you for a copy of your GPhC approved adjudication letter and proof of English language proficiency (again, this could be your IELTS score). When you've been made an offer, this will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check – we'll send you the documentation for this. Please note, you can only complete a DBS check if you've been living in the UK for more than three months. If you haven’t, don’t worry – we can also accept a letter of good standing from the police in your home country. Please contact us if you wish to discuss any of these requirements.

Interview

All offers are subject to interview.

Interviews will take place between November and February on set dates and are only available on those dates. We only have a limited number of interview slots available so you'll be allocated one as soon as possible once you're eligible for interview. Please make all attempts to attend this. If you can't, please notify us immediately.

Once you’ve been interviewed and if successful, you'll be sent an updated offer letter removing the condition for interview. If you have any outstanding additional conditions at that point, please send these to us as soon as possible to complete your application and secure your place. Please contact us at internationaladmissions@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab) if you have any questions about your outstanding conditions. If you've passed your interview, your place is only secured once all conditions of your offer are met. If you're unsuccessful, we'll withdraw your offer.

Once you've met all conditions, if applicable, and you require a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS), we'll start to issue these from the end of March, which is the earliest point we're able to. Once you have this, you'll be able to apply for your visa. We recommend you apply for that as soon as possible, in case of any delays when making your visa application.

Once you have that, the University will be in touch around the induction and arrival process.

Once places are full, we'll contact all applicants to let them know, and we'll offer them an opportunity to join a reserve list. If any successful applicants withdraw, we'll then go to the reserve list on a first-come, first-served basis for those who've met all conditions and are ready to progress.

Course structure

This is a full-time course, and teaching on the OSPAP takes place on campus Monday to Friday. You’ll learn through a wide variety of teaching and learning methods, which include lectures, seminars, simulated pharmacy sessions, and clinical skills, as well as simulations in the University’s mock hospital wards. Teaching will also include opportunities to collaborate with students from other healthcare disciplines (such as medicine, nursing, and occupational therapy) in an interprofessional learning capacity.

As well as on-campus learning, you'll undertake placements throughout the course. You'll experience placements in hospital pharmacies, in the community, at GP surgeries, and in primary and secondary care. Your placements are an excellent way to discover what kind of pharmacist you want to be and where you want your career path to take you.

Foundation training

After completing the OSPAP, you'll move onto the next stage of your training process by progressing onto a foundation training year. All OSPAP and MPharm graduates must successfully complete this year in order to register and practise as a pharmacist in the UK.

Be aware that your foundation training place must be arranged before you even commence the OSPAP, so organisation is key! All students who apply for a foundation training year must sit a numeracy test and situational judgement test (SJT) that takes place through Oriel(opens in new tab). Applications for the foundation training year close in June, tests take place in September, and foundation training job offers are sent out in November.

Sound complicated? To give you a better idea of how it all works, let’s assume you've applied to start the OSPAP course in September 2026. You'd complete the course and therefore start your foundation training application by June 2026 and if you were successful, you'd be invited to Oriel assessment tests in September 2026 (around the same time you'd start the OSPAP). From there, if you pass Oriel’s assessment process, you'll be sent your foundation training offer in November 2026.

You may be wondering how you can find your foundation training placement, and if there's any support available. The GPhC has some great resources on their website, including links to approved training sites(opens in new tab), while Health Education England operates a national recruitment scheme for all foundation placements(opens in new tab).

We have a strong track record of training pharmacy students and our former students continually perform well in the GPhC registration assessment.

Employment

Our graduates go on to work as pharmacists in a wide variety of settings, including hospital pharmacies, community pharmacies, and in primary and secondary care. Some graduates choose to stay in academia, either going into research or teaching.

We’re often asked what job opportunities are available after completing the OSPAP course and what the odds are of getting a job as a pharmacist. The answer to that is that the odds are quite high! There are plenty of jobs available – your employability all comes down to how much effort you put into your work and how well you do during your interview for a foundation training place. You get out of university what you put into it, so if you're committed and hardworking, you'll succeed. Remember, this is a full-time course and you must attend – it’s not distance learning! Our OSPAP course is accredited by the GPhC and therefore, attendance is a requirement of our accreditation.

Further information

We’re a well-established pharmacy school, having taught pharmacy for over 100 years, so we have lots of experience and knowledge to pass on to you. We have an open-door policy, which means we’re always happy to help you when you need support – whether that be academic or personal.

If you have any questions about the OSPAP course, please contact Programme Leader, Deanne Marshall.