Pharmaceutical Science
Learn how to design, develop and evaluate novel compounds/therapeutic drugs that save lives as you master advanced knowledge and practical techniques using cutting-edge lab equipment.
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Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
F151
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
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UCAS Code
F153
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
The complex world of pharmaceutical science needs graduates who not only have outstanding knowledge and know their way around a lab, but can confidently navigate the industry’s processes and frameworks. Learn all you need to secure a role within pharmaceutical companies that suits your career goals.
DESIGNED FOR
The Pharmaceutical Science BSc gives you the chance to apply your passion in a field that makes a huge difference to the lives of every person on the planet. Explore the process of how chemicals and therapeutics are made and prepare for a successful career in pharma, this course is for you.
Career Paths
- Research and development
- Scientist in pharmaceutical/chemical/biotech/clinical research organisation
- Pharmaceutical analyst
- Regulatory Affairs Associate
- Technical Sales/Support roles
- NHS lab scientist/lab technician
Skills Taught
- Practical skills
- Problem solving skills
- Critical thinking skills
- IT & Digital skills
- Communication skills
- Commercial awareness
- Project management skills
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Develop the core chemistry and biology knowledge underpinning the industry and gain fundamental lab skills, before advancing your knowledge and developing specialist techniques that prepare you for pharma roles.
Year one
Diversity of Cellular Life
Genetics and Evolution
Organic Molecules: their Structure, Reactivity and Analysis
Physical Characteristics of Molecules
Inorganic Chemistry
Key Skills for Careers in the Sciences
Year two
Human Molecular Genetics
Quality Control (QC) and Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Introduction to Formulation Science and Pharmaceutical Analysis
Modern Techniques in Analysis and Identification
Synthetic Organic and Heterocyclic Chemistry
Bioinorganic Chemistry
Year Three
Modern Molecular Advances
Major Project and Career Development
Advanced Analytical Techniques
Advanced Organic Chemistry
Medicinal Drug Design
Lay the foundations for future study and success. Build your professional and personal portfolio, learn key conceptual knowledge of chemistry (organic/physical/inorganic), and biology (genetics/biomolecules/cell biology), and gain fundamental practical skills in the lab.
Diversity of Cellular Life
Explore the processes that enable living things to survive, reproduce and evolve, and how this leads to the diversity of the living world.
Genetics and Evolution
Understand DNA structure and replication, and explore evolutionary theory. You’ll also build fundamental lab techniques and learn how to work safely.
Organic Molecules: their Structure, Reactivity and Analysis
Develop knowledge of organic molecules and how they react and transform, and practice lab skills such as extraction and purification.
Physical Characteristics of Molecules
Explore and apply physical chemistry concepts including equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics.
Inorganic Chemistry
Understand inorganic and transition metal chemistry, looking at how their reactivity and physical properties relate to pharmaceutical science.
Key Skills for Careers in the Sciences
Develop course-specific skills such as key mathematical concepts and scientific research, as well as professional development and employability skills.
Advance your theoretical and practical knowledge and apply it to problems within synthesis, analysis, formulation and quality control. Your growing knowledge and confidence will empower you to plan investigations, evaluate data and reflect on outcomes effectively.
Human Molecular Genetics
Examine how molecular genetics influences genetic variations and disorders, and practice key molecular biology techniques in the context of genetic disorders.
Quality Control (QC) and Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Learn about the principles, practices and regulations involved in pharmaceutical QC, from discovery research to distribution.
Introduction to Formulation Science and Pharmaceutical Analysis
Understand different forms of liquid and solid dosage, with a wider look at less common types of formulation and formulation testing.
Modern Techniques in Analysis and Identification
Spend time in the lab as you develop practical analytical skills such as sample preparation, chromatography and advanced spectroscopy.
Synthetic Organic and Heterocyclic Chemistry
Use retrosynthetic analysis and suitable synthetic strategies for the research and development of drugs and compounds of commercial value.
Bioinorganic Chemistry
Examine the function of inorganic and transition metal-based compounds in biological systems and evaluate their pharmaceutical, therapeutical and medicinal uses.
Develop highly advanced theoretical knowledge and practical skills in synthesis, analytical chemistry, medicine drug design and clinical biochemistry. Prepare for the world of work as you undertake a major professional research project and explore job opportunities.
Modern Molecular Advances
Critically evaluate the therapeutic and technological advances which have successfully made it into clinical practice for diagnosis and disease management.
Major Project and Career Development
Demonstrate readiness for a professional role as you plan, execute and reflect on a major scientific project, involving wide research on a current industry theme.
Advanced Analytical Techniques
Master advanced analytical concepts and techniques such as separation and spectroscopy, developing methods to solve problems in chemical analysis.
Advanced Organic Chemistry
Gain an in depth understanding of theory and applications of pericyclic reactions, asymmetric synthesis and transition metals in organic synthesis.
Medicinal Drug Design
This module covers drug design, action, synthesis, safe administration, scaling challenges, and introduces computer modelling and polymer chemistry
Course Highlights
How you'll learn
The course is regularly reviewed to reflect key industry developments, and you’ll build up-to-date knowledge through a range of interactive lectures, tutorials and workshops. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to apply your knowledge with practical sessions in our state-of-the-art labs. Practical projects form part of your assessment, while exams, oral presentations, essays and reports will also allow you demonstrate your knowledge and capabilities. Professional development is embedded within the course. Along with your practical experience, this stands you in good stead to land your desired pharmaceutical role.
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Teaching staff
The vast majority of your tutors have PhD qualifications across a range of disciplines connected to pharmaceutical science, from organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry to computational chemistry. Our staff have extensive research portfolios, with some awarded prestigious research fellowships around the globe. Others have recently worked in influential roles within the industry. This breadth and depth of expertise ensures your teaching is of the highest standard. Staff also use their real-world experience to bring your learning to life and guide your career aspirations.
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Placements and work experience
Take advantage of placement opportunities, whether that’s a sandwich year, summer work or short-term volunteering. These experiences not only deepen your understanding of the concepts and skills you learn on the course, but provide real industry insights that boost your job prospects and can even lead to job offers. Several of our previous students have been offered jobs before the end of their studies off the back of a placement. Placements have included Midatech Pharma Ltd, Nanopharm Ltd, Simbec Orion Group Ltd, PRA Health Sciences, and PCI Pharma. Our placements team help you source opportunities relevant to your ambitions.
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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.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 104 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: BCC to include Chemistry and normally one other Science, but to exclude General Studies (this is equivalent to 104 UCAS tariff points).
- Welsh BACC: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC at A Level to include Chemistry and normally one other Science, but to exclude General Studies (this is equivalent to 104 UCAS tariff points).
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit in a relevant subject to include Chemistry modules (this is equivalent to 112 UCAS tariff points).
- Access to HE: Pass an Access to HE Diploma in Science and obtain a minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points
Additional requirements include:
- Typical Science Requirements: Applicants taking Science A levels in England will need to pass the practical element alongside achieving the requested grade(s).
- The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or 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 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing 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
£9,535
per year*£16,200
per year*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. 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 travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
*Obligatory
Students are encouraged to equip themselves with a suitable cotton laboratory coat for working in a chemical laboratory, and a pair of personal protective laboratory goggles, although the Department does provide these PPE items. Students who are successful in securing an industry-based project may, in a small number of cases, be required to obtain additional personal protective equipment as specified by the specific organisation or company.
Cost: £30
Depends on student budget
Cost: Variable
Depends on location of residence
Cost: Variable
Placements are not obligatory for students studying on the BSc Pharmaceutical Science programme. If students are successful in securing an industrial placement, arrangements can be made to transfer to the Sandwich programme for BSc Pharmaceutical Science. Students who successfully secure a placement in industry would be expected to pay their own travel costs to and from the venue during the period of placement. The cost of this will vary and some students may need to pay for accommodation close to their place of work for the duration of their placement.
Cost: Variable
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.
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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.
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.
