Pharmacy

Pharmacy - MPharm

This is an archived course for 2021 entry
2023 courses

Become the point of contact for patients for the safe and effective use of medicines. Our four-year Pharmacy programme prepares you for a successful career as a pharmacist in community or hospital settings.

Overview

Medway School of Pharmacy is a unique partnership between the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich. The School has achieved full accreditation from the General Pharmaceutical Council and is recognised as an established school of pharmacy.

Our MPharm programme is based on three interlinked themes: practitioner and patient; medicines design and manufacture; the patient; and disease and drug action.

Our degree programme

Our curriculum is outcomes-focused and designed to prepare you for your future professional practice. You study basic and applied science as well as clinical and professional practice, all in the context of patient care. We teach core themes of biological sciences, chemistry and drug delivery as part of integrated modules based around body systems including brain and psychiatry; heart and circulatory system; and the endocrine system.

We make extensive use of tutorials, workshops and practical laboratory classes as well as in-house simulation-based learning to foster your understanding and development. In your final year, you conduct a sustained research project about a topic you feel particularly passionate about.

Study resources

The Medway School of Pharmacy houses a state-of-the-art, simulated environment for a hospital ward and fully equipped pharmacy. We also have a clinical skills laboratory in which you can perform some of your own research.

Our extensive network of teacher practitioners is there to provide guidance for your studies and professional development.

Kent’s Student Learning Advisory Centre also offers useful workshops on the Medway campus on topics like essay writing and academic referencing.

Extra activities

You may want to join the student-led Medway Pharmacy Students' Association (MPSA). They organise a number of social activities such as trips, movie nights and sporting events.

You can also get involved with the British Pharmaceutical Student Association (BPSA) which holds local branch meetings at Medway. They also organise conferences and seminars which you can attend to keep up-to-date with key issues in the field and meet leading practitioners and researchers.

Featured video

Accreditation

General Pharmaceutical Council

Entry requirements

Please also see our general entry requirements.

  • medal-empty

    A level

    ABB including Chemistry grade B plus another science subject

  • medal-empty GCSE

    Mathematics and English at grade B/5 or above

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University will not consider applicants holding Access to HE Diplomas.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    D*D*D

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    32 points overall or 15 points at HL including HL Chemistry at 5 and one other HL science-based subject at 5

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    N/A

International students should visit our International Student website for further specific information. International fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot study part-time due to visa restrictions.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

If you need to improve your English language standard as a condition of your offer, you can attend one of our pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes before starting your degree programme. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

Course structure

Duration: 4 years full-time

Please contact the Medway School of Pharmacy for information about the course structure.

Fees

The 2021/22 annual tuition fees for this programme are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £20,500
  • International full-time £20,500

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Additional costs

New students are subject to a number of small mandatory costs at the start of their course of around £100 in total.

  • Students on the MPharm programme must complete the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as part of the fitness to practise and admission process. This is currently charged at £53.
  • We ask that all students purchase lab coats, safety glasses and a notebook at a cost price of £18.
  • Our students use an 'audience-response' device to enable them to participate at lectures and workshops for which we charge a £35 refundable deposit.

General additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

University funding

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

Government funding

You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.

Scholarships

General scholarships

Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. 

The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is by lectures, seminars, workshops and practical laboratory classes, which take up approximately two thirds of the programme. Placements form a key part of the teaching programme.

A variety of assessment methods are used including practical dispensing examinations, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), presentations (individual and group), written reports, interim assessments and end-of-year written examinations.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • encourage personal and professional responsibility
  • educate students in aspects of the chemical and biological sciences that relate to medicines and health, providing both subject-specific knowledge and laboratory/clinical-based skills
  • provide students with an understanding of the design, development and use of safe and effective medicines
  • train students in the application of pharmaceutical knowledge for the benefit of patients by integrating information and critical evaluation
  • provide students with evidence-based, decision-making skills
  • allow students to develop independent learning skills that can form the basis for lifelong learning and continuing professional development
  • provide a thorough understanding of the law and ethics relating to pharmacy
  • allow students to develop a high level of interpersonal skills which are analytical, critically aware, evaluative, interpretive, empathic and reflective
  • produce graduates who can provide the optimal clinical use of medicines and promote public health.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding in the following three areas.

Substances used in medicines including:

  • sources and purification of substances, including radio-labelled pharmaceuticals
  • physico-chemical aspects of medicines and biological systems, including thermodynamics, chemical kinetics and an assessment of chemical and physical stability
  • analytical methods including principles, design, development, validation, application and good laboratory practice
  • the properties of medicinal substances and their relationship to molecular structure
  • the design of medicinal agents and approaches to their discovery
  • biotechnology products and excipients; pharmaceutical application of the technologies of genomics and proteomics.

Design and manufacture of medicines:

  • the properties of materials used for the delivery of biologically-active molecules
  • the principles of medicine formulation and systems for medicine delivery in the body
  • quality assurance and good pharmaceutical manufacturing practice
  • packaging and labelling requirements: purpose, design and evaluation
  • pharmacopoeial and regulatory requirements
  • stability of medicines; evaluation and control of biological, chemical and physical degradation
  • microbial contamination and its control
  • sterilisation processes and aseptic procedures
  • dressings, diagnostic systems, medical appliances and devices.

The actions and uses of medicines and other agents:

  • normal and abnormal bodily function: physiology; biochemistry; genetics; microbiology; nutrition; immunology; infective processes; pathology and pathophysiology
  • the actions of medicines within living systems: molecular; cellular; biological and physical aspects
  • absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of medicines, including routes of administration, concepts and mathematical modelling
  • aetiology and epidemiology of major diseases
  • the therapeutic uses of medicines in man, including adverse reactions to and interactions of medicines, and their significance in treatment
  • the recognition of disease states and the management of symptoms
  • the clinical evaluation of new medicines
  • drug and substance misuse
  • medicine delivery devices, wound management products and other medical devices (including diagnostic agents and devices)
  • complementary therapies.

Legal framework, ethics and health care provision:

  • the pharmacist's role in health care
  • managing medicines: dispensing; clinical pharmacy (including good clinical practice); responding to symptoms; prescribing; provision of medicine and patient information; reporting of adverse reactions to medicines; medicine utilisation review
  • measuring outcomes in support of evidence-based practice and achieving maximum clinical effectiveness
  • health screening and promotion, including diagnostic testing
  • the social and behavioural sciences relevant to pharmacy
  • health policy and economics, including particularly pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology
  • the law relating to pharmacy and medicines
  • ethics of health care and its impact on relationships with patients and other healthcare professionals
  • the pharmacists' contribution to public health, which can be termed pharmaceutical public health
  • health services research methodology
  • the political, legislative and economic frameworks relevant to pharmacy
  • the analysis and management of risk.

Intellectual skills

You gain intellectual skills in the following areas:

  • the demonstration of knowledge and critical understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles and theories
  • the ability to apply the knowledge and understanding required to meet the needs of patients and other healthcare professionals
  • the ability to recognise and analyse problems and plan strategies for their solution
  • the critical evaluation, interpretation and synthesis of pharmaceutical information and data
  • the production of pharmacy-specific scientific documentation
  • the presentation of pharmaceutical science material and arguments clearly and correctly, in writing and orally, to both specialist and lay audiences
  • calculation of medicine doses and dosage regimens
  • the interpretation of patient and clinical data, including patient records held within practice settings
  • the ability to contribute to the development of health care through reflective practice, enquiry and innovation
  • the interpretation of prescriptions and other orders for medicines.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following areas:

  • the safe handling of chemical and pharmaceutical materials, taking into account their physical and chemical properties, including any specific hazards associated with their use
  • the ability to undertake risk assessments concerning pharmaceutical procedures and practices
  • the skills required for the conduct of standard pharmaceutical laboratory procedures
  • the planning, design and execution of self-directed and original research investigations, from the problem-recognition stage through to the evaluation of results and findings; the ability to select appropriate techniques and procedures
  • the operation of standard pharmaceutical instrumentation
  • the ability to evaluate and interpret data from laboratory and clinical observations, in terms of their significance and the underlying theory
  • preparation and presentation of medicines, by manufacture and extemporaneous dispensing, including sterile products
  •  skills in the analysis of medicines
  •  the ability to advise patients and others on the safe and effective use of medicines.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following areas:

  • interpersonal skills including written and oral communication skills, teamworking, and the ability to interact effectively with patients, the public and healthcare professionals
  • problem-solving, relating to qualitative and quantitative information, extending to situations where evaluations have to be made on the basis of limited information
  • numeracy and computation, including such aspects as error analysis, order-of-magnitude estimations, correct use of units and modes of data presentation
  • acquisition, transformation, interpretation and critical evaluation of data
  • information retrieval in relation to primary and secondary information sources, including online searches
  • information technology skills, including word processing, spreadsheet use, database use, archiving data and information, and internet communication
  • time-management and organisation; the ability to plan and implement efficient and effective modes of working
  • independent study skills as preparation for continuing professional development
  • an ethical attitude and approach
  • analysis and critical appraisal of published literature
  • application of general, biological and medical statistics
  • the ability to operate within a quality management framework
  • recognition of the need to work within personal limitations.

Independent rankings

Pharmacology and Pharmacy at Kent was ranked 1st for research intensity and scored 93% overall in The Complete University Guide 2021.

For graduate prospects, Pharmacology and Pharmacy at Kent scored 100% in The Times Good University Guide 2020 and 96% in The Guardian University Guide 2020 and The Complete University Guide 2021.

Of Pharmacy and Pharmacology graduates who responded to the most recent national survey of graduate destinations, 100% were in professional work or further study within six months (DLHE, 2017).

Careers

Graduate destinations

Our graduates are qualified to work in all branches of the profession such as:

  • hospitals
  • the NHS
  • pharmacies
  • primary care
  • industry
  • the armed services
  • prison services
  • academia.

Help finding a job

The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:

  • apply for jobs
  • write a good CV
  • perform well in interviews.

Work experience

Throughout the programme, you complete a number of external placements in hospitals and community pharmacies.

In your first year, you spend one and a half days in a community pharmacy. You then spend three days in hospital and one week in a community pharmacy during your second year of study. In Year 3, you go out to a hospital and a community pharmacy for one week each. A self-arranged two-week placement in a community pharmacy, hospital, GP surgery or industry is part of your final year of study.

Career-enhancing skills

Our graduates develop substantial transferable skills that are valued in a range of work environments.

These skills include:

  • communication
  • organisational and research skills
  • writing reports
  • performing laboratory work
  • working effectively and considerately in teams.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Professional recognition

You are required to complete a pre-registration year in practice and pass a registration exam before you can become a registered pharmacist in Great Britain. This is a separate programme for which you need to apply and a place on the programme is not guaranteed.

The programme has full accreditation from the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Apply for Pharmacy - MPharm

Full-time study through Clearing

For applications during Clearing, please see the University of Greenwich website.

  • UCAS code B230
  • Institution ID M62

Start your application

Contact us

bubble-text

United Kingdom/EU enquiries

Enquire online for full-time study

T: +44 (0)1634 202935

earth

International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

network

School website

Medway School of Pharmacy

Discover Uni information

Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.

Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.

It includes:

  • Information and guidance about higher education
  • Information about courses
  • Information about providers

Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.