Key information
UCAS code:
B230
Accreditation:
This course is Accredited
Typical offer:
120-128 from 3 A levels, or equivalent, to include 80 UCAS points in specific subjects
Showing content for section Overview
Overview
Gain insight into the pharmaceutical advances of the future and learn how to use modern drug technology with this accredited MPharm (Hons) Pharmacy degree.
Practise using the skills and knowledge you learn under supervision from GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) registered pharmacists and out in the field. Achieve valuable on-the-job experience with patients and the public on placements as you prepare for practice and independent prescribing.
Once you graduate, you'll need to complete a foundation training year in a pharmacy setting, and pass the registration assessment, to register as a Pharmacist with the GPhC. You could also go onto a career in areas such as drug development and formulation, and clinical trials.
Course highlights
- Learn from qualified pharmacists who have backgrounds in community and hospital pharmacy settings
- Practise applying your skills and scientific knowledge in a fully-stocked model pharmacy and in simulated consultation rooms, a care home, surgery and hospital wards
- Study alongside students from other healthcare disciplines to get an understanding of all stages of the patient experience
- Check and dispense real prescriptions, counsel patients on medicine use, respond to symptoms and undertake medical histories
- Take opportunities to get further pharmaceutical experience in settings such as GP surgeries and mental health hospitals
- Get support arranging your foundation training year after the course
No.3
in the UK for pharmacy and pharmacology courses
(The Guardian University Guide, 2024)
Top 30
for student satisfaction
(Times Higher Education, 2024)
GPhC accreditation
This course is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
MPharm (Hons) Pharmacy
Play a part in the pharmaceutical advances of the future and learn how to use modern drug tech to make a difference to society with our GPhC-accredited MPharm (Hons) Pharmacy degree.
The pharmacy course at the University of Portsmouth is designed for students who are interested in public health, helping patients get the most out of their medicines and general well-being of all patients of today.
What I love most about the pharmacy course is you can learn around each subject as you wish.
The facilities at the University of Portsmouth are state of the art.
We have the mannequins so we can treat them.
We have arms as well, so we can take blood pressures.
We have heads so you can look at otoscopes, we also have the labs for the chemistry elements of the course as well.
Students have an opportunity to practice within a safe simulated environment to do that on each other or with our simulated patients when they come in to volunteer.
Three qualities a student needs to succeed on the course would be organisation, time management and being able to adapt to different scenarios.
We offer a huge opportunity within placements and that could be with a large multiple or one of our local pharmacies and in addition to that, within the hospital setting too.
Be yourself, try your hardest and everything will be all right.
If you need any help, there's always someone to help you.
Contact information
Contact AdmissionsClearing is open
This course is available through Clearing.
How to apply for accommodation
We have a variety of accommodation options, including studios, en-suites, catered, self-catered and private rental options. See how our housing team can help you find a place to call home.
Clearing FAQs
To work out your UCAS points, use our UCAS Calculator to work out how many UCAS points you have.
The tariff calculator will allow you to see what grades you need to get into your preferred course at Portsmouth.
You can apply through Clearing if:
- You don't meet the conditions of your offer for your firm (first) or insurance (second) choice courses
- Your exam results are better than you expected and you want to change your course or university
- You don't hold any offers
- You've accepted an offer but changed your mind about the course you want to do
- You're applying for the first time after 30 June 2024
After we make you an offer we'll send you a confirmation email. This email will let you know what you need to do next and it will tell you what you need to provide us. In some instances we may ask you to send us copies of certificates or you may need to send us a portfolio.
If you've previously applied through UCAS you'll need to use your UCAS Hub to accept our offer by adding us as your Clearing choice.
If you're having issues, please contact us on +44 (0)23 9284 8090 or admissions@port.ac.uk
Once you've accepted your Clearing course offer, we'll be in touch with details of available accommodation in the area. This will include our latest hall availability and support to find local rented accommodation via portsmouthstudentpad.co.uk
See our accommodation page for more information.
No, it's not too late and you should make your application for student finance as soon as possible. You don't have to wait for your results. You can make your application now and just amend it when you know where you're going to be.
If you've already applied for your student loan, you'll need to log into your account and update details about your new course/university. If you haven't applied for your student loan yet, don't panic. Apply today – it only takes 30 minutes.
Find out more in our Student finance for Clearing guide.
If you're an EU or international student and you need a visa to study here, you need to start the process quickly as visas can take some time to come through. Get in touch with our visa support team if you have a question or problem.
See more on visa advice.
If you would like further information or guidance, please contact our international office or call our International Clearing Hotline on +44(0)23 9284 8785.
Entry requirements
MPharm (Hons) Pharmacy entry requirements
Typical offers
- A levels - ABB-BBB
- UCAS points - 120-128 from 3 A levels, or equivalent, to include 40 points from A level Chemistry, and 40 points from an A level in a second Science subject or Mathematics. Other qualifications are considered including BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science at DDM plus A level Chemistry. For A levels which include a separate science practical component, a pass is desirable and may strengthen an application. (Calculate your UCAS points)
- BTECs (Extended Diplomas) - DDM
- International Baccalaureate - 29-30
Selection process
- All shortlisted applicants will be invited to an online values based interview, which includes a situational judgement test. This will be used alongside your application to determine your suitability for this course.
- Applicants should be aware that any offer on the course is subject to passing an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and occupational health assessment of fitness to study, which will be conducted after enrolment on the course.
*Please note: A levels in Applied Science, General Studies, Critical Thinking and Citizenship Studies are not normally accepted.
You may need to have studied specific subjects – find full entry requirements and other qualifications we accept.
English language requirements
- English Language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.
See alternative English language qualifications.
We also accept other standard English tests and qualifications, as long as they meet the minimum requirements of your course.
If you don't meet the English language requirements yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
If you don't meet the entry requirements, you may be able to join this course after you successfully complete a foundation year.
We look at more than just your grades
While we consider your grades when making an offer, we also carefully look at your circumstances and other factors to assess your potential. These include whether you live and work in the region and your personal and family circumstances which we assess using established data.
Your facilities
Centre for Simulation in Health and Care
This modern facility helps you develop the practical skills you need to work in the health and care-related sciences, in a safe, contextual and realistic environment.
Model pharmacy
Part of the Pharmacy and Biomedical Science Teaching Centre, the model pharmacy allows you to practise each step of the dispensing process.
Pharmaceutics laboratories
Develop a better understanding of the causes and consequences of diseases in these labs, as well as the skills and expertise needed to develop and test new drugs.
Dispensary facilities and model pharmacy video
Find out how our dispensary facilities help prepare you for your career as a pharmacist with Dr Helen Hull, Course Leader for MPharm (Hons) Pharmacy.
Dr Helen Hull: Hello there, my name is Helen Hull, and I'm the course leader for the Pharmacy course here at the University of Portsmouth.
We've got state-of-the-art facilities here at Portsmouth. And today I'm just going to share with you some of the activities that you'll be doing when you come and join us as a first year Pharmacy student.
The activities in the dispensing is learning all about the legality of prescriptions. Is the prescription complete? Do we have all the information that we need to enable us to make that product? And then finally, is it clinically appropriate? We look at who the patient is and is that dose a safe dose to give to that patient.
So students will assess the prescription first, and if they're happy that prescription is legal, complete and clinically appropriate, they're then encouraged to go on and make that supply. So the first thing they would do is queue up at our dispensary with their basket and with their prescription, and they'd collect the product that they're going to dispense. They then take it back to their bench and they create a label with all those instructions that's on the prescription. And then finally they put that label on top of the item that they've selected, and they hand that in for marking. They bring it to an academic at the front desk and they slot their basket in for marking.
What we're proud of at the University of Portsmouth, on our Pharmacy course, is our students get instant feedback during these workshops. At the end of making all their prescriptions, we bring the students together in groups of maybe two or three students and they congregate around a large screen and they look at some accuracy checking activities. It's a good opportunity for them to assess those prescriptions in the exercise at the end of the workshop, where they can compare their answers and discuss with each other some of the positives and negatives of that activity.
My favourite part of the course is the simulation labs and the workshops – the staff give so much support and help however they can!
Careers and opportunities
Demand for qualified pharmacists is increasing. After completing the MPharm course, you can become a fully qualified pharmacist within a year if you successfully complete the foundation training and pass the GPhC registration examination (maximum three attempts).
Foundation training can be undertaken in one pharmacy setting or split across a variety of different settings – including communities, hospitals, and general practice. You can also secure foundation training in the pharmaceutical industry.
Foundation training support
Our Careers and Employability Service can support you in applying for your foundation year training, helping with interview techniques and the application process. You'll get help, advice and support for up to 5 years after you leave the University.
Potential salary
As a fully qualified Pharmacist in the NHS, you'll usually start at the bottom of band 6 of the Agenda for Change pay scale (£32,306 in 2021/22). As your NHS career progresses, you could reach band 9 as a chief pharmacist (£93,735–£108,075 in 2021/22).
What other roles can you do with a Pharmacy degree?
The expanding responsibilities of pharmacists means you'll have many other job options at the end of the course. Areas you could work in include:
- drug development and formulation
- involvement with toxicity studies
- clinical trials
- marketing
- regulatory affairs
- medical writing
Graduate destinations
Recent graduates have gone on to work for organisations including:
- Novartis
- Reckitt Benckiser
- Boots
- Superdrug
- Goldchem
- Virgin Care
- Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Pharmacy - Devan Seedher: Portsmouth Graduate Stories
Find out what Devan's role entails and how he’s applying the skills he learnt during his time at Portsmouth
Devan Seedher:
What attracted me to apply at Portsmouth was the fact that I studied one year at Kingston University, but I didn't get the experience to actually sort of live out and Portsmouth, I remember when I visited the place, I just fell in love with it. Just known for its views, being near the seafront and I heard about the incredible teaching as well and the reputation it had when it came to the pharmacy course. So I thought, why not apply and I'm really glad I did.
What made Pharmacy really special for me at Portsmouth was the fact that it wasn't just lectures, but there were workshops as well. So we had the opportunity to take what we learned from the lecturers and put them forward in practice and that's something which I've taken forward in my career as a medical governance advisor.
So I knew I didn't want to become a community hospital pharmacist, but I wanted to branch out into something that involved the pharmacy industry as a whole and that's how I got involved into Pharma. My role is to ensure that any sort of materials or activities a Pharma company does is basically compliant with the code.
What stood out to me the most when it came to my time at Portsmouth was just the amount of support the lecturers gave. They all sort of stood out to me as lecturers that really wanted to push you and actually develop you and I think in a profession such as pharmacy, that's quite important. I don't think I'd be where I’m at today without the level of support that the University of Portsmouth has given me.
What the future holds for me now is more development in my current field. That's the beauty of the pharmaceutical industry, is the fact that there's always room for more growth and more career progression. So I think right now the sky's the limit.
Placements and work experience
You'll get plenty of experience dealing with patients and the public on this course, including a total of 16 weeks of placement across all 4 years of the MPharm course.
Possible placement locations include:
- Community pharmacies in Portsmouth, the surrounding areas and nationwide (where possible)
- Local hospital pharmacies such as Queen Alexandra in Portsmouth, St. Richard's in Chichester, Worthing Hospital, Southampton General Hospital, Royal County Hospital in Winchester, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and St. Mary's on the Isle of Wight
- GP surgeries in Portsmouth and surrounding areas
- Solent NHS Trust’s mental health in-patient services
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board
- Health in Justice – prison pharmacies
You'll also have the chance to volunteer in the local community, providing health checks to groups in the local community.
Our Careers and Employability Service can help you find further work experience opportunities during your course.
We can help you identify placements, internships and voluntary opportunities – including a summer research placement at a European university – that will complement your studies and build your CV. Note that you may be expected to travel up to 90 minutes to your placement location using public transport.
I love the freedom to learn around each subject... We all have to do the same modules but how you approach each module is up to you.
Modules
What you'll study
Core modules
When you complete this module successfully, you'll be able to:
- Identify, plan, evaluate and address personal learning needs, including the need for sound mathematical and statistical knowledge
- Reflect on the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacist and different professions involved in the delivery of patient care.
- Describe the principles of atomic and molecular structure, predict the shape of simple molecules, recognise functional groups
- Demonstrate how the structure of a molecule can influence its physical and chemical properties within the context of pharmaceutical chemistry
- Explain the basic concepts of bioinorganic, structural and mechanistic organic chemistry in relation to pharmaceutical applications and biological processes
- Provide a basic overview of the drug development process and physicochemical principles that will inform formulating molecules into medicines in various pharmacy settings, recognising the different routes of administration and how this will inform the choice of dosage form, excipients, packaging and drug stability.
- Describe basic human physiology and anatomy of the various organ systems, including at cellular level, their interaction with microbial organisms
- Describe the biologically important molecules and the cellular locations and roles of the main metabolic pathways while applying the principles of enzyme kinetics.
- Describe how different neurotransmitters affect the nervous systems, the physiological process of nerve conduction and how drugs affect transmission
- Describe the basic concepts of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics and the use of animals in biomedical research and drug discovery.
- Understand and demonstrate the professional practice and skills, including pharmaceutical calculations, needed of pharmacists and pharmacy students, related to patient centred-care and collaboration.
Core modules
When you complete this module successfully, you'll be able to:
-
Appraise the aetiology and pathology of conditions associated with the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, central nervous, endocrine and gastrointestinal systems and the physiological functions, interplay and control mechanisms between systems.
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Differentiate between the pharmacological classes of drugs, the mechanism of action and the pharmacotherapeutic use to diagnose, manage, treat and or prescribe for conditions, or infections, associated with cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, central nervous, endocrine and gastrointestinal systems.
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Discuss the basic principles of fundamental immunology and discuss the rationale, benefits and limitations of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory therapies and various pathogenic mechanisms in order to investigate specific human conditions.
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Appreciate the importance of drug interactions and adverse drug reactions (their generation, monitoring, identification and reporting) and the complexities of therapeutics.
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Solve therapeutic problems and optimise drug therapy in individual patients while identifying and employing an appropriate range of information sources.
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Discuss the molecular design basis for the synthesis of therapeutic compounds in relation to drug development and characterisation.
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Discuss the diversity of naturally occurring compounds as part of drug discovery.
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Discuss the formulation principles applied in relation to solid dosage forms, parenteral and inhaled medicines and the analytical methods employed to ensure the quality of the drugs and medicines.
-
Demonstrate the professional practice and skills, including pharmaceutical calculations, needed of pharmacists and pharmacy students, related to patient centred care, including collaboration with other health professionals as part of a multidisciplinary team.
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Analyse and evaluate public health needs to formulate solutions through the provision of targeted pharmacy services.
Core modules
When you complete this module successfully, you'll be able to:
- Diagnose, manage, treat and or prescribe where appropriate for infections and cancer, differentiating between the therapeutic agents (antimicrobial and antineoplastic), their mechanism of action, risks and limitations.
- Use biomarkers and other clinical testing to inform diagnoses and treatment.
- Critically evaluate and develop the rational, design and clinical potential of specialised and targeted preparations designed for mucosal, parenteral and transdermal administration.
- Reflect on the value of patient stratification and personalised medicine in terms of detection, clinical outcome, adverse drug reactions, drug development and pharmacoeconomics.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the different research methods and the stages involved in carrying out research, with a focus on quality improvement of care and services, including appropriate methods to collect, process, analyse and interpret data and disseminate results.
- Demonstrate an understanding of pharmacy services and prescribing in both primary and secondary care settings through simulation, learning needs analysis, PDP, CPD and placement activities whilst maintaining competence in pharmaceutical calculations.
- Demonstrate ethical and legal reasoning and decision making, using professional judgement, in all circumstances and settings related to patient care.
- Reflect on the value of multidisciplinary team working and effective leadership and communication to ensure high quality person-centred care through simulated activities with other health and social care students.
Core modules
Learn to evaluate evidence to make the best prescribing decisions.
Use what you've learned about medicines, formulations, patient care and more through simulations of real-world scenarios. You'll use patient histories and accounts to produce integrated treatment plans that involve appropriate medicines, tests and referrals.
You'll finish this module with the foundations you need to be a reflective, adaptable practitioner who is able to lead projects to improve patient outcomes.
Changes to course content
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
How you're assessed
- diagnostic tests
- written assignments
- simulated patient-focused case studies
- oral and poster presentations
- online tests
- clinical skills assessment
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
Teaching
Teaching methods on this course include:
- lectures
- seminars
- practical laboratory work
- simulated training
All of the modules you'll take are fully supported by online lecture and study materials, and our academic staff will share their expertise in practice and research.
You can access all teaching resources on Moodle, our virtual learning environment, from anywhere with a Web connection.
For more about the teaching activities for specific modules, see the module list above.
Many teaching activities, including lectures, are recorded so you can re-watch them at any time.
How you'll spend your time
One of the main differences between school or college and university is how much control you have over your learning.
We use a blended learning approach to teaching, which means you’ll take part in both face-to-face and online activities during your studies. As well as attending your timetabled classes you'll study independently in your free time, supported by staff and our virtual learning environment, Moodle.
A typical week
We recommend you spend at least 35 hours a week studying for your Pharmacy degree. In your first year, you’ll be in timetabled teaching activities such as tutorials, lectures, practical classes and workshops and external visits for about 16 hours a week. The rest of the time you’ll do independent study such as research, reading, coursework and project work, alone or in a group with others from your course. You'll be expected to engage with more independent study and have less scheduled teaching in years 2, 3 and 4.
Most timetabled teaching takes place during the day, Monday to Friday. You may occasionally need to go to University and course events in the evenings and at weekends.
Term dates
The academic year runs from September to June. There are breaks at Christmas and Easter.
Supporting you
The amount of timetabled teaching you'll get on your degree might be less than what you're used to at school or college, but you'll also get support via video, phone and face-to-face from teaching and support staff to enhance your learning experience and help you succeed. You can build your personalised network of support from the following people and services:
Your personal tutor helps you make the transition to independent study and gives you academic and personal support throughout your time at university.
As well as regular scheduled meetings with your personal tutor, they're also available at set times during the week if you want to chat with them about anything that can't wait until your next meeting.
You'll have help from a team of faculty learning support tutors. They can help you improve and develop your academic skills and support you in any area of your study.
They can help with:
- improving your academic writing (for example, essays, reports, dissertations)
- understanding and using assignment feedback
- managing your time and workload
- revision and exam techniques
During term time, Faculty Academic Skills Tutors (AST) are available for bookable 1-to-1 sessions, small group sessions and online sessions. These sessions are tailored to your needs.
Support is available for skills including:
- University study
- Getting into the right study mindset
- Note-taking and note-making skills
- Referencing
- Presentation skills
- Time management, planning, and goal setting
- Critical thinking
- Avoiding plagiarism
If you have a disability or need extra support, the Additional Support and Disability Centre (ASDAC) will give you help, support and advice.
If you require extra support because of a disability or additional learning need our specialist team can help you.
They'll help you to:
- discuss and agree on reasonable adjustments
- liaise with other University services and facilities, such as the library
- access specialist study skills and strategies tutors, and assistive technology tutors, on a 1-to-1 basis or in groups
- liaise with external services
Library staff are available in person or by email, phone or online chat to help you make the most of the University’s library resources. You can also request one-to-one appointments and get support from the faculty librarian for science.
The library is open 24 hours a day, every day, in term time.
If English isn't your first language, you can do one of our English language courses to improve your written and spoken English language skills before starting your degree. Once you're here, you can take part in our free In-Sessional English (ISE) programme to improve your English further.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees
- UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £9,535 per year (may be subject to annual increase)
- EU students – £9,535 a year (including Transition Scholarship – may be subject to annual increase)
- International students – £19,200 per year (subject to annual increase)
Funding your studies
Find out how to fund your studies, including the scholarships and bursaries you could get. You can also find more about tuition fees and living costs, including what your tuition fees cover.
Applying from outside the UK? Find out about funding options for international students.
Additional course costs
These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending.
Additional costs
Our accommodation section shows your accommodation options and highlights how much it costs to live in Portsmouth.
You’ll study up to 6 modules a year. You may have to read several recommended books or textbooks for each module.
You can borrow most of these from the Library. If you buy these, they may cost up to £60 each.
We recommend that you budget £75 a year for photocopying, memory sticks, DVDs and CDs, printing charges, binding, specialist printing and professional dress.
If your final year includes a major project, there could be cost for transport or accommodation related to your research activities. The amount will depend on the project you choose.
You’ll get free safety equipment at the start of the course. However, you may have to pay a small amount to replace lost or damaged equipment.
You will be expected to pay for travel costs to and from your placement. This could be in the region of £100 per academic year.
If you take a placement year or study abroad year, tuition fees for that year are as follows:
- UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 a year (may be subject to annual increase)
- EU students – £1,430 a year, including Transition Scholarship (may be subject to annual increase)
- International students – £2,875 a year (subject to annual increase)
You'll need to have up to date vaccinations prior to attending your placements. Note that you'll need to cover your vaccination costs.
Apply
Ready to apply?
To start this course in 2025, apply through UCAS. You'll need:
- the UCAS course code – B230
- our institution code – P80
If you'd prefer to apply directly, use our online application form.
You can also sign up to an Open Day to:
- Tour our campus, facilities and halls of residence
- Speak with lecturers and chat with our students
- Get information about where to live, how to fund your studies and which clubs and societies to join
If you're new to the application process, read our guide on applying for an undergraduate course.
How to apply from outside the UK
See the 'How to apply' section above for details of how to apply. You can also get an agent to help with your application. Check your country page for details of agents in your region.
To find out what to include in your application, head to the how to apply page of our international students section.
If you don't meet the English language requirements for this course yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.