What's the course about?
Your first year gives you a solid grounding in pharmaceutical science. You’ll find your feet in the lab and the library – learning experimental techniques, getting to grips with powerful data and analytical tools. Together, we’ll explore human physiology and biology, biology and biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry and the fundamentals of analytical chemistry. Together, these subjects will help you understand how to make medicines, how they work in the body and how to ensure they’re safe.
In your second year, you’ll put that learning into practice. It’s your chance to explore drug discovery and formulation, make medicines and natural products and design advanced treatments using artificial intelligence. You’ll also study lab practices, how to make sure drugs are safe and viable, and how they metabolise in people’s bodies.
By the end of the year, you’ll have the scientific know-how, lab skills and analytical abilities to secure a powerful placement year. This option is a great way to pack your CV with practical experience and insights before coming back for your final year with us.
Study abroad/work placement option: Recent students have taken placements in research institutions, healthcare companies, agrochemical organisations, environmental agencies, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Like to join them? We’ll help you find a great opportunity. Want to study abroad instead? We can open exciting doors, all over the world, with recent students going to the US, Mexico and Spain.
You’ll spend the first 12 weeks of your final year in the lab full time, working on a real-life research problem that will help you hone your lab and research skills. Finally, you’ll spend your last semester studying a simulated regulatory science module, examining how medicines are translated from the laboratory to the clinic and specialising in either medicine design or formulation development.
Find out about our Pharmaceutical Science staff
Your main campus is College Lane
This is where the creative arts, science and health-related subjects are based. This means you’ll share the campus with future nurses, scientists, artists and more. You can use the common rooms to relax with friends, work out in the 24-hour gym or have a drink in our on-campus pub or cafes. We also have restaurants for you to eat in or grab something on the go. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.
Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5 and 6. These correspond to your first, second and third/final year of study. Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each.