Pharmacy MPharm

Course overview

The Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). An MPharm from an accredited UK school of pharmacy is a necessary requirement for anyone wishing to have a career as a pharmacist. To register as a pharmacist in Britain, you will need to undertake a year of foundation training after graduation, and then pass the qualifying examinations of the GPhC.

The GPhC published new Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists in 2021. The new standards place a much greater focus on the development of clinical skills and on person-centred care. These changes will help to ensure that pharmacists are fully equipped for their future roles, providing clinical care to patients and the public, including by diagnosing disease and prescribing medicines, and by application of the science that underpins pharmacy.

Experiential learning placements, including contact with patients, members of the public and other healthcare professionals, will also form a much larger part of the MPharm programme, preparing you for the world of work as practising pharmacists.

From 2026, pharmacists can become independent prescribers from the point of registration, and the MPharm programme incorporates the development of the skills, knowledge and attributes for prescribing that are required to enable this.

The programme places a strong emphasis on the multi-disciplinary nature of pharmacy, and the interrelationship between science and clinical pharmacy. Integrated approaches are employed to understand the anatomy, physiology and normal function of body systems, the common diseases of those systems, and the pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, formulation and clinical use of therapeutic drugs used to manage those diseases – all within the context of the professional role of the pharmacist as the medicines expert.

In Year 4 of the programme, students undertake a research project in an area of pharmacy or pharmaceutical science. This project may be carried out in the School in one of our research laboratories, or with one of our NHS or international partners.

Pharmacists are healthcare professionals who are experts in medicines, with a detailed understanding of the scientific basis of therapy. The MPharm programme integrates pharmaceutical science into the practice of clinical pharmacy. We offer you the opportunity to become a confident and competent healthcare professional with patient safety and wellbeing as your primary concern.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3

The foundation of your career

Most pharmacists work in community pharmacies on the high street, or in supermarkets or GP practices. This is the most common route for our graduates.

Another popular sector of the profession is hospital pharmacy, working closely with doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. After one or two years, a hospital pharmacist can choose to specialise in areas such as cancer, paediatrics, HIV, surgery or education and training.

There are also career routes into industry and academia. Industrial pharmacists work in research and development, production, quality control, clinical trials, product registration and medical information. Those choosing to stay in the academic world undertake teaching and research.

Employability

MPharm graduates must apply for and undertake a year of foundation training before passing the registration examination to qualify as a professional pharmacist. As a pharmacy professional you will be a frontline healthcare provider and can have a direct impact on people's lives and health.

The UCL School of Pharmacy has a dedicated foundation training co-ordinator and an excellent graduate employment rate. A Pharmacy degree from UCL will bring a wide range of career choices. According to the Graduate Outcomes Survey, 96% of graduates who graduated in 2020-2021 were in highly skilled work 15 months after the course.