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Aston University, Birmingham

UCAS Code: B230 | Master of Pharmacy (with Honours) - MPharm (H)

Entry requirements

A level

A,B,B-B,B,B

ABB in three A Levels which must include Chemistry and one other science subject from: Biology, Maths OR Physics. OR BBB must include Chemistry and one other science from Biology, Maths or Physics, for contextual offer students* Excluded Subjects:

GCSE/National 4/National 5

Five GCSEs which must include Mathematics and English all at grade C/4. Please note we do not accept Key Skills or Functional Skills in place of these.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-31

32 points overall in the IB Diploma, which must include 6 5 5 in Higher Level subjects. These subjects must include Chemistry and one other science subject from Biology, Maths OR Physics. You must also have Standard Level grade 5 in both Maths and English Language. OR 31 points overall in the IB Diploma, which must include 5 5 5 in Higher Level subjects. These subjects must include Chemistry and one other science subject from Biology, Maths OR Physics. You must also have Standard Level grade 5 in both Maths and English Language for contextual offer students*

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H3,H3,H4

Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with 5 subjects at Higher Level. Must achieve H2, H2, H3, H3, H4 and includes must include Chemistry and one other science subject from: Biology, Maths OR Physics at grade H2 or above

Pearson BTEC 90-Credit Diploma (QCF)

DD

With this BTEC you also must achieve grades BB in two science A Levels which must include Chemistry PLUS Biology, Physics or Maths.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DD

With this BTEC (in any subject) you must also achieve grades BB in two science A Levels which must include Chemistry PLUS Biology, Physics or Maths. If you are taking the BTEC in Applied Science, you must also achieve a grade B in A Level Chemistry.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

D

With this BTEC (in any subject) you must also achieve grades BB in two science A Levels which must include Chemistry PLUS Biology, Physics or Maths.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D*D*D*-DDD

D*D*D* in Applied Science. You do not require an additional A Level. OR DDD in any BTEC subject and grades BB in two science A Levels which must include Chemistry PLUS Biology, Maths or Physics.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D

With this BTEC (in any subject) you must also achieve grades BB in two science A Levels which must include Chemistry PLUS Biology, Physics or Maths.

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B,B

must include Chemistry and one other science subject from: Biology, Maths OR Physics.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B

must include Chemistry and one other science subject from: Biology, Maths OR Physics.

This will accepted in place of one A Level but not in place of the subject specifics stated.

UCAS Tariff

120-147

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

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About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Pharmacy

Learn from leading experts in the pharmaceutical field within a prestigious pharmacy school - the only pharmacy school in the UK to hold a prestigious Regius Chair in Pharmacy.

**Course overview**
Our Master of Pharmacy degree is designed to equip you with a comprehensive understanding of pharmaceutical science and the practical skills necessary to excel professionally.

This programme stands out as a premier pathway for aspiring pharmacists, providing a full learning experience combined with hands-on learning through our extensive network of industry partners; developing your skills in our dedicated specialist facilities, and benefitting from the experience and insight of our expert teaching staff.

You will benefit from extensive patient contact throughout the course, both within the University and through a series of professional experiences in different workplace environments such as hospitals, community pharmacies, GP surgeries and primary care settings.

We also have a strong focus on interprofessional practice and collaborative care, offering opportunities for you to learn with, from and about other healthcare specialities. In addition, our final-year students can personalise their learning through elective choices and research projects, including in pharmacy practice, which can be based in either community, hospital or primary care practice.

Our MPharm is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). It will prepare you for the one year Foundation Training that you will need to complete and pass after completing your degree to become a UK-registered pharmacist.

**What you will learn**
Aston’s Pharmacy MPharm degree delves into twelve integrated themes spanning three fascinating areas of study: ‘The Professional’, mastering the science of safe and effective healthcare delivery; ‘The Medicine’, learning how medicines are discovered, formulated, and used in practice; and ‘The Patient", the immersion into the multifaceted world of patient care, covering a wide range of clinical conditions.

**Foundations**
Your first years of the MPharm Pharmacy degree introduce you to key concepts of pharmaceutical science - the process of discovering, designing, and formulating new drugs, discovering how drugs interact with the body, understanding the chemical properties of drugs, drug safety, and patient care. You’ll begin to learn how to make professional judgments based on evidence in pharmacy practice and develop effective leadership and management skills.

**Build upwards**
With the fundamentals learned in your first three years firmly in place, your final year culminating in a master’s degree provides you the opportunity to apply knowledge to more complex clinical cases and build your understanding of real-world industry practice.

**Placement**
You will benefit from extensive patient contact throughout the course within the university and through a series of professional experiences in different workplace environments such as hospitals, community pharmacies, GP surgeries and primary care settings. We also have a strong focus on interprofessional practice and collaborative care, offering opportunities for you to learn with, from and about other healthcare specialities.

**Key course benefits:**

- Accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), a key requirement to practice as a pharmacist in the UK.

- Ranked 12th in the UK for graduate prospects - on track (Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Complete University Guide, 2025).

- Access to a range of specialist facilities in our recently redeveloped Wilson Pharmacy Suite and state-of-the art new £3.3mln pharmacy, including our clinical skills room with a mock hospital bay set up, dispensing and patient counselling suites with discrete video recording capabilities.

Please note that we no longer offer a Foundation Programme. If you select Year 0 on your application form, this will be amended to Year 1 at the admissions review stage.

Modules

See course page for details

Assessment methods

Learning and teaching
You will benefit from working with our highly qualified and knowledgeable team of academics, scientists, leading researchers and practising pharmacists from a variety of healthcare areas.

Our interconnected course structure enables us to put all teaching firmly in the context of delivering patient care as part of a multi-disciplinary team. We have a strong and deliberate focus on interprofessional practice and collaborative care, working closely with Aston’s many healthcare courses to increase the opportunities for you to learn with, from and about other healthcare specialities.

Your learning will be delivered via a range of teaching methods from problem-based learning and video recording sessions, to computer aided learning and patient-simulators. We utilise a range of learning technologies, which are combined with high-fidelity simulations of healthcare practice to provide you with a realistic and safe environment in which to learn skills and develop your knowledge.

Each year of study is worth 120 credits, with each credit equivalent to 10 learning hours. The learning hours may include but are not limited to lectures, seminars, tutorials, lab sessions, practicals, online activity, reading, other independent study, reflecting on assignment feedback, field trips and work placements.

Assessment
Our recently revised MPharm curriculum utilises a range of different assessment types which may include written examinations, coursework, oral presentations, poster presentations, clinical simulations activities and laboratory assessments.

What learning facilities can I expect?
As a Pharmacy student, you will have access to a range of specialist facilities in our recently redeveloped Wilson Pharmacy Suite. This includes our clinical skills room with a mock hospital bay set up, dispensing and patient counselling suites with discrete video recording capabilities. You will also have access to and use a range of cutting edge laboratory equipment used in the design, development and testing of drug products which includes tabletting machines, high-performance liquid chromatograph, gas chromatography, NMR spectroscopies and dissolution vessels.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,535
per year
International
£21,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

Extra funding

Please visit our helpful webpage for applicants: https://www.aston.ac.uk/undergraduate/your-application/funding

The Uni

Course location:

Aston University, Birmingham

Department:

Aston Pharmacy School

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

81%
Pharmacy

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

Teaching and learning

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
90%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

83%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
34%
Male students
66%
Female students
95%
2:1 or above
1%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£35,000
high
Average annual salary
91%
med
Employed or in further education
89%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

98%
Health professionals
1%
Health associate professionals
1%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

As only a relatively small number of students study pharmacology or toxicology, these statistics refer most closely to the graduate prospects of pharmacy graduates, so bear that in mind when you review them. Only a handful of students take first degrees in pure toxicology every year — the subject is more popular at Masters level. Pharmacology is a degree that tends to lead to jobs in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and outcomes are improving again after a difficult time in the last few years. Jobs in pharmacology are often very specialist and so it’s no surprise that pharmacologists are amongst the most likely of all students to go on to a doctorate — if you want a job in research, start thinking about a PhD. As for pharmacy, unemployment rates are below 1% and 95% of pharmacy graduates had jobs as pharmacists (mostly in retail pharmacists) six months after they left their courses - employment rates have gone up significantly in the last couple of years.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Pharmacy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£28k

£28k

£39k

£39k

£42k

£42k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here