BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science (Including Foundation Year)
The foundation route is designed for students who do not meet the admissions criteria for the BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science degree. You’ll start by completing a foundation year, which provides well structured support, allowing you to develop your scientific skills and knowledge.
The content of our pharmaceutical science course has a strong grounding in the chemical and biological sciences, complemented by industry-specific topics such as pharmaceutical regulation and quality assurance.
You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of topics relevant to the field of pharmaceuticals, their design, development, quality control, and manufacture. To enhance your career potential, there is an emphasis on practical experience of techniques used in the pharmaceutical industry.
What you will study
The first year provides you with well structured support, allowing you to develop your scientific skills and knowledge. In the second year, you will study a variety of modules which will provide you with a strong grounding in chemistry that will prove invaluable during the rest of your degree and working life. To begin to understand the biological action of drugs and their impact, you will also be introduced to fundamental human biology and biochemistry.
All of these modules involve practical work and you will gain hands-on experience using equipment in our state-of-the-art laboratories. You would also be taught mathematics to enable you to understand the relevance of mathematics and statistics in the field of chemical and pharmaceutical science.
The third year focuses on chemical synthesis, drug design, drug action and chemical analysis. In your fourth year you will continue to develop your knowledge and skills in chemical synthesis and analysis, quality control and quality assurance regulatory affairs as well as use industry standard instruments/ equipment.
Foundation Year: Pharmaceutical Science Degree
- Foundation Biology
- Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Key Skills and Professional Development
- Foundation Chemistry
- Physical Science
- Scientific Data Literacy
Year One: Pharmaceutical Science Degree
- Microorganisms and the Dynamic Cell
- Biological Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
- Fundamental Inorganic Chemistry
- Your Skills, Your Future
Year Two: Pharmaceutical Science Degree
- Introduction to Pharmacology
- Spectroscopy
- Analytical Chemistry
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry
- Heterocyclic Chemistry and an Introduction to Drug Design
- Bioinorganic Chemistry
Year Three: Pharmaceutical Science Degree
- Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology
- Advanced Analytical Chemistry
- Professional Practice, Employability and Project for Pharmaceutical Science
- Advanced Organic Chemistry
- Quality Control and Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry
- Advanced Drug Design and an Introduction to Formulation Science
Careers
This Pharmaceutical Science course provides you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that will make you highly marketable to employers in the pharmaceutical sector. Being one of the largest employers of scientists in the UK, jobs for scientists within the sector are quite varied. You can pursue a career in research and development, and many scientists may also find themselves in roles that may range from a purely lab-based position, to marketing, patent filing, quality assurance/regulation, or even as a sales representative.