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Clinical Pharmacy Practice with Research Project MSc

2024-25 (also available for 2025-26)

This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

16 September 2024

Duration

1 year full-time

Places available (subject to change)

10

About the course

If you are an overseas pharmacist who is currently practising in your respective country and want to enhance your clinical and research expertise and gain hands-on experience of pharmacy practice research in the UK.

This degree offers a unique blend of knowledge and training with hands-on research experience adapted for the most popular career pathways in the pharmacy profession. As part of the course, you will also carry out a pharmacy practice research project.

This course is not a replacement of OSPAP program for overseas pharmacist. Those who wish to register and practice as a pharmacist in UK should follow GPhC guidelines at

Course detail

Applied Therapeutics

This module will focus on the application of an integrated knowledge base to inform decision-making and problem-solving of issues regarding pharmaceutical care of individual patients. It will have a strong focus on problem solving and pharmaceutical care planning whilst also introducing a variety of therapeutic areas and their management. Students will develop and apply their clinical pharmacy and critical evaluation skills to a variety of patient cases and commonly encountered scenarios.

Clinical Pharmacy Practice

This module introduces students to the practice of clinical pharmacy, the role of the clinical pharmacist in society and their role as a member of the healthcare team and highlights issues related to Health and Illness. Students are introduced to the dispensing of medicines with respect to the underpinning skills, pharmaceutical legislation and ethics. Students will be introduced to the concept of self-care, differential diagnosis, consultation, prescribing skills, medicine usage reviews, medicines reconciliation, emergency care, and palliative care. Simulated experience in the dispensary will provide students a real-life model environment to become familiar with the practice of clinical pharmacy in the UK.

International Practice and Policy

This module provides students an in-depth understanding of international practice and policies underpinning the practice of pharmacy around the world and critically appraises the differences in practices in developed world to those in low and middle-income countries. Students will also appreciate the pharmacoeconomics underlying introduction of a new drugs and treatments, pharmacovigilance, and economic evaluation of community and hospital pharmacy services. The module also provides and overview of information sources used in international pharmacy practice and in-depth appreciation of systemic reviews and meta-analysis.

Formulation Design and Development

The aim of this module is to provide an in-depth appreciation of all the stages from new drug identification to bringing a drug to the market and beyond, with an emphasis on biotechnology-based products. It is divided into two integrated streams, the first being drug design. You will gain a critical appreciation of drug design and methods of discovery. Drug development will include pre-clinical, clinical and post-marketing surveillance aspects. The incorporation of advanced drug delivery strategies into current practice and future directions will be covered in detail. You will be expected to integrate and apply your knowledge and skills in the development of your own formulation supported by representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, and should be able to test the quality and performance of developed formulations in the laboratory.

Drug Design and Development

An introduction to precision medicine including pharmacogenomics, which will be extended to an in-depth appreciation of how genetic variations are inherited and can be applied to pharmacogenomic analysis, i.e. how genetic variations affect human drug response and how this area will become an essential component in developing new medicines. The module will also explore the application of biomarkers to stratified or personalised medicine. Both pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics influences of drugs will be covered, such as inter-patient variation in the expression of drug metabolising and activating enzymes, as well as differences in the expression of drug targets such as receptors, genes, enzymes and growth factors. Biometric analysis such as bioinformatics will be explored through the understanding of the development of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and its relevance to ‘-omic’ technologies (genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics). In addition, different model systems that are used to identify and develop biomarkers and drug target identification will be covered. The module will use a series of lectures, workshops and tutorials to encompass these topics and areas of learning. This will involve several expert lectures including external consultants and scientists.

Research Methods in Pharmacy Practice

Pharmacy practice is rapidly transforming and it is vital for students, practitioners and academic researchers to understand and employ relevant techniques and methodologies but also to champion, nurture and develop the field. This module provides students with an in-depth understanding of contemporary methodologies in pharmacy practice research. It includes a range of quantitative, qualitative, action research and mixed methods employed in pharmacy practice research in the modern era.

Pharmacy Practice Research Project

This module includes a major piece of research in pharmacy practice and therefore integrates learning across various modules in the course. The module will highlight the concepts, philosophy and ethos of using research to provide evidence of best practice. Students will be offered projects related to the research of the academic staff and/or of pharmacy practitioners working in collaboration with staff on a variety of pharmacy practice aspects. Students will gain an appreciation of the use of literature searching and how their review of this literature generates and consolidates a hypothesis. Students will design their research study, collect their own data, and provide their own interpretation to generate a discussion of their results. This will be submitted in the form of a written report. In addition, students will also present their work in conference style presentation.

You will gain significant practical experience and confidence whilst studying on this course as you will be exposed to simulated and real-life situations.

You will also be shown how to use various IT resources in a pharmacy, and various clinical information resources used in a clinical practice.You will also have access to online resources on academic/scientific writing and additional support from Academic Skills Tutors if required.

The Pharmacy Practice Suite offers similar modules in term 1 and 2 to teach the concepts of clinical pharmacy practice and allow an option in the second term to specialise in research methodologies employed in pharmacy practice. The course leads to a 60 credit research project module over the summer which shall provide you with hands-on experience in pharmacy practice research. You will be offered a project related to the research expertise of the academic staff and/or pharmacy practitioners working in collaboration with our staff on a variety of pharmacy practice aspects, highlighting the concepts, philosophy and ethos of using research to provide evidence to inform the future practice.

The course will take one year full time, starting in September, and will comprise standard terms for most of the modules. You will undertake taught modules (120 credits) in the first two terms that will lead to the Pharmacy Practice Research Project module (60 credits) undertaken over the summer. This will provide the time and space needed to complete an extensive piece of research in pharmacy practice. You will therefore earn 120 credits after the first two terms and then earn a further 60 credits over the summer leading to a full MSc award (180 credits).

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

  • A minimum of a second class honours degree in Pharmacy or its international equivalent
  • Current registration with the relevant regulatory authority to practice as a Pharmacist in any jurisdiction
  • A letter confirming good standing from a relevant body under which you have worked, prior to your application
  • At least 3-months relevant work experience before starting the course

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no less than 6.0 in reading and writing, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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