(MPharm) Pharmacy

We've been teaching pharmacy for 100 years and we have a strong reputation as a pharmacy school that produces successful graduates.

The (MPharm) Pharmacy course is designed to ensure you develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and professional attributes to practise as a pharmacist. The MPharm is the only undergraduate qualification in the UK which leads to professional registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)(opens in new tab).

You'll learn the fundamental pharmaceutical, chemical, and biological sciences combined with clinical therapeutics and patient-focused clinical skills. We have state-of-the-art facilities to enable the simulation of healthcare settings, where you'll work alongside patients and their carers, and other healthcare students during interprofessional learning sessions. Most of our clinical staff continue to work in practice as prescribers alongside their academic work. This means you'll have direct links to employers and the most up to date clinical teaching.

There's huge demand for pharmacist independent prescribers, with a range of opportunities within primary care, secondary care, and specialist sectors. You'll undertake integrated placements across all of these settings, which will support your on-campus learning. They're designed so that you can experience both hospital and community pharmacies, as well as other settings where a pharmacist may be needed.

When you graduate, you'll need to undertake a further year of postgraduate training to become eligible for registration as a pharmacist in the UK. This is known as the Trainee Pharmacist Foundation Year and involves you working under the supervision of a qualified pharmacist. Applying for a training position is via a system called ORIEL, and we provide help and guidance in your third year of the course to prepare you for this process. We've never had an MPharm graduate who hasn't obtained a Foundation Training Year position and we'll support you in finding one (although we can't guarantee this). We also offer the Trainee Pharmacist Foundation Programme to support you during this year.

On successful completion of the Trainee Pharmacist Foundation Year, you'll be required to pass the national registration assessment set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) before you're eligible to start your career as a pharmacist. All newly qualified pharmacists will now be independent prescribers at the point of registration.

Most of our students go on to work in community pharmacy, general practice, or within a hospital. Pharmacists usually begin their careers in generalised roles, with opportunities to become more specialised after gaining experience, for example, as a consultant pharmacist.