Drug Discovery and Development MSc

Course overview

Do you want to have a positive impact on society by discovering new medicines that will improve lives?

On this course you’ll be exposed to a range of fields spanning the pharmaceutical industry, including pharmacology, biochemistry, chemistry, clinical research, and pharmaceutical commercialisation.

The multidisciplinary aspect of the course means you'll be taught by experts from the School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Chemistry, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, the Faculty of Medicine and Health, the Business School, as well as experts currently working in the pharma sector.

The broad range of topics will allow you to tailor your experience, offering you the opportunity to focus on topics such as medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology and preclinical/clinical drug development.

Applying

Entry requirements

Applicants should normally have a bachelor’s degree with at least a 2:1 or equivalent, preferably in a chemistry, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, pharmacy or pharmacology subject. Consideration will be given to applicants holding a 2:2 but who have 2:1 level marks in modules relevant to the programme.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Science (6 weeks) and Language for Science: General Science (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

This course is designed to ensure you’re workplace ready. Upon graduation, you’ll be equipped with the skills necessary to work for large pharmaceutical companies, small biotech companies, contract research organisations, government regulatory bodies and many more. It will also put you in a strong position to undertake a further research degree.

Our dedicated employability and opportunity team will ensure that you're aware of events and opportunities to increase your employability.

Our Masters career development programme will also support you to explore career options, practice job interviews and understand the PhD application process.

You'll also have access to seminars and presentations from industry professionals (including our alumni) at faculty-led career events. We also have regular research seminars presented by leading academics from around the world on their specialist subjects.