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Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSc by Research)

2023-24 (also available for 2022-23, 2024-25)

How to apply Order a prospectus Postgraduate Open Days
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This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

2 October 2023

15 January 2024

15 April 2024

Duration

The maximum duration for an MSc by Research is 1 year (12 months) full-time or 2 years (24 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 4 months.

Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.

If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.

Application deadlines

For October 2023

09 June 2023 for International and Scholarship students

30 June 2023 for Home students

For January 2024

20 October 2023 for International and Scholarship students

17 November 2023 for Home students

For April 2024

26 January 2024 for International and Scholarship students

23 February 2024 for Home students

About the research degree

A Master's by Research (MSc) allows you to undertake a one year (full-time) research degree. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth doctoral programme.

Research Master's students choose a specific project to work on and have a greater degree of independence in their work than is the case with a taught Master’s course.

You’ll be expected to work to an approved programme which you will develop in conjunction with your supervisor within the first few months of starting your studies. Whilst undertaking the research project you will also have the opportunity to develop your research skills by taking part in training courses and events.

At the end of the project you write up your findings in the form of a short thesis of around 25,000 words, which will then be examined.

On successful completion, you will be awarded your degree and if you have enjoyed this taste of research you may then decide to apply for the full research doctoral degree (PhD).

You will be appointed a main supervisor who will normally be part of a supervisory team, comprising up to three members. The research supervisor will advise and support you on your project.

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirements for enrolment on a MSc by Research is an upper second honours degree (2.1) from a UK university or a qualification of an equivalent standard, in a discipline appropriate to that of the proposed programme to be followed.

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 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Why choose Huddersfield?

There are many reasons to choose the University of Huddersfield and here are just five of them:

  1. We were named University of the Year by Times Higher Education in 2013.
  2. Huddersfield is the only University where 100% of permanent teaching staff are Fellows of the Higher Education Authority.
  3. Our courses have been accredited by 41 professional bodies.
  4. 94.6% of our postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within six months of graduating.
  5. We have world-leading applied research groups in Biomedical Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities.

What can I research?

There are several research topics available for this degree. See below examples of research areas including an outline of the topics, the supervisor, funding information and eligibility criteria:

Outline

Drug delivery via the mucosal routes such as the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, urinary bladder, vagina and rectum offer several advantages such as drug targeting, enhanced drug delivery etc. This research is focused on design and evaluation of novel dosage forms and materials for mucosal delivery of drugs and macromolecules. This project will involve the use of polymers modified for enhance mucosal interactions and the design of dosage forms such as wafers, gels, films, patches etc.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Despite the implication of chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of many conditions, there are still no safe and effective pharmacological interventions for preventing or treating this phenomenon. This research is aimed at identifying natural products and food bioactives that reduce or inhibit inflammatory processes by targeting inflammatory signalling pathways. The research will also elucidate the molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory activity of natural products.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

We are looking to identifying biomarkers to help diagnose and predict Multiple Sclerosis and related disorders. These includes breath and blood analysis to pinpoint indicators of how the disease progresses.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

The advancements in material sciences and improved understanding of the human gastrointestinal (GI) environment are leading to the intelligent design of formulations. The rationale design and selection of delivery technologies improve the performance of orally administered drugs, for example, by improving drug solubility, flux or by delivering it to the specific gastrointestinal regions. Our research in formulation sciences offers a novel and customized solutions for immediate and delayed-release formulations; and drug targeting in the GI tract, such as delivery to the colon.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

The advancements in material sciences and improved understanding of the human gastrointestinal (GI) environment are leading to the intelligent design of formulations. The rationale design and selection of delivery technologies improve the performance of orally administered drugs, for example, by improving drug solubility, flux or by delivering it to the specific gastrointestinal regions. Our research in formulation sciences offers a novel and customized solutions for immediate and delayed-release formulations; and drug targeting in the GI tract, such as delivery to the colon.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

With a lot of new chemical entities (NCE) being classed according to the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) as Class II, there is a growing need to improve their solubility. Belonging to class II means they have low solubility but high permeability and therefore high peroral dose. Enhancement of their dissolution due to the poor solubility is therefore key in ensuring a suitable plasma concentration for therapeutic effect. Techniques such as particle size reduction, prodrug derivatisation, use of surfactants, salt formation, cocrystallisation and solid dispersions to name a few are used to improve solubility. This projects aims at using novel techniques in engineering the particle sizes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in the quest of achieving improved solubility in these systems and characterising them.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Natural materials are increasingly being used as alternatives to synthetic pharmaceutical excipients in various drug delivery systems due to their biocompatibility, low cost, and relative abundance. This research project will explore the extraction and characterization of selected natural products and their assessment for potential pharmaceutical applications.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Magnesium aluminum silicate is a sheet-type clay mineral and a saponite in the smectite group. Smectites have a basic three-layered structure (tetrahedral– octahedral–tetrahedral layers) in which an octahedral layer with an Mg atom in the centre and six apical oxygen atoms are present between regular tetrahedral layers with an Si atom in the centre and four apical oxygen atoms. Clays have many different applications as reviewed in literature. The objectives of this study is to fully understand and determine pharmaceutically relevant properties of clays with regards to its suitability in solid dosage forms using compression analysis, small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), isothermal calorimetry (ITC) and x-ray microtomography (XµT)

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Chronic diseases, also known as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), affect people for a long duration and result from a combination of factors (e.g., genetic, physiological, environmental). These chronic conditions result in about 41 million deaths yearly, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. NCDs also cause a significant burden on patients experiencing them and the healthcare systems. The primary aim of this project is to improve the quality use of medicines associated with the management of patients with chronic diseases such as CVD and diabetes mellitus. The objectives are to extract de-identified clinical/ dispensing/ safety data for pharmacoepidemiologic studies from a sample of patients in different regions of England and determine the patterns of medicines prescribed to treat chronic conditions.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

We are looking to repurpose known drugs for the use in inflammatory conditions, including neuropathic pain. Repurposing allows for a more rapid drug development, as previously approved drugs will not require the stringency of clinical trials.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

UV imaging has been used as a platform for observing the behaviour of pharmaceutical compounds. The surface dissolution imaging instrument (SDI) has been used in determining the intrinsic dissolution rates (IDR) of compounds due to its compound sparing approach and has been used to observe phenomena such as the swelling behaviour of hydrophilic matrices, capsule dissolution and drug precipitation. We have also developed a Franz cell prototype (patented) at allows imaging through biological and synthetic skin membranes. This project aims to utilise this imaging platform in providing further insights into the behaviour of pharmaceuticals with the prospect of speeding up the preformulation stage thereby reducing costs

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Conventional nail formulations are not fully effective due to limited drug permeation across the compact keratinized structure of the nail plate. Drug permeation through the nail plate is important for treating nail diseases and infections. Therefore, there is currently a need for more effective formulations in the treatment of nail diseases. This project will explore the use of novel combination of approaches in the design of ungunal and transungunal formulations in order to enhance to drug delivery to the nail.

Funding

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Deadline

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

Supervisors

How to apply

We undertake world class research across a range of disciplines - from identifying targets for new drugs to combat important diseases like depression through to developing and improving drug delivery methods by inhalation and other routes. Research within the Pharmaceutical Sciences can be split into themes:

• Pharmaceutics • Material Sciences • Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics.

To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at our Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area. To find out about our staff visit ‘Our experts’ which features profiles of all our academic staff.

You should enter the project title and supervisor in the online application form.

No research proposal is necessary in your application.

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.

Researcher Environment

The University of Huddersfield has a thriving research community made up of over 1,350 postgraduate research students. We have students studying on a part-time and full-time basis from all over the world with around 43% from overseas and 57% from the UK.

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through undertaking research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills which are current and relevant to your specialist area.

Find out more about our research staff and centres

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.

When you are offered a place on a research degree, your offer will include confirmation of your supervisory team, and the topic you will be researching.

Whilst the University will use reasonable efforts to ensure your supervisory team remains the same, sometimes it may be necessary to make changes to your team for reasons outside the University’s control, for example if your supervisor leaves the University, or suffers from long term illness. Where this is the case, we will discuss these difficulties with you and seek to either put in place a new supervisory team, or help you to transfer to another research facility, in accordance with our Student Protection Plan.

Changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, for example the University being unable to access its buildings due to fire, flood or pandemic, or the University no longer being able to provide specialist equipment. Where this is the case, we will discuss these issues with you and agree any necessary changes.

Your research project is likely to evolve as you work on it and these minor changes are a natural and expected part of your study. However, we may need to make more significant changes to your topic of research during the course of your studies, either because your area of interest has changed, or because for reasons outside the University’s control we can no longer support your research. If this is the case, we will discuss any changes in topic with you and agree these in writing. If you are an international student, changing topics may affect your visa or ATAS clearance and if this is the case we will discuss this with you before any changes are agreed.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by the University’s Terms and Conditions and a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. 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.

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