This MPharm degree will equip you with the professional skills, scientific knowledge and clinical experience to become a caring, ethical and effective pharmacist.
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At a Glance
UCAS Code B230
UCAS Institution Name and Code NEWC, N21
Degree Awarded Icon
Degree Awarded MPharm Honours
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Course Duration 4 Years
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Entry Requirements A Level: AAB
IB: 36 points
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Opportunities
Pharmacists work in a variety of settings to provide essential healthcare services. Roles range from drug design and production to working in the community and the clinical setting.
This four-year degree focuses on developing your scientific, technical and communication skills so that you can confidently pursue a career in this area.
It is a highly rewarding field and graduates of pharmacy degrees enjoy high employment levels.
If you want to become a pharmacist, you must study a professionally accredited MPharm Honours degree. This is the first step of your professional career.
After successful completion of your degree, you will need to complete one year as a preregistration trainee. After this, you can register with the GPhC and be allowed to practise as a pharmacist.
GPhC accreditation also means that the degree content and processes have been reviewed for quality assurance purposes to ensure it meets the relevant GPhC standards.
*All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body.
Pharmacy is a highly varied profession with a number of different possible career paths open to graduates. To register as a pharmacist in the UK, you must complete the MPharm degree, a pre-registration training year and sit the registration assessment. After registration, pharmacy graduates are highly sought after and are amongst the most employable professionals in the UK, with many opportunities to work internationally.
Our MPharm degree will provide you with the practical skills and knowledge base to effectively contribute to high-quality patient care, whichever section of the profession you ultimately choose.
Through a varied range of teaching methods, you will develop a strong base of theoretical and academic knowledge related to:
the structure and function of the human body
abnormal pathology
chronic disease management
pharmacology and medicinal chemistry
cutting-edge pharmaceutical science
injections, implants and transdermal delivery systems
You will develop practical skills to enable you to excel in professional practice, such as:
effective communication and consultation with patients
examination skills and physiological monitoring
law as it applies to pharmacy
medicine management systems
prescribing and decision making
We develop your academic and research skills, to help you complete your degree and to prepare you for a research career should you wish to pursue one. Skills include:
conducting research
literature searching
academic writing
statistics
You'll also undertake numerous clinical placements during your degree. These are an essential part of preparation for clinical practice and introduce you to the varied settings in which pharmacists work.
More information about what you will study at each Stage is in the Course Details section.
The module and/or programme information below is for 2018 entry. Our teaching is informed by research and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, student feedback, or insufficient numbers of students interested (in an optional module). To find out more read our terms and conditions.
Module/programme information for 2019 entry will be published here as soon as it is available (end of May 2019).
Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage. Further information, including the credit value of the module, is available in each of the module descriptions below.
Our Pharmacy MPharm degree is divided into four Stages. Each Stage develops your theoretical knowledge and practical skills further.
This ensures you graduate fully equipped with the understanding, skills and professional competencies needed for your future career.
After your degree, you'll need to complete a period of pre-registration training in order to register as a pharmacist. Throughout your degree, we'll help prepare you for this next step in your professional journey.
The first year will comprise a single, integrated module, Fundamentals of Pharmacy: the Integration of Science and Practice.
This module will focus on patient-orientated problems. You will have access to patients from the very start of the course to ensure that you understand how to apply knowledge and skills.
You'll study:
the normal structure and function of the human body
pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and formulation science in terms of identifying and developing drug substances, then formulating them into acceptable and effective medicines
micro-organisms and their role as agents of infection, but also in terms of the damage they can cause to pharmaceutical products
You'll gain experience of the workplace and learn a range of professional and practical skills:
how to talk to patients and work within healthcare teams, all focused on the effective use of medicines
simple examination skills and aspects of physiological monitoring
the importance of professional identity and the dynamic working situations that result from multi-professional networking
research skills, including literature searching, academic writing and referencing, statistics and how each is applied to pharmaceutical research
The second year will build on previous studies and will continue the focus on patients.
You study a single integrated module, Pharmaceutical Care: Pathology, Patients and Professionalism.
You will examine abnormal pathology and subsequent therapeutic options to deal with disease, including chronic disease management.
This material will be fully integrated with cutting-edge pharmaceutical science, and will be built upon by continuing to give experience of the workplace.
You will also study:
law as it is relevant to pharmacy
systems for medicines management including the development and use of clinical guidelines and formularies
patient communication; communicating complex information to patients at a level that is understandable
You study a single integrated module, Applied Pharmaceutical Interventions: Design, Delivery and Decisions.
You will be presented with more complex, patient-based examples, which will include multiple disease states and complex therapeutic interventions.
You will develop an understanding of how medicines are used concomitantly and how adverse effects are monitored and managed.
The development of drugs from first principles will be examined including the use of molecular modelling techniques to analyse molecular structure in the context of drug action.
You will study the formulation of injections, implantable medicinal devices and transdermal delivery devices.
You'll also continue to develop vital decision-making skills, skills in communication and consultation, and examination.
As with other modules this will be supported by inter-professional learning sessions and time in the workplace.
The fourth year will contain two 60-credit modules.
The first module allows you to choose an area of pharmacy to study in more detail as part of a Research Project. Potential areas for focus are:
medicinal chemistry
pharmacology
pharmacy practice
formulation science
pharmaceutical microbiology
This project will be supervised by one of the academic staff and will be closely related to their current research interests.
We have international study abroad links. This means it's possible for you to take the practical aspect of your project at a partner institution overseas.
The second, Targeted Therapeutics: Optimisation, Critique and Responsibility will be focused on preparing for practice.
You will examine specific areas of oncology, infection and immunology, including support strategies for patients suffering with such diseases.
You'll examine state-of-the-art formulation devices used in the delivery of chemotherapy and associated medicines, including the use of nanotechnology.
The importance of personalised medicine will be discussed in detail. You will encounter complex clinical problems, which you will be required to manage from first principles.
Clinical placements are a key element of your degree and an essential part of preparation for clinical practice.
You'll undertake numerous placements at each Stage, introducing you to a varied range of settings in which pharmacists work.
Each is carefully thought out to ensure that you are able to experience and learn about the different roles you will be able to take on once you're qualified.
The placements help you develop a sense of identity as a pharmacist and identify your interests. They are also an opportunity for you to gain, develop and craft your practical knowledge and skills.
In addition to placements, you'll engage in hospital-based learning. You'll learn at University about medical conditions and following this up with on-site visits to local hospitals to see what happens in practice.
You'll also engage in interprofessional education at Newcastle. You'll be working and training alongside professionals and other students in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, developing your understanding of pharmacy within the complete healthcare system.
To register as a pharmacist, after successfully completing the MPharm, graduates must complete pre-registration training. More information on pre-registration training can be found on the General Pharmaceutical Council website.
This includes the requirement to pass the General Pharmaceutical Council Registration Assessment.
Guidance will be given on personal development, pre-registration training and the pharmacy profession by the academic team and other dedicated staff within the division.
At numerous points throughout the course we will introduce you to employers in order that you can prepare for their likely expectations at the point of applying for pre-registration training.
Work placements in community, hospital, primary care and industry will be offered throughout the MPharm degree to ensure you are fully prepared for pre-registration training and your future professional role in pharmacy.
The importance of continuing professional development (CPD) and lifelong learning will be introduced to you from induction, this will include maintenance of a CPD portfolio relating to your practical experiences throughout the programme.
Our approach to teaching is primarily problem orientated. We use lectures, seminars, tutorials, problem-based learning, practical experience, laboratory work and case seminars to encourage you to develop knowledge and skills in an integrated manner.
We demonstrate the important links between fundamental pharmaceutical science and application to professional practice. We do this by using a primarily case-led approach. This means we can ensure that you learn to integrate your developing knowledge and are able to apply it to your future work.
The level of contact that each year group has with the entire MPharm programme team is high, and all students spend a high percentage of their week engaged in some form of teaching.
Our range of teaching methods ensures you firmly develop both a theoretical knowledge base and practical skills to the correct level.
Our internationally acknowledged teaching staff have expertise in health informatics, pharmaceutical public health and medicinal chemistry.
All candidates are considered on an individual basis.
If your qualifications are not listed here, please see our additionalentry requirements web pagesto find out which other qualifications are considered.
The entrance requirements below apply to 2019 entry.
Applicants must satisfy Fitness to Practise requirements on admission to the course. This includes a health declaration and submission of an acceptable disclosure and barring service (DBS) clearance. Students coming direct to the course from a country outside of the UK must provide a letter of good conduct from their home country and will be required to submit an acceptable DBS at the end of the first year.
AAB including Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics at A level and excluding Critical Thinking and General Studies. For Biology, Chemistry and Physics A levels we require a pass in the practical element. Mathematics and English Language both required at GCSE, minimum grade C or 4, if not offered at A or AS level. Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
AAB at Advanced Higher including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Two Highers at the required grade (in different subjects to the Advanced Higher(s) offered) may replace each of one or two of the Advanced Highers (but not Chemistry), as long as the overall subject requirements are met.
Mathematics and English required at National 5, minimum grade B (or grade 2 Standard Grade or Intermediate 2 equivalent) if not offered at Higher Grade. Where a candidate bypasses the assessment for National 5 qualifications, a minimum of grade C in the Higher in Mathematics and English is required.
Scottish qualifications can be taken in more than one sitting.
Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
36 points. At least 5 points required from Higher Level Chemistry and at least 5 points required from at least one of Higher Level Biology, Mathematics or Physics. At least 4 points required from Standard Level Maths or Mathematical Studies if not offered at Higher Level.
Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
H1H1H1H1H2 at Higher Level, including Biology and Chemistry. Ordinary Level Mathematics required at grade O1 if not offered at Higher Level. Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
45 level 3 credits at Distinction including at least 15 level 3 credits in chemistry and at least 15 level 3 credits in biology, mathematics or physics.
Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
D3, D3, M2 in Principal Subjects including Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics. Mathematics and English Language both required at GCSE, minimum grade C or 4, if not offered at A or AS level. Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
We welcome applications from students offering an Extended Project and value the skills of research and independent learning that it is designed to develop. If you offer an Extended Project, it will be taken into account as part of your application profile, but we will not usually include it in offer conditions for this degree programme.
BBB including Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics at A level and excluding Critical Thinking and General Studies. Mathematics and English Language both required at GCSE, minimum grade C or 4, if not offered at A or AS level. Offers are made subject to satisfying fitness to practise conditions.
The PARTNERS Programme is Newcastle University’s supported entry route for students from schools and colleges in England and Northern Ireland. Find out more about the PARTNERS Programme.
The PARTNERS Programme is Newcastle University’s supported entry route for students from schools and colleges in England and Northern Ireland. Find out more about the PARTNERS Programme.
ABB at A level is typically the minimum required for entry to an undergraduate course. You can check the equivalent grades for qualifications offered in your country.
We will also consider your application if you have lower or non-standard qualifications.
If you are an international student and you do not meet the academic and English language requirements specified above, you should consider a pre-sessional course at INTO Newcastle University, which will help to prepare you for study on this degree course.
Pharmacy is a highly varied profession with a number of different possible career paths open to graduates. To register as a pharmacist in the UK, you must complete the MPharm degree, a pre-registration training year and sit the registration assessment. After registration, pharmacy graduates are highly sought after and are amongst the most employable professionals in the UK, with many opportunities to work internationally.
Community Pharmacists
The majority of pharmacists work in community pharmacies or hospitals. Community pharmacists work at the heart of their local area, supervising the supply and use of medications for the local population. Community pharmacists can own their own businesses or work for larger national organisations as employees. Experienced community pharmacists can offer additional services, such as flu vaccinations, medicines reviews and emergency contraception.
Hospital Pharmacists
Hospital pharmacists supervise the supply and use of medicines for patients with serious health conditions. They work side-by-side with medical doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and dieticians. Hospitals pharmacists obtain additional clinical pharmacy and independent prescribing qualifications to support their work.
The Pharmaceutical Industry
Other pharmacists can work in the pharmaceutical industry. These roles involve designing, developing and testing new medications that are not yet available. Industrial pharmacists often work in laboratories and can be involved in the regulation of medicinal products, working with national organisations such as National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Emerging roles
Additional emerging roles for pharmacists include those working in GP practices and care homes. These roles are new and include working like a GP to help patients to use medications appropriately – using the right medication, at the right time, in the right way, for the right patient.
Flexible and varied
A career as a pharmacist is well-paid and flexible. Pharmacists can work full-time, part-time or as locums (where they chose the hours they work each week) in a number of different roles. Our MPharm degree will provide you with the practical skills and knowledge base to effectively contribute to high-quality patient care, whichever section of the profession you ultimately choose.
Our research-led programme is designed to ensure that you develop a keen awareness of research methods and to introduce you to our communities of practice within the University and our external NHS partners. Once registered you will be able to work within the breadth of fields traditionally associated with pharmacy, as well as having access to a range of postgraduate study opportunities such as PhDs.
What our graduates go on to do: employment and further study choices
See what our recent graduates went on to do and view graduate destinations statistics. These statistics are based on what graduates were doing on a specific date, approximately six months after graduation. The most recent data available is for graduates who completed their course in 2014/15.
The destination data is available in varying levels, beginning with the University and moving through Faculty and School down to individual course reports. This final level may give you some useful ideas about possible options after your course or a course you are considering.
94% of our 2014/15 UK/EU graduates progressed toemployment or further study within six months of graduating.
Of our graduates who entered employment 85% were in a professional or managerial position.
We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through an initiative called ncl+. This enables you to develop personal, employability and enterprise skills and to give you the edge in the employment market after you graduate.
Tuition fees for 2019-20 have not yet been confirmed.
2018 entry*:
£9,250
For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad,you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year.
Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.
*Please note:
The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for UK students is set by the UK government.
As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation, as measured by RPIX**.
See more information on all aspects of student finance relating to Newcastle University.
**RPIX is a measure of inflation in the UK, equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments.
Tuition fees for 2019-20 have not yet been confirmed.
2018 entry*:
£9,250 in 2018-19
For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad,you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year.
Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.
*Please note:
As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation, as measured by RPIX**.
See more information on all aspects of student finance relating to Newcastle University.
**RPIX is a measure of inflation in the UK, equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments.
We also offer International Family Discounts which are available for all international students with a close family member who has graduated from or is now studying at Newcastle University.
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