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BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science (Including Foundation Year)

BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science (Including Foundation Year)

Overview:

The foundation route is designed for students who do not meet the admissions criteria for the BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical Science degree. You’ll start by completing a foundation year, which provides well structured support, allowing you to develop your scientific skills and knowledge.

The content of our pharmaceutical science course has a strong grounding in the chemical and biological sciences, complemented by industry-specific topics such as pharmaceutical regulation and quality assurance.

You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of topics relevant to the field of pharmaceuticals, their design, development, quality control, and manufacture. To enhance your career potential, there is an emphasis on practical experience of techniques used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Typical A-Level Offer
DD, 48 tariff points to include one A Level in a relevant Science subject but to exclude General Studies

Typical Welsh BACC Offer
N/A

Typical BTEC Offer
BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass in a relevant subject

Typical Access to HE Offer
Pass Access to HE Diploma in Science with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points

Additional Requirements
GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C/Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances

Online application form

Information requested on this form should be completed in as much detail in order to process your application successfully. All fields marked * must be completed.

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Entry Requirements

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions. USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university. Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy.  

Other qualifications and experience
 

We can also consider combinations of qualifications and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable. We can sometimes consider credits achieved at other universities and your work/life experience through an assessment of prior learning. This may be for year one entry, or advanced entry to year two or three of a course where this is possible.

To find out which qualifications have tariff points, please refer to the UCAS tariff calculator.

If you need more help or information or would like to speak to our friendly admissions team, please contact us here

WHAT YOU WILL STUDY

The first year provides you with well-structured support, allowing you to develop your scientific skills and knowledge. In the second year, you will study a variety of modules which will provide you with a strong grounding in chemistry that will prove invaluable during the rest of your degree and working life. To begin to understand the biological action of drugs and their impact, you will also be introduced to fundamental human biology and biochemistry.

All of these modules involve practical work and you will gain hands-on experience using equipment in our state-of-the-art laboratories. You would also be taught mathematics to enable you to understand the relevance of mathematics and statistics in the field of chemical and pharmaceutical science.

The third-year focuses on chemical synthesis, drug design, drug action and chemical analysis. In your fourth year, you will continue to develop your knowledge and skills in chemical synthesis and analysis, quality control and quality assurance regulatory affairs as well as use industry-standard instruments/ equipment.

Foundation Year: Pharmaceutical Science Degree

  • Foundation Biology
  • Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
  • Key Skills and Professional Development
  • Scientific Data Literacy
  • Foundations in Physical Chemistry
  • Foundations in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry

Year One: Pharmaceutical Science Degree

  • Diversity of Cellular Life
  • Genetics and Evolution
  • Organic Molecules: their Structure, Reactivity and Analysis
  • Physical Characteristics of Molecules
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Key Skills for Careers in the Sciences

Year Two: Pharmaceutical Science Degree

  • Human Molecular Genetics
  • Professional Practice and Placement
  • Professional Practice and Placement
  • Quality Control and Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Introduction to Formulation Science and Pharmaceutical Analysis
  • Modern Techniques in Analysis and Identification
  • Synthetic Organic and Heterocyclic Chemistry
  • Bioinorganic Chemistry

Year Three: Pharmaceutical Science Degree

  • Medicinal Drug Design
  • Major Project and Career Development
  • Advanced Analytical Techniques
  • Advanced Organic Chemistry
  • Modern Molecular Advances

Teaching

The Pharmaceutical Science degree is delivered through a blend of traditional lectures, tutorials, workshops, and practical laboratory sessions complimented by the resources of our newly built facilities. Self-directed study is supported by Unilearn, our online learning resource.

Employers regularly comment on our graduates’ excellent analytical skills, enhanced by hands-on experience of industry-standard instrumentation. Our students benefit from regular input from professionals who are working in the industry.

Our Pharmaceutical Science degree continues to evolve in partnership with industry to ensure graduates are highly valued by employers. You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of topics relevant to the field of pharmaceuticals, their design, development, quality control, and manufacture.

Assessment

You will be assessed using a range of techniques such as report writing, general coursework, oral presentations, on-line tests, and portfolios as well as exams.

COURSE DETAILS

Placements
Students have the option of a summer placement/or a year long placement at a pharmaceutical company.

Facilities
Our Pharmaceutical Science facilities are on a par with those found in industry. Students make full use of the laboratories during their studies and gain hands-on experience using the extensive chemical equipment. We have dedicated organic, inorganic and physical chemistry laboratories, as well as several instrumentation laboratories.

We regularly revalidate courses for quality assurance and enhancement
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

Additional Costs

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.

 

CAREERS

This Pharmaceutical Science course provides you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that will make you highly marketable to employers in the pharmaceutical sector. Being one of the largest employers of scientists in the UK, jobs for scientists within the sector are quite varied. You can pursue a career in research and development, and many scientists may also find themselves in roles that may range from a purely lab-based position, to marketing, patent filing, quality assurance/regulation, or even as a sales representative.

Our Careers and Employability Service
As a USW Pharmaceutical Science student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate. This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the “Ask a Question” service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting USW students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.

Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.

Fees

Full time

Complete your degree in the shortest possible time and study flexibly – when and where suits you!
 

£7,250

You’ll study 9 modules in total (approx. 37 hrs/week).

Part time option one

Study for a degree whilst fitting it around your work, care and other life commitments.
 

£4,250

You’ll study 6 modules per year (approx. 25 hrs/week).

Part time option two

Take time to study and spread the tuition fees over a longer period – at no extra cost.
 

£5,500

You’ll study 4–5 modules per year (approx. 19 hrs/week).

Have a question about our professional qualifications?

Contact us about our professional qualifications

If you have any questions about our professional qualifications in finance and banking, please contact our customer services team.

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