Pharmacy MPharm

Duration: 4 years full-time with integrated placements

UCAS Code: B230

Please note:

• We welcome applications from candidates interested in our MPharm programme who have the skills and capability to excel on our course. All candidates are considered on an individual basis based on all previous and predicted qualifications, experience, references and motivation. Applicants are invited to a compulsory interview session where you will meet our staff, experience our facilities and we will explore your attitudes towards a career within healthcare. While we expect applicants to achieve our required entry grades, we will consider applicants with predicted grades that fall below our entry requirements for individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to and aptitude for healthcare practice (however, initial offers will not be lower than stated below).
• This course requires all applicants to uphold professional standards of behaviour.
• Applicants whose first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of an English language qualification. Find out more about our English language requirements.
• GCSE requirements: Five GCSEs at Grade C/4 or above including English Language Grade C/4, Maths Grade B/5 and above.
• Find out more about our admissions policy.
• The information contained on this website details the typical entry requirements for this course for the most commonly offered qualifications. Applicants with alternative qualifications may wish to enquire with the relevant admissions teams prior to application whether or not their qualifications are deemed acceptable. For less commonly encountered qualifications this will be judged on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the academic admissions tutor.
  
• Take a look at our FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.

Typical offers:

A Levels: AAB-ABB in three A level subjects, including Chemistry and at least one other science subject (Biology, Maths or Physics). General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted as part of the offer. You will also need to successfully pass the practical element of your Chemistry and at least one other science.

A Level applicants who select this course as their Firm UCAS choice may be eligible for our lowered offer scheme. This means that the grades that you will need in order to be accepted on to the course will be reduced.

We welcome applications from students who have tried to improve their examination grades by taking a maximum of one set of resits. We treat these applications in exactly the same way as other applications. However, if you have had more than one attempt at improving your grades, your application will be considered on an individual basis and we reserve to make an amended (higher) offer, or not make an offer.

IB: 32 points overall, to include 665 at HL, which must include Chemistry and either Biology or Physics at 6. 5 points in HL Maths or 6 points at SL Maths

BTEC:

• D*DD in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science (Forensic Science, Laboratory & Industrial Science or Medical Science) together with grade B in A level Chemistry. AS Chemistry is not sufficient.
  
• DD in BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Applied Science (Forensic Science, Laboratory & Industrial Science or Medical Science) or Pharmacy Services & NVQ level 3. With these qualifications we also require grades A and B in A level Chemistry and one other A level science subject

We welcome applications from students who have taken BTEC qualifications as a first option and who achieved five or more GCSEs (including Maths and English) at grade C or above. You must also meet the A-level requirements listed above.

All BTEC students will also need to successfully pass the Science practical elements of the A-level they are taking.

Access to HE: We do not accept Access courses for entry to this degree.

Scottish Highers: AAAB B, including Chemistry, Biology and Maths.

Irish Leaving Certificate: AAABB including Chemistry, Biology and Maths and excluding Irish. Physics can be considered in lieu of Biology.

International qualifications: International students can discover more about the qualifications we accept on our international pages.

International Foundation Programme in Science (Aston University): We also welcome international students with equivalent qualifications to apply for our courses. For international students without equivalent qualifications, it is also possible to gain entry to this undergraduate course by completing an International Foundation Programme at Aston University, although please note the progression requirements to our courses, which include successfully passing an interview. International applicants expected to gain foundation diplomas from other providers are welcomed and will be considered on a case by case basis.

Foundation Programme in Science (Aston University): For students with good A-level (or equivalent) grades, but who narrowly miss our standard requirements, it is also possible to gain entry to this course by completing a Foundation Year , although please note the progression requirements, which include successfully passing an interview. The minimum A level grades we normally consider for entry to Pharmacy programmes via the Foundation Programme in Science are BBC, including a B in A Level Chemistry. We encourage you to apply for entry direct to the 1st year of the MPharm in the first instance.

For 2017 entry:

• UK / EU students: £9,250 per year
  
• International students: £17,200 per year
  

Explore the costs involved in university and the financial support that may be available to you.

• Pharmacists are health care professionals with a strong background in sciences, whose expertise covers all aspects of the design, development, delivery, supply, control and use of drugs. Pharmacists need a broad scientific education and specialist professional training, so we have pioneered an integrated approach to teaching and learning which links professional studies to an extensive core science course.

  Our 4-year MPharm degree course is specifically designed to meet the rapidly changing requirements for the practise of pharmacy. In designing and developing our Pharmacy degree we consult first with the patients we serve, then with major employers, other health professionals, our own students, the public and government bodies.

  From the start of the course you will be encouraged to apply your understanding of the scientific principles of pharmacy within a patient focussed setting, through case based workshops, problem based learning, integrated science and clinical scenarios. Our modern course benefits from substantial links with the profession including consultant pharmacists, experts from pharmaceutical industry and pharmacy entrepreneurs. Aston University also has a team of teacher practitioners based in the major Birmingham hospitals and has an e stablished inter-professional learning network across the campus and the region.
  

  To make sure you get off to the best start possible we provide all of our 1st year students with a lab coat, Pharmacy School name badge, tunic, and key personal laboratory equipment free of charge. In addition, for 2017 entry, we will be covering the costs of the required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and a copy of the essential Royal Pharmaceutical Society publication “Medicines, Ethics and Practice: The professional guide for pharmacists” for all students who make the Aston MPharm their firm choice.
  

  The aim of the pharmacy course at Aston is to give you a breadth of knowledge and a wide range of professional and technical skills, coupled with a critical ethical outlook to ensure you become an outstanding pharmacist.
  

  Ranked in the UK's top 10 in the 2017 Complete University Guide, Aston Pharmacy excellent links with the profession. In addition, our research profile ensures relevant, expertise-led teaching for the 170 students who enrol onto the Aston University MPharm course each year.

  You will benefit from a g reat peer support network for through our student-led Aston Pharmacy Association.

  Student satisfaction for this course is very high, in fact we are ranked third for student satisfaction in Pharmacy in the 2017 Complete University Guide. Our student and graduate profiles will give you an insight in to why so many of them are happy to be part of Pharmacy and the School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston.
  

  Did you know that Aston Pharmacy School can trace its roots back to 1841?

  Year 1

  In the first year, you will develop the scientific knowledge which provides a basis for the pharmaceutical industry. You also start applying your knowledge to clinical situations that you might encounter in a community pharmacy as the course is patient focussed from Year 1. You will study:

  • Physiology (how the body works)
  • Cell and Molecular Biology
  • Pharmaceutical Calculations
  • Formulation and Optimisation of Medicines: How medicines are made
  • Drug Molecules, Mechanisms and Analysis (pharmaceutical chemistry)
  • Introduction to the Practice of Pharmacy
  • Introduction to Pharmaceutical Patient Care
  • Professional Studies: Effective Learning, Career Management and IT.
    
    
  Year 2

  The second year extends your understanding of the pharmaceutical sciences - the chemistry of different drug groups, their formulation into medicines, the pathology of major diseases and the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. You will study:
  

  • Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics: how drugs work and therefore why they are used to treat disease
  • Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacogenetics and Immunology
  • Spectroscopic Analysis of Medicines
  • Medicines Optimisation through formulation
  • Spectroscopic Analysis of Medicines
  • Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy: understanding clinical data, drug safety, clinical consultation skills
  • Professional Workplace and Scientific Communication Skills
  • Medicine supply - law and practice
    
    
  Year 3 The third year completes your study of applied pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. You will learn how drugs can be delivered to the body, and how medicines are prepared and reach the market. You will study:
  
  
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Chemotherapy and Selective Toxicity
  • Pharmaceutical Formulation III
  • Quality assured Pharmaceutical Technology: Aseptic parenteral and radio pharmaceutical delivery
  • Medicinal Chemistry: Analysis, Metabolism and Drug Discovery
  • Preparing for your Project and Profession
    
  • Applied Clinical Skills: applying scientific knowledge to real patient cases
  • Pharmacy Health Services: Policy and Practice
    
    
  Final Year

  The theme of the final year is pharmaceutical practice. You will use and extend all the knowledge and skills you have developed in the previous years. You will develop confidence in applying your pharmaceutical knowledge to maximise individual patient benefit from treatment. You will also complete an extended research project.You will study:

  • Clinical pharmaceutics and drug delivery
  • The Professional Pharmacist - medical law and the public's health
  • Practical Therapeutics
  • Interprofessional learning
  • Essential Skills: Research Proposal, Project and Presentation