Queen's University of Belfast - Medical Faculty
Master of Pharmacy
Belfast, United Kingdom
Master degree
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,300 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* EU and international student
Key Summary
The MPharm degree is designed to enable students to become experts in medicines and ensure their safe and effective use. Students will gain the necessary skills to allow them to be capable of working in multi-professional teams across a variety of healthcare settings to enhance patient outcomes and person-centred care.
Pharmacy Highlights
- World Class Facilities
- Career Development
- Professional Accreditations
- Industry Links
- World Class Facilities
- Further Study Opportunities
Each year, we offer a range of scholarships and prizes for new students.
We offer prestigious, competitive scholarships of up to 50% off tuition fees to new international students. You must have an offer to study a full-time course with us in 2024 to apply for a scholarship.
Year 1
- Skills for Pharmacy (0 credits)
- Physical and Chemical Properties of Drug Molecules (30 credits)
- Introduction to the Profession and Practice of Pharmacy (30 credits)
- How the Human Body Works (40 credits)
- Microbes and Medicines (20 credits)
Year 2
- Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 1 (40 credits)
- Medicinal Substances (30 credits)
- Placements and Preparation for Professional Practice 1 (20 credits)
- Pharmaceutical Technology (30 credits)
Year 3
- Advanced Delivery of Large and Small Molecules (20 credits)
- Placements & Preparation for Professional Practice 2 (40 credits)
- Genomic, Personalised and Future Medicines (20 credits)
- Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2 (40 credits)
- OSCEs for Year 3 (0 credits)
Year 4
- Placements and Preparation for Professional Practice (40 credits)
- OSCEs (0 credits)
- Research Project (30 credits)
- Advanced Practice and Therapeutics (30 credits)
- Managing Conditions in the Pharmacy (20 credits)
Assessment
Details of assessments associated with this course are outlined below:
How students are assessed will vary according to the learning outcomes of each module. Many modules are assessed through a combination of coursework (will could encompass laboratory reports, class tests, role plays, oral presentations, observing and assessing students undertaking tasks such as physical examination skills), OSCEs and written examinations. However, some are coursework only and others are examinations only. Details of how each module is assessed, including the weighting of the individual elements, are provided in Canvas (the virtual learning environment). The experiential learning placements will include the completion of various activities, with further details about this provided during the MPharm course.
Queen’s University Belfast is ranked 174th in the QS World University Rankings 2027
The MPharm course at Queen’s is accredited by the GPhC and the Pharmaceutical Society NI. To become a pharmacist in the UK, you will need to complete five years of initial education (typically a four-year MPharm degree followed by a foundation training year in the UK), pass a joint (common) registration assessment set by the GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society NI, and have your name added to the relevant pharmacist register. Some universities may offer integrated 5-year degrees but Queen’s University Belfast does not. Our MPharm degree is a 4-year degree programme which must be completed before starting the foundation training year within the UK.
The foundation training year in Northern Ireland (which is separate from the Queen’s University Belfast MPharm programme) is currently changing in light of the 2021 Standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists.
Our graduates typically pursue careers in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, general practice and the pharmaceutical industry. However, career paths in a range of other sectors include academia, scientific publishing, and regulation. Further information regarding careers in pharmacy may be obtained from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Pharmacy Forum NI.
To develop and deliver the MPharm course, we engage with external stakeholders including multinational and independent pharmacy employers, the Department of Health NI, the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development, GP Federations, patient groups and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry.
Prizes and Awards
Several employers and professional bodies, among others, sponsor prizes on an annual basis for top-performing students. However, these are subject to change for 2025-26 entry.
Therefore while we can confirm that there will be a range of prizes available including prizes linked to the experiential learning placements we cannot provide exact details at the time of writing without further input from current or future sponsors.
Degree Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised by a world-leading university, but you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this the Degree Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Contact Teaching Hours
Medium Group Teaching
12 (hours maximum)
Small to medium group teaching (e.g. tutorials, workshops and practicals): 12 hours per week. Please note: this is an average weekly amount across the teaching semester and will depend on when the placements occur.
Large Group Teaching
8 (hours maximum)
Large Group Teaching (e.g. lectures) 6-8 hours per week Please note: this is an average weekly amount across the teaching semester and will depend on when the placements occur.
Teaching Times
The course is taught across the week from Monday through to Friday. Further information about experiential learning can be found under module information.
Learning and Teaching
We are recognised for our excellence in teaching and our international reputation in research. Students are taught by a diverse range of experts, including practising pharmacists from primary and secondary care settings in the UK, and staff who have educational fellowships and educational awards. The School of Pharmacy is one of the top-ranked schools of pharmacy in the UK. Moreover, in the QS World University Rankings 2023 (by subject), the School of Pharmacy was ranked in the top 40 Schools of Pharmacy in the world. The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 show that Queen's Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy has been ranked 4th in the UK according to Times Higher Education. The School engages with external stakeholders for course development and has developed local, national and international relationships with a wide range of external research and education experts. We use contemporary evidence-based teaching, learning, and assessment approaches and course content typically increases in complexity as the course progresses.