Clinical Pharmacy MSc

Intro

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 use of our specialist facilities and provide 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.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Full-time 1 year

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Please review the entry requirements carefully and if you have any questions do get in touch with us.

Apply now for your place

Course content

Course structure

This is a 12-month, full-time course with a combination of seven modules, including one independent study module (your clinical pharmacy project) and six taught modules.

You will have the opportunity to undertake a piece of research aligned to clinical pharmacy via a supervised research project. This allows the research undertaken to directly contribute to your understanding of clinical practice.

The remaining six modules involve a mixture of lectures, skills-based workshops and research-based activity.

Syllabus

Modules

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

Options

Specialised Clinical Practice
Advanced Diabetes Therapies
Pharmaceutical Care of Surgical Patients

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 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

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.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course for students planning to start their course in 2020, 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 (2:2 or above) or equivalent pharmacy degree.

Applicants with a relevant PGDip may be eligible for up to 120 credits recognition of prior learning against this award. Applicants with a relevant MSc may be eligible for up to 180 credits recognition of prior learning against this award.

English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. Find out more about the other English qualifications that we accept.

International students whose language skills do not match the IELTS scores set out here should consider applying for this course through the Extended Masters programme at the university's Language Institute.

Fees

Course fees

UK/EU (Full-time)6,624 GBP

International (Full-time)15,156 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 about postgraduate fees and funding.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. 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. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in your fees, while studying a course in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences are listed here.

All students are provided with a laboratory coat, safety glasses and log book.
A budget to cover laboratory consumables and equipment for your final year project is included in the fees for all students.
Access to key subject journals and subject specific databases is provided, as well as a site licence for industry-standard chemical drawing software.
Essential instruction booklets (laboratory handbooks) are provided, as is project poster printing and thesis binding. However, you should budget for books, printing and stationery for personal study.
The school provides some financial support for social activities via the student societies and holds a free annual graduation party.
Optional placements and day trips may include additional costs but this will vary depending on location of the placement.
For our ecology and conservation courses there are compulsory field trips for which you should budget up to £200. There are also optional field trips for which you may choose to budget up to £2,700. You may also need to buy appropriate clothing for outdoor use.
DBS checks for MPharm students are included in the fee.
Costs for MPharm placement travel is reimbursed up to a specified amount depending on location of placement.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in 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-time 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.

Location

Local area

About Brighton

The city of Brighton & Hove is a forward-thinking place which leads the way in the arts, technology, sustainability and creativity. You'll find living here plays a key role in your learning experience.

Brighton is a leading centre for creative media technology, recently named the startup capital of the UK.

The city is home to a national 5G testbed and over 1,000 tech businesses. The digital sector is worth over £1bn a year to the local economy - as much as tourism.

All of our full-time undergraduate courses involve work-based learning - this could be through placements, live briefs and guest lectures. Many of these opportunities are provided by local businesses and organisations.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and less than 40 minutes to Eastbourne. There are also daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Two miles north of Brighton seafront, Moulsecoomb is our largest campus. Subjects taught here include architecture, business, computing, construction, engineering, geography, product design, law and pharmacy.

On campus you will find professional-standard facilities including a flight simulator, trading room, design and digital media suites and specialist research laboratories, alongside the library, student centre, a nursery, fitness facilities and Students’ Union. There are excellent public transport links.

The Big Build
A major transformation of our Moulsecoomb campus began in summer 2018. By the time the Big Build is complete, there’ll be new halls of residence, academic building, and Students’ Union and fitness facilities – all created with sustainability, inclusivity and community in mind.

As the development grows it will provide many exciting learning opportunities for our students, ranging from live projects, placements and internships with the companies involved to guest lectures and site visits. Find out more...

Accommodation

Brighton: Moulsecoomb

All eligible students applying for 2020 are guaranteed an offer of university halls of residence.

Halls of residence
We have halls of residence across Brighton in the city centre, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

You'll be prioritised for accommodation in the halls that are linked to your teaching base, subject to availability.
Moulsecoomb campus is linked to Varley Park and Moulsecoomb Place halls
- Varley Park offers a mix of room and catering options. Varley Park is around two miles from Moulsecoomb campus and four miles from the city centre. Public transport in the city is excellent, and there’s a shuttle bus between our Brighton campuses during term time.
- Moulsecoomb Place halls are all catered and are located right on campus.

Want to live independently or in a university-managed house? We can help – find out more about unihomes and unilets or private renting.