BSc (Hons)

Pharmaceutical Science including Foundation Year

Discover how to design, develop, and evaluate life-saving therapeutic drugs while mastering advanced scientific knowledge and hands-on techniques. Work with cutting-edge laboratory equipment and gain the practical skills and insight needed to launch a career in the dynamic, impactful pharmaceutical industry.

How to apply Apply through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us

Key Course Details

  • UCAS Code

    F15F

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £5,760*

  • International students

    £17,200*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
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The pharmaceutical industry needs graduates with strong scientific knowledge, practical lab skills, and a clear understanding of industry processes. This degree builds your expertise and problem-solving ability, giving you the confidence to adapt, innovate, and succeed in a fast-moving, real-world environment.

DESIGNED FOR

If you’re curious about science and driven to make a difference, this degree puts you at the heart of the pharmaceutical industry. Gain the skills, experience, and insight you need to build a rewarding, impactful career.

Career Paths

  • Quality control/Assurance roles 
  • Research and development in pharma/clinical/biotech 
  • Regulatory Affairs roles 
  • Technical Sales/Support roles 
  • NHS (lab scientist/lab technician) 

Skills taught

  • Problem solving / critical thinking 
  • IT / Digital 
  • Communication  
  • Commercial awareness/project management 

We make a difference in practice, not just on paper. Our courses are designed by people who offer jobs - and taught by people who have real work experience.

Laura Pegg smiling to camera standing in a pharmaceutical lab
A student wearing a white laboratory coat, blue medical gloves and safety goggles concentrates while using a pipet to add a fluid into a test tube during an experiment in a pharmaceutical science lab
A student in a laboratory coat working in the USW chemistry laboratory
A student in a white laboratory coat, protective glasses and white rubber gloves uses a pipet to complete an experiment in a science lab

Course Highlights

Great job prospects

This course prepares you for jobs in pharmaceutical companies, clinical research, and related fields.

Outstanding teaching

Your lecturers are active researchers in chemistry and biology and bring real-world experience into the classroom.

Placement opportunities

Short-term or year-long placements give you hands-on experience and often lead to jobs after graduation.

Sate-of-the-art labs

Learn practical skills using advanced lab equipment, including NMR, IR, UV-VIS spectrometers, and GC/GC-MS..

Module Overview

In your Foundation Year, you’ll explore biology, chemistry, and real-world challenges, build practical, academic, and teamwork skills, and develop curiosity, confidence, and problem-solving abilities to prepare for future study and impact.

Starting your University Journey 
This module helps you develop academic, personal and professional skills for university study. You’ll reflect on your progress, build confidence, and create an evidence-based portfolio to support your future learning. 

The Science of Life: Foundations in Biology 
You’ll explore core biological principles from molecules to whole organisms, develop practical laboratory skills, and use real-world examples to support your learning and prepare you for further study in the life sciences. 

Chemistry in Action: Science That Shapes the World 
You’ll develop an understanding of key chemical concepts, from molecules to reactions, build practical laboratory skills, and gain essential experience to support your future scientific studies. 

The Impact Challenge 
You’ll work in teams with other Foundation Year students to tackle real-world challenges, developing solutions through research, curiosity, collaboration, and responsible problem-solving while building skills that will support your future studies. 

 

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

You’ll learn by doing, through real-world activities that help you understand how learning works at university. You’ll be encouraged to ask questions, explore new ideas and work with others, as well as independently. Teaching builds confidence, critical thinking and reflection, supported by digital tools. Regular feedback helps you track progress, plan next steps and build resilience and a strong sense of belonging as you prepare for higher-level study. 

How you'll be assessed

You’ll be assessed in different ways, including short tasks, coursework, presentations, and group work. Early assessments are designed to support your learning and help you understand what is expected at university. Most assessments are coursework-based and help you develop key skills such as research, academic writing, teamwork, and communication. You’ll also reflect on your progress and use university systems and digital tools. Clear, timely feedback will help you understand how to improve and support your next steps.

Placements

You could take a sandwich year in industry or a shorter summer placement, volunteering, or online experience. You’ll join our Professional Practice Academy, taking part in teamwork activities and workshops to build the skills needed to thrive in the workplace. USW’s dedicated Work Placements team provides a range of science-based opportunities through Careers Connect, and you’ll have an academic mentor to guide and support you throughout your placement.

Facilities

We regularly invest in our pharmaceutical science facilities to ensure they match those found in industry. You’ll make full use of the laboratories throughout your course and gain hands-on experience using all manner of analytical instrumentation and equipment. We have dedicated organic, inorganic and physical chemistry laboratories, as well as several instrumentation laboratories containing chromatographs, spectrometers, instruments for quality testing and more. Our lab facilities are supported by a range of high-spec online tools and resources. 

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

This degree builds the advanced scientific knowledge employers value worldwide. Graduates work in pharmaceutical research and development, quality and regulatory roles, and beyond, including the NHS and cosmetics industry. Many continue to MSc study, while others move into teaching or related science careers. 

Industry partners

Through strong industry links and expert careers support, you’ll connect with employers who shape your learning through guest lectures, projects, and placements. Our Science Futures event brings organisations such as the NHS and PCI Pharma Services to campus, helping you explore career paths, build confidence, and form professional relationships that last. 

Careers support

We focus on making you work ready. You’ll apply your skills using industry standard equipment and processes, solve real-world problems, and gain valuable placement experience. Employability-focused modules and embedded professional development, alongside support from our dedicated careers team, help you secure roles and move confidently into employment. 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS Points: 48 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: DD, 48 tariff points to include one A Level in a relevant Science subject but to exclude General Studies
  • Welsh BACC: N/A
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass in a relevant subject
  • Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma in Science with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points

Additional requirements include:

  • The University normally requires a minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C/Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£5,760

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£17,200

per year*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

Additional Costs

Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of stationery, printing, or equipment during your foundation year.  For costs after you progress to year 1 of your degree programme, please see the list below.

(Not compulsory) involves purchase of lab coat.  University also provides coat and safety specs. For free. 

Cost: £30 

Depends on student budget 

Cost: Variable 

Depends on location of residence 

Cost: Variable 

Students wearing lab coats and protective eyewear are working in a forensics lab.

Course Kit Bursary

As a student of BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science, you'll receive a USW-branded lab coat and goggles when you enrol, to support you with course costs.

Find out more about our Course Kit Bursary

University Quality Assurance

At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

Life at USW

Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.

A student sat smiling and talking to friends off camera in Treforest Student's Union
Student Life
Close up shot of the front of the Alfred Russell wallace building.
Pontypridd Campus, Glyntaff
A double room at our Pontypridd accommodation featuring a large window.
Accommodation

How to apply

All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).

Advanced entry

If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.

Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.

International admissions

International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
 

Related Courses

Medicinal and Biological Chemistry including Foundation Year - BSc (Hons) Learn more
Pharmaceutical Science - BSc (Hons) Learn more

Next Steps

How to apply
Apply Through UCAS
Book an Open Day
Chat to Us