Clinical Pharmacy MSc

Course in brief

This MSc course is for pharmacy graduates who want to gain experience of clinical pharmacy practice in the UK as well as a postgraduate qualification.

As a student on this course, you will study new developments in the areas of clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice and spend time in our clinical skills laboratory.

Workshops make extensive use of patient simulation technology known as SimMan 3G, which allows for realistic and challenging scenario-based learning to help with the development of critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills.

You will also have the chance to undertake a placement in a clinical setting to maximise your practical experience and interact with other healthcare professionals and patients.

Extended masters
The Extended Masters (EMA) gives international applicants the opportunity to take an intensive English language course before starting their degree. Successful completion of the EMA allows you to progress automatically to the MSc.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Full-time 1 year

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Please make sure that you meet the entry requirements before applying. If you have any questions the course team will be happy to help.

Apply now for your place

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course for students planning to start their course in 2016, and should be used as a general guide. We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that different applicants may be made higher or lower offers for the same course, depending on their other achievements.

Degree and experience
MPharm (2ii or above) or equivalent pharmacy degree.

Applicants with a relevant PGDip are eligible for up to 120 credits recognition of prior learning against this award.

English language requirements
International applicants require IELTS score of 6.5 overall and not less than 6 in each parameter or equivalent.

Course in detail

Course structure

This is a 12-month, full-time course with a combination of seven modules run over two semesters, one independent study module and six university-based modules.

The independent study module is supported by specifically written module materials and staff-led tutorial sessions. The remaining six modules involve a mixture of lectures, skills-based workshops and research-based activity.

You will need to complete a research project and will have a supervisor to support you.

Syllabus

Modules

Applied Therapeutics
Research Methods
Current Research in Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Clinical Pharmacy Project
Pharmaceutical Skills
Health Promotion for Pharmacists

Options

Specialised Clinical Practice
Advanced Diabetes Therapies
Pharmaceutical Care of Surgical Patients
Global Perspectives on Health and Medicines

Applied Therapeutics is a distance-learning module supported by a workbook, tutorials and a clinical placement, giving you an in-depth understanding of the therapeutic process by examining the major diseases that affect the population. It uses evidence-based practice to assist in rational drug therapy, taking patient factors and economic considerations into account.

Pharmaceutical Skills is a year-long module that gives you the necessary skills to practise pharmacy. These skills include those in communication, record keeping, numeracy, teamwork, literature searching and evaluating, dispensing, and diagnostic and patient management.

The Special Topic varies according to your interests. Example topics include diabetes, oxidative stress, human disease and the pharmaceutical care of surgical patients.

The Project module is the largest of the course. It mainly involves independent study, requiring you to collect and analyse your own data and report on your findings, but you will also have a project supervisor who will support and guide you throughout the academic year.

The types of project vary and some may require ethical approval before they begin. Examples of projects that the course leader has supervised include:

Comparison of the CHADS₂ and HAS-BLED scoring tools to evaluate the current prescribing practice of anticoagulation therapy in atrial fibrillation patients

Prescribing practice of the selective aldosterone antagonist, eplerenone

Assessment and management of cardiovascular disease in HIV patients

Service evaluation to determine whether patients attending cardiac rehabilitation have had their cardio-protective medication up-titrated since discharge

The use of vancomycin infusion in cardiothoracic patients

Treatment of hyperglycaemia in acute coronary syndrome patients

SimMan 3G

All Clinical Pharmacy students have access to our SimMan 3G, a highly advanced patient simulator that allows you to monitor vital signs, detect numerous signs of disease and assess clinical response to drug treatment in real time.

The simulator can be programmed to exhibit the symptoms of specific medical conditions, so you can apply your theoretical knowledge to a variety of practical scenarios. This will help you to be more confident when faced with similar real-life situations.

For more information on SimMan, visit the manufacturer website.

Careers and employability

You will graduate with enhanced career opportunities and a deeper understanding of research methodology, which may be appropriate for further study of a PhD. The course is beneficial to students who have had a career break and want to get back into the workplace, or who want a career change to a role more focused in clinical pharmacy.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (Full-time)6,120 GBP

International (Full-time)14,490 GBP

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more.

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2017–18. Tuition fees are payable for each year that you study with us.

Where UK/EU students are subject to regulated fees, the annual fee increase cannot exceed the UK government’s maximum regulated tuition fee limit set for the relevant year. For all other students, ie those not subject to regulated fees, tuition fees are subject to a maximum annual increase of the higher of 5% or RPI.

You can find out more about our fees in the the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Brighton has been called the happiest place in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. With five miles of pebble beach, more than 300 pubs and a packed festival calendar, Brighton is the ideal place to spend your student years.

Arts and culture: The Royal Pavilion is the most famous landmark in Brighton, opening its doors to around 400,000 tourists every year. Right next door is the Brighton Dome, the south coast’s premier multi-arts venue, and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, which holds a diverse collection of decorative arts, textiles and archaeological artefacts.

Festivals: The Brighton Festival is now the largest arts festival in England and a major milestone in the international cultural calendar. Meanwhile, The Great Escape has been established as the UK’s leading event for new music, with over 300 bands playing 30 venues across the city over three days.

Nightlife: Aside from the many nightclubs that line the city’s seafront, student favourites include The Haunt, Concorde 2 and Patterns, which attract leading bands and DJs from around the world. If you don’t feel like dancing, you can take your pick from the many hundreds of pubs and bars that dot the city centre.

Shopping: The quirky North Laine district houses Brighton’s finest collection of boutique shops and independent cafes, while the narrow, winding streets of the South Lanes house collections of jewellery and antiques. Churchill Square is the city’s main shopping centre and serves all of your high street needs.

Sports: Brighton’s seaside location offers the perfect opportunity to try paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing. Further into the city, The Level has a skate park for skateboarders and BMX riders to practise their skills.

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Just two miles north of Brighton city centre and the seafront, Moulsecoomb is the largest of our five campuses with more than 8,000 students. A wide variety of subjects are taught here, from engineering and product design to business and law.

Students benefit from many professional-standard facilities, including a flight simulator, design and digital media suites, and specialist research laboratories. The campus library, Aldrich, offers long opening hours and a diverse collection of books and journals for students from all subject areas.

Sports enthusiasts will enjoy our basketball and badminton courts, fitness suite and climbing wall. The campus is also a few minutes walk from the South Downs National Park, providing a great place to relax during the summer months.

Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Our Grand Parade campus is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance. We have around 300 rooms available in Phoenix Brewery, which are all ensuite and self-catered.

Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus. All accommodation in Moulsecoomb Place is catered, offering breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat.

Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence. The site is four miles from Brighton centre but within walking distance of Falmer train station.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field. Great Wilkins offers 150+ self-catered single rooms and one-bed couples flats, while Paddock Field offers 450+ catered and self-catered single rooms only. All rooms in Falmer are en-suite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers all utilities and includes £5,000 of contents insurance for your personal belongings.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

Find out more on our Brighton accommodation webpages and if you have any questions, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field