Pharmacy MPharm (Hons)

This course is accredited by the GPhC and has been designed to equip you with the clinical, practical and professional skills needed to complete your Foundation Training Year. You will need to complete a one year pharmacist foundation training programme following graduation to become a registered Pharmacist and independent prescriber.

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Overview

Pharmacists are experts in medicine and responsible for the safe and effective supply of medicines to patients and the public. They are responsible for giving advice on how to take prescribed drugs, including monitoring requirements or potential side effects. As prescribers, pharmacists are required to use diagnostic skills alongside their clinical expertise to deliver high quality, person-centred care.

Recognised for its quality and high standards of teaching, the course is fully accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) so you can be confident that it will give you the professional and practical skills you’ll need to work as a pharmacist.

With recent investment in facilities and simulation suites, and one of the UK’s most established pharmacy schools, the Leicester School of Pharmacy is where students develop their professional skills and prepare for the workplace with guidance and support from our dedicated pharmacy team.

This course offers great links to hospitals, community pharmacists and the primary care sector, including GP practices, giving students many opportunities to put their learning into practice during work placements.

With pharmacy being the third largest healthcare profession, and an integral part of health provision in the UK, your career opportunities are extensive and varied. Our students have gone on to work in rewarding and stimulating careers across all pharmacy sectors for major employers in community pharmacy and the NHS including careers in both hospital and GP pharmacy.

Key features

Integrated, experiential placements across all four years of the course in the community, GP and hospital setting, providing the opportunity to demonstrate core consultation and prescribing skills under supervision.
Substantial investment has been made in our new purpose-built facilities, including clinical simulation suites, a hospital ward, and counselling rooms, to allow students to develop their professional and clinical patient care skills.
The learning approach from Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares students to enter the health workforce, where teamwork and collaboration are important competencies. IPE has been promoted by international health organisations, as part of a redesign of healthcare systems to promote teamwork and enhance the quality of patient care while improving health outcomes.
Learning alongside experts in research, allowing students to see how our award-winning, real-world research projects such as work to support uniform washing for healthcare professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic and dried blood-spot analysis make a difference to patient care.
Our students have gained international experience related to their studies through our DMU Global programme. Pharmacy students have visited Dubai and New York to understand the healthcare provision provided by pharmacists outside of the UK and learned about the medicinal uses of hemp and cannabis on a trip to Amsterdam.
Our graduates gain rewarding and stimulating careers in all pharmacy sectors – DMU students have gone on to work for major employers in primary and secondary care settings, and primary care networks, as well as roles within global pharmaceutical companies.

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UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: B230

Start date: September

Duration: Four years full-time

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: B230

Start date: September

Duration: Four years full-time

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £16,250

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Anybody wishing to work as a pharmacist in the UK is required to complete one year Pharmacist foundation training scheme and pass the GPhC registration assessment after successfully completing the Pharmacy MPharm with Honours degree. Successful graduates will also be able to register as Independent Prescribers at the end of their Foundation Training Year.

If you wish to undertake Foundation Training in the UK on completion of the Pharmacy MPharm (Hons) degree, most overseas students will require a skilled worker visa. Graduates should follow the latest government visa process when applying for their Foundation Training.

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Pharmacy news

Entry criteria

GCSEs

Five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including: English and Maths

Plus one of the following:

A-Level

A minimum of 120 points from 3 A-levels, including Chemistry or Biology at grade B and at least one of the following at grade B or above: Biology, Maths, Physics or Psychology (General Studies is not accepted)*

BTEC

BTEC National Diploma in Applied Science - Distinction/Merit plus Chemistry A level at grade B or above

Alternative qualifications include:

Access to HE Diploma

Pass Access to Science HE diploma overall with 120 UCAS tariff, with 15 level three chemistry credits at distinction, and 15 credits at merit in other science subjects (biology, maths, physics, psychology).

English Language and Maths GCSE grade C/ 4 required as separate qualifications. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification.

International Baccalaureate: 30+ points with six higher level points in Chemistry and another science subject (Biology, Physics, Psychology or Maths)

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

*The third A-level may be in a non-science subject or replaced by AS levels in different subjects, which must be taken at the same sitting as the A-levels.

Interview: Yes

The interview will comprise of a series of structure tests including numeracy as well as values and judgement.

Interviews are conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Work experience: None required

Personal Statement selection criteria

Clear communication skills, including good grammar and spelling
Information relevant to the course applied for
Interest in the course demonstrated with explanation and evidence

If relevant for the course - work and life experience.

Non-academic requirements

As well as academic requirements, you will also be required to meet and fulfil non-academic requirements which are stated below:

Self-Declaration Form clearance

Enhanced DBS disclosure clearance
Occupational Health clearance

Continuance on the MPharm programme is subject to enhanced DBS clearance and annual completion of a self-declaration. It is important that your application is completed by the end of teaching week 3 after enrolment, and self-declaration completed by end of teaching week 1 in years 2 to 4 at the latest.

Failure to engage with this process will result in a review of your continued registration, the normal outcome of which will be discontinuation of your registration from the MPharm programme.

Please note, we do not normally accept applicants who have previously enrolled on a Pharmacy MPharm degree in the UK.

You must meet and fulfil all non-academic requirements before 18 July 2025. Failure to meet this deadline may result in your offer being withdrawn.

UCAS Tariff changes

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Structure and assessment

First year

Introduction to Pharmacy and the Patient – Professional Portfolio
Integrated Science for Pharmacy
The Patient: Sensory and Topical Body Systems
Quality medicines: Design, Development and Analysis
The Patient: Internal body systems

Second year

Introduction to co-morbidities and person centred-care – Professional portfolio
The immune response: Infection and inflammation
Introduction to cardiovascular disease and respiratory systems
Infectious and inflammatory conditions and their management
Ischaemic cardiovascular disease, hepatic and renal

Third year

Personalised medicines and the complex patient - Professional portfolio
The patient: The Central Nervous System
Biomarkers and biopharmaceuticals
The patient: The endocrine system
Precision medicine and cancer therapy

Fourth year

Future pharmacist: Healthcare professional and expert in medicines – Professional portfolio
Future pharmacist: Research skills for the pharmacist
The patient: Advanced clinical consultation skills (prescribing)
Future pharmacist: Leadership and management skills and behaviours
The patient: Advanced clinical skills, expert in practise (prescribing)

See detailed module information

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

The programme has a Hybrid (Flipped classroom) approach to learning with use of pre-work and podcasts to inform in-person, classroom based learning activities, including student-led discussion of applied clinical scenarios, problem based learning and experiential learning opportunities. Lab-based teaching and assessment helps underpin the application of science in clinical practice.

In addition, placement-based experiential learning and our established inter-professional education (IPE) programme timetabled in all years, helps students put their learning in practice in real life settings.

Laboratory classes, skills for practice sessions (which include simulated role play), seminars and workshops provide the opportunity for students to:

acquire the practical and manual skills needed by a pharmacist
illustrate theoretical material
engage in problem-solving exercises
discuss integrated practice-based cases
learn to retrieve information from a variety of sources
record, analyse and critically appraise data
develop their skills in scientific report writing and data presentation
communicate information to their colleagues
work in teams
recount what they have learnt from their student-centred learning activities
exchange information with their colleagues

Other teaching strategies employed in various course components include:

Enhanced Learning through Technology
Simulated experiential learning environments
Inter-professional education (IPE) events
Case discussions

Teaching contact hours

Contact hours in a typical week will depend on the level and modules of study. However, typically you will have up to 16 contact hours of teaching.

Self-directed study: approx. 20 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using hand-outs, online activities, etc.

Placements: These vary in length, up to 37 hours per week. In later years placements may be for multiple weeks in one or more blocks of teaching and attendance is mandatory.

This programme is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Facilities and features

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Hawthorn Building

Substantial investment in Health and Life Sciences has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you develop your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including industry standard analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories.

The building has purpose-built clinical suites including a simulated dispensary and pharmacy counter which allows students to practice and develop core skills in a safe environment. Other clinical simulation spaces in this building include a hospital ward and counselling rooms to allow students to develop their professional and clinical patient care skills. You will receive guidance and support from our team, to ensure that your learning in these simulation suites help prepare you with the confidence and knowledge needed for your experiential learning placements out in practice.

Portland Building

This building has a range of practical laboratory space which have recently been expanded and refitted to provide industry -standard laboratories in a modern, bright space which are used for teaching core laboratory skills, analytical techniques, and good manufacturing practice.

Heritage House

New simulation suites to allow for state-of-the-art experiential learning and assessment. LearningSpace® technology has been installed in 31 rooms both here and in our Hawthorn Building along with enhanced AV equipment; which allows our students to experience reflective learning through the use of audio and video technology in a simulated clinical environment.

New patient simulators, diagnostic and monitoring equipment ensure that students are able to learn clinical assessment skills, diagnosis and treatment of patients of all ages and simulated clinical conditions.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

Placements are a mandatory part of the course where you have the opportunity to complete experiential learning in a variety of pharmacy settings. These placements offer invaluable professional experience and the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations under the supervision and guidance of professional practitioners.

You will be expected to travel to placements in Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and the wider East Midlands. Placements can be timetabled from 9:00 – 17:00, Monday to Friday, and you will gain experience in community pharmacies, hospitals and the primary care sector, including GP practices. Limited daily funding is available to help cover the full or partial cost of travel to placements.

To attend placements you will need an Enhanced DBS and are required to complete an annual self-declaration of good health and conduct, in addition to adhering to placement provider policies, including dress codes.

Graduate Careers

Our graduates have gone on to work in rewarding and stimulating careers across all pharmacy sectors for major employers in community pharmacy and the NHS including careers in both hospital and GP pharmacy.

Throughout the course we will help you to enhance your employment opportunities by embedding transferable skill into the programme and providing opportunities to collaborate with key employers and stakeholders through the Leicester School of Pharmacy’s careers events and mentoring scheme.

We also offer a range of postgraduate opportunities including:

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have previously undertaken DMU Global trips to places such as Dubai, Amsterdam, and New York, where they were able to gain more understanding of the healthcare provision provided by pharmacists outside of the UK.

Take your next steps

Nine halls of residence and around 2,300 rooms, all of which are within easy walking distance of the campus.

Run by students for students, DSU offers more than 150 societies and almost 40 different sports clubs for you to get involved in.

Pharmacy MPharm (Hons)

Block teaching designed around you

Overview

Key features

Pharmacy news

Entry criteria

Structure and assessment

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Accreditations