Pharmacy (4 Years) [MPharm]

The four-year MPharm programme provides a broad-based, scientifically strong education in pharmacy. It equips students with the skills needed to enter all areas of the profession and helps them adapt to changes that may occur during their careers. By the end of the four years, students are conversant with the professional aspects of pharmacy, able to communicate effectively and able to appreciate the professional and social role of the pharmacist.

What is pharmacy?

Pharmacists are experts in medicines. Therefore, a pharmacist can be involved in any aspect of the preparation and use of medicines, from the discovery of their active ingredients to their use by patients. Pharmacists also monitor the effects of medicines, both for patient care and for research purposes.

The MPharm degree is full-time and organised on a modular basis. The majority of modules are compulsory but there is opportunity, in the final year, to select modules to specialise in a chosen area of pharmacy.

During the first two years of the programme, teaching is within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. While in the third and fourth years, students have regular half-day visits to local hospitals where clinical sessions are held.

The content of the first three years of the programme is common to all students, with the exception of the foundation courses in the first year.

In the first year, as well as core course units, students take one foundation course from either mathematics, biology or academic literacy, depending on the subjects they studied at A level.

In the fourth year of the course, students take the core subjects and one specialist course unit which can be chosen from the following 'semester 7' options:

• Novel Drug Delivery Systems
• Microbial Disease and Immunisation
• Advanced Neuropharmacology

Students will also choose one specialist course unit taken from the following 'semester 8' options:

• Influences on Professional Practice
• Cancer Biology and Therapy
• Molecular Toxicology

• Semester 1
  • Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
  • Foundation Biology*
  • Foundation Mathematics*
  • Academic Literacy*
  • Physical Pharmacy 1
  • Information Technology
  • Core Tutorials and Practical Skills

• Semester 2
  • Pharmaceutical Chemistry - EBL
  • Introductory Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Microbiology
  • Physical Pharmacy 2
  • Orientation to the Practice of Pharmacy
  • Pharmaceutical Calculations
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)

* Students take one of the three foundation courses, as advised by the Director of Undergraduate Studies

• Semester 3
  • Pharmaceutical Analysis
  • Medicine Design 1
  • Physiology 1
  • Microbial Pathogenicity and Immunology
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)
  • Drug Toxicity

• Semester 4
  • Social Pharmacy
  • Physiology 2
  • Medicinal Chemistry
  • Forensic Science
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)
  • Medicines Design 2
  • Interprofessional Education - Health Promotion

• Semester 5
  • Pharmacology 1
  • Extemporaneous Formulation
  • Chemotherapy
  • Using OTC Medicines and Complimentary Therapies in the treatment of minor ailments
  • Pharmaceutical Microbiology
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)
  • Disease Management
  • Drug Disposition and Metabolism

• Semester 6
  • Social Pharmacy
  • Pharmacology 2
  • Law Relating to Pharmacy
  • Disease Management
  • Rational Drug Design
  • Physiological Biopharmaceutics
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)

• Semester 7
  • Disease Management
  • The Dispensing Process and Law relating to Pharmacy
  • Social Pharmacy and Interprofessional Studies
  • Novel Drug Delivery Systems +
  • Microbial Disease and Immunisation +
  • Advanced Neuropharmacology +
  • Pharmacokinetics - Dosage Regimen Design
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)

• Semester 8
  • Molecular Toxicology +
  • Cancer Biology and Therapy +
  • Influences on Professional Practice +
  • Production and Development of Drugs
  • Disease Management
  • Pharmaceutical Care
  • Drug Development Workshop**
  • Project**
  • Essay**
  • Law Relating to Pharmacy Update
  • Core Tutorials (pastoral only)

** Modules are taken in either semester 7 or semester 8 as advised by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

+ Current optional modules

Regrettably, the School is unable to offer scholarship or sponsorship opportunities for undergraduate students. The University of Manchester has a scholarship/bursary package available to home students. For further information, see funding

Accredited by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

(To be replaced in 2010 by the General Pharmaceutical Council).

Upon successful completion of the MPharm degree, graduates will be recognised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (from 2010 this professional body will be replaced by the General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC) as entitled to register as a pharmacist after completing one year of pre-registration training. Our Pharmacy programme has a broad inter-disciplinary scientific base and is flexible enough to meet differing career aspirations, whether in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, the pharmaceutical industry or in research.

• Community pharmacy: Community pharmacists, working from high street, local and rural pharmacies, use their detailed knowledge to ensure that the medicines ordered on the doctors' prescriptions or bought over the counter are correctly and safely supplied, with appropriate patient counselling on use, adverse side effects etc. They also act as readily accessible health advisors to the general public.
• Hospital pharmacy: Hospital pharmacists work directly with doctors, nurses and other health professionals to ensure that both in- and out-patients receive the most appropriate medicines and that those medicines are used in the most effective way. Additionally, the purchase, storage, manufacture, quality testing and distribution of medicines in NHS hospitals are primarily the responsibility of the pharmacy department.
• Industrial pharmacy: The pharmacist plays a vital role in all of the activities of the pharmaceutical industry, from research to technical and medical information, from product development to production.
• Research:  The research carried out in the laboratories of the pharmaceutical industry, research institutes, schools of pharmacy and in hospitals pushes back the frontiers of knowledge and provides a basis for further progress in the development of medicines and their use.

A pharmacist is the member of the health team who knows most about all aspects of medicines.

One of the most important advances in health care has been the development of highly specific and effective medicines - medicines that have virtually eliminated some diseases which were major killers in the recent past, and that have reduced the impact of many others.

Pharmacists are the profession legally responsible for the supply of medicines. Their clinical role is concerned with medicines management, which seeks to improve health through the best use of medicines. Pharmacists work in:

• community pharmacies
• GPs surgeries
• hospitals
• industry
• government
• universities.

How do you become a pharmacist?

To be able to use the title of pharmacist in the UK, you must be registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (or the General Pharmaceutical Council from 2010). Membership is granted to graduates with a degree in pharmacy from a UK university who have completed a year's training at an approved establishment and passed a registration exam set by the Society or GPhC.

Training is usually arranged as either 12 months in a hospital or community pharmacy, but it can be done for 6 months in the pharmaceutical industry and 6 months in either hospital or community pharmacy.

Pharmacy offers a variety of interesting careers. Pharmacists can work in a range of positions, with the possibility of flexible working across several of the sectors. Students taking a degree in pharmacy can feel confident that they are starting on a career in which there will always be a need for their services.

Community pharmacy

Three out of five pharmacists practise in community pharmacy. They will either own a pharmacy ("chemist's shop") or be employed to manage and provide professional services within one.

The duties of a community pharmacist involve supplying medicine for prescriptions, managing medicine for minor ailments of members of the public and giving advice on medicines. They also provide screening services and extra services to patients who are housebound.

Many community pharmacists also provide a pharmaceutical service to nursing and care homes, involving medication reviews and advice on storage and administration of medicines. Some also work with general practitioners (GPs) on a sessional basis, for example, to develop more cost-effective prescribing and practice formularies.

Hospital pharmacy

Hospital pharmacists work on hospital wards or in outpatient clinics. Most hospital pharmacists specialise in a clinical area, such as paediatrics or intensive care, where they can work towards consultant status.

Working as a hospital pharmacist, practitioners spend a lot of their time on wards with patients and other healthcare professionals as they work with doctors and nurses as part of a multidisciplinary patient-care team.

Primary care

Primary-care pharmacists work in GP practices. They do not provide a dispensing service, but work with GPs in developing practice formularies and more cost-effective and patient-centred prescribing.

They are involved in a range of services, including drug use reviews, running clinics such as those for cholesterol monitoring, and reviewing the medication of patients on complex drug regimens.

They normally have access to patients' notes and medication profile.

Pharmaceutical advisors

Pharmaceutical advisors' duties include analysing prescribing data at Primary care Trust (PCT) and GP-level, and development of prescribing policy and guidance to GPs on improving the cost-effectiveness of their prescribing.

Many pharmaceutical advisors also advise PCTs on the development of community pharmacy services and on commissioning secondary care services where drug treatments are pivotal.

Pharmaceutical industry

As well as developing new drugs, the pharmaceutical industry is responsible for the production of existing drugs, ensuring that they are safe, effective and of the highest quality.

Pharmacists are found in all areas of the industry. They use specialist knowledge and skills while keeping a broad view of drug treatment. The range of roles for pharmacists includes:

• Research
• Medical information
• Pharmacovigilance (monitoring product safety)
• Regulatory affairs (obtaining product licenses from health authorities)
• Medical writing
• Manufacturing and quality control
• Clinical trial supplies
• Sales
• National and international marketing
• General management.

Industrial pharmacists have considerable interaction with colleague, academic researchers, clinicians and other NHS personnel.

Other careers

Pharmacists can also work in:

• medical journalism
• forensic service
• the armed forces
• VSO (voluntary service overseas)
• universities
• the NHS
• National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE)
• agricultural and veterinary pharmacy.

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is one of the UK's leading centres for pharmacy research with 95% of its work classed as internationally significant in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

• Research Assessment Exercise 2008: further information

English language:

• GCSE, IGCSE or O-level at grade B
• IELTS grade 7
• TOEFL: 250 (computer based); 600 (paper based); 100 (internet based)
• UCLES Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English at grade C

Students who do not have GCSE English Language at grade B will be accepted if they have GCSE English Literature at grade B instead. If a student does not have either Language or Literature at the required grade but feels that they can present a strong UCAS application (ie high AS grades, good academic and personal reference and predicted A-level grades in the region of BBB or higher) then the School will assess individual cases and may overlook the specific requirement for GCSE English Language.

A level: Grades AAB-ABB. This must include Chemistry, either Mathematics or Biology, and one further rigorous academic subject.

AS level: Two AS levels are considered in place of the third A-level only.

Unit grade information: The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit grade information which, like all other available information, will inform the consideration of applications.  Unit grades will not normally form part of offer conditions, except for Mathematics programmes.

GCSE: Minimum of grade B in English Language and Mathematics.

Key Skills qualification: The University warmly welcomes applications from students studying the Key Skills qualification. However, as the opportunities to take these modules are not open to all applicants, currently this is not an essential requirement of the University.

International Baccalaureate:

Successful completion of the Baccalaureate, 33-35 points overall including:

• 6 in chemistry
• 6 and 5 in mathematics and biology, in any order
• All at Higher level

Additional entry requirements

All applicants apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). UCAS application forms can be obtained from schools or directly from UCAS. This should be done 9-12 months before you intend to start your course (21-24 months in the case of gap-year students).

UCAS send copies of applicants' forms to the School, which then decides whether to invite applicants to interview. In most cases, this is done within 72 hours of receipt of the UCAS form at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Before completing the UCAS application form, students are advised to read the notes for applicants (see section below).

Competition for places on the MPharm programme is fierce and only the best students are invited for interview. The School is looking for well-motivated, well-organised students and applying in good time is usually an indication of this. Those students who apply early also tend to do well in first-year examinations.

The personal statement that applicants provide offers an opportunity for candidates to stand out from the others. A creative statement that demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment for the subject will improve an applicant's chance of success. Include details of outside interests, work experience and any position of responsibility held. Personal statements will be read by at least two people. Make sure it is literate and legible. A weak personal statement, weak academic reference or a late application may result in rejection.

Applications from students already studying at this university will not be considered unless the initial approach is made by the student's personal or year tutor.

Please note: the School has a zero tolerance policy on plagiarised personal statements. Any statements that are flagged by the UCAS Similarity Detection Service will be automatically rejected. 

Interviews

All UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) students who are being considered for entry onto the MPharm programme must attend a formal interview. With over 1900 applications to consider each academic year and only 12 interview dates per session, only the best students are selected for interview. As a general rule, students who are given the opportunity to attend for interview (held on Wednesday afternoons from 1-4pm) should have a good set of GCSEs and AS grades with a predicted minimum of BBB at A level.

If a student's AS grades are below standard but their school confidently expects them to achieve a minimum of BBB at A- level, the student's head teacher should explain his/her confidence in the student's ability on the UCAS form. All offers are based on a combination of predicted/achieved A-levels (or equivalent), personal statement, referee statement and interview assessment. The interview is an important part of the application process and those who fail to attend, without prior explanation, will have their applications withdrawn.

Students are expected to attend the visit day from 1-4pm, although the interview itself should last no longer than 15 minutes and is one-on-one with an academic member of staff. During the visit day students are asked to complete two written assignments which will be used to assess written communication ability. These assessments will gauge current knowledge and are not something that students can specifically revise for.

Students will be taken on to a tour of the School facilities and they will be given the opportunity to meet academic staff and current students. There is a parallel programme for parents, who are very welcome to attend the interview day. Further information on the day's activities will be sent by post at the appropriate time.

Students invited by the School for interview will be asked to confirm their attendance by either returning the form enclosed with the interview invitation or by using an online form.

• Interview/open day sign-up form

Offers

The majority of students interviewed are made a conditional or unconditional offer of a place. The School aims to post offer letters to students by the following Monday after the interview. Please note that offers are based on a combination of predicted (or achieved) grades, UCAS application and interview assessment.

Students living overseas

Students living overseas (excluding Northern Ireland, ROI and the Channel Isles) are not required to attend an interview. Overseas students' applications are considered on the basis of their application form. The School aims to send offer letters to successful candidates within 72 hours of receipt of the applicant's UCAS form. Sometimes overseas qualifications do not permit direct entry onto the MPharm programme.

Students living a considerable distance from Manchester

Students living in the north of Scotland, in Northern Ireland, ROI or the Channel Isles are expected to attend for interview, but will be offered a wide choice of interview dates provided they apply in good time.

Students with unusual qualifications

The School is sometimes keen to interview a student but a gap in their entry qualifications means their proficiency in one or more subjects needs to be assessed. These applicants are invited to a special interview day in the spring, during which they will take part in formal tests in English, mathematics, chemistry and another science subject. Students who do well in these tests will be offered a place on the MPharm course in the normal way.

Reconsideration

The overwhelming majority of unsuccessful applicants are rejected because they do not satisfy the School's entry requirements but requests for reconsideration of a decision can be made. They should be made in writing (by the applicant) and addressed to the Undergraduate Administrator and supported (in writing) by the applicant's tutor, if the applicant is at school or college.

Candidates whose primary choice of course is Medicine or Dentistry

Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy all require high motivation. All three Schools favour students who are committed, rather than those who cannot decide between the three. Students whose first choice of study is Pharmacy are more likely to do well than those who would prefer to be studying a different discipline. However, the School will not automatically reject an applicant who has applied for Medicine or Dentistry. If a candidate submits a strong UCAS form, which is quite obviously aimed at a different discipline, the School may contact them for a revised personal statement that is geared towards entry to Pharmacy. After consideration, the applicant may be invited to attend for interview.

Preferred A-level combination

The best combination of subjects to prepare for a Pharmacy degree is Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Provided Chemistry and either Mathematics or Biology A-levels are taken, the School will consider any third subject.

At present, students on the MPharm programme study one foundation subject in the first semester. This allows considerable flexibility in A-level choices, especially when very good candidates are being considered for admission. Please note that the level of any offer will be affected by how well the combination of subjects prepares the student for the course.

Conditional Firm (CF) and Conditional Insurance (CI) choices

Students should choose their CF and CI choices with care. Ideally, the CF choice should be at the University where they really want to study. If the Manchester School of Pharmacy makes a conditional offer to a student, they need to fulfil the School's standard offer - which is ABB/AAB - as it expects to fill the course with students who achieve those grades. Some other Schools make high offers but expect to accept students with much lower grades. Students should find out as much as possible before choosing their firm and insurance choices.

Please note that Pharmacy at Manchester is seldom a good insurance choice. Students should inform UCAS of their decision as soon as possible once they have made up their mind.

Transfer students

Transfer students are not accepted as such. All applications must be directed through UCAS and students must satisfy entry requirements, ie ABB in three suitable A-level subjects (or equivalent qualifications). The School does not accept insufficient A-level grades alongside one or two years on an alternative degree programme.

Advanced entry

All applications are considered for first-year entry only onto the MPharm programme.

Communication and dress code

The School of Pharmacy has adopted the same policy regarding dress code as the School of Medicine and other schools in the Faculty, which is in line with guidance set out by the General Medical Council (GMC).The GMC states that non-verbal communication is at least as important as verbal communication, and so how a student or pharmacist appears to patients, relatives or colleagues means as much as what he or she says. It follows from the GMC guidance that students (and pharmacists) must in professional settings:

• Dress in a manner that adds to, and does not detract from, effective communication.

How he/she appears as a student professional or a pharmacist is something all students and graduates must consider and respond to. In general, male and female students should be clean and smartly dressed. Thus the following are not permitted as they are deemed to be incompatible with effective, sensitive communication:

• Wearing a t-shirt with slogans
• baseball hats
• Visible body art
• Large amounts of body and face jewellery
• Revealing clothing that may be considered unacceptable by patients
• Covering most of the face. This is true not only in clinical settings but also throughout the educational elements of the undergraduate programme, which is built around group work with other students and tutors.

In addition, the convention of some clinical units may require wearing white coats or other approved clothing. Hair should be tied back if it interferes with, or adds risk, to a clinical interaction. Students must be able to participate fully in communication and other skills training, discussion and assessment. As well as adhering to the dress code above, it means being able to interact fully with patients, standardised patients, teachers and examiners of any cultural or ethnic background or either gender.

In addition to completing the disclosure of criminal convictions section on your UCAS form, students will be required during the second year of the MPharm programme to submit to a criminal records check. This takes the form of an Enhanced Level search by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The School will assist students in the completion of these forms.

All students must complete this satisfactorily in order to commence the Hospital Clinical Tutorials in the third and fourth year of the programme.

A wide variety of teaching and learning activities are used throughout the programme including lectures, tutorials, practical classes, computer-based and enquiry-based learning sessions, group work and research projects.

As a formal part of third and fourth year studies, students attend clinical tutorials which are run within the hospital setting by experienced Clinical Tutors.

Teaching on the MPharm programme was awarded the maximum mark of 24 in the most recent review by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Students' learning is enhanced by their exposure to teacher-practitioners and clinical lecturers from community and hospital pharmacy.

The QAA report identified a number of positive features in the School, including:

• The variety of teaching, learning and assessment methods employed at all levels, which contributes to students' independent learning and the development of transferable skills
• The involvement of teachers with experience of professional practice
• The extent to which the curriculum is informed by the staff's research achievements
• The excellent programme completion rates and evidence of the high achievements of students

Students' knowledge is mainly assessed in end-of-semester examinations by essay-type questions, short answers, multiple-choice questions and web-based assessment. Report-writing skills are assessed through a project and essay, and students' practical skills are continuously assessed during practical classes and practical examinations.

The final degree mark is based on the results of second, third and fourth year examinations, the fourth year project and extended essay.

Study facilities

The School of Pharmacy has now relocated to the Stopford Building, where £18 million was allocated by the University for the provision of new teaching and research facilities. This provides our undergraduate students with state-of-the-art modern facilities. Specialised Aseptic Laboratories and Communication Studios have been built, along with a new Dispensing Suite and project laboratories.

The School also has a newly refurbished 90 terminal PC cluster available to undergraduates when not used for scheduled, supervised CAL classes, with a full complement of pharmacy specific and office based software packages available. Through the Pharmacy Computer Assisted Learning (PCAL) Consortium, students can access all PCAL and Pharma-CAL-ogy software packages by any networked machines across campus. The John Rylands University Library is the third-largest academic library in Britain with long opening hours and extensive resources for study.