Pharmacy

Pharmacy (MPharm) degree

Course Overview

Pharmacists are medicines experts, who care for patients in the community, in hospitals and through a variety of roles in the pharmaceutical industry. This new, future-focused Pharmacy programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to work as part of the healthcare team, alongside doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. A Pharmacist’s expert knowledge on medicines can be applied in a wide range of settings, making Pharmacy an exciting, enjoyable and rewarding career.

A Pharmacy degree (completion of the five years and qualification with an MPharm, followed by registration with the Pharmacy regulator) means you can work in any role, including the following:

Community Pharmacy: Community Pharmacists work closely with the Pharmacy team, the local GP and other members of the healthcare team to care for their patients. Community Pharmacists provide healthcare advice and help patients to treat minor illnesses. Community Pharmacists may also provide vaccinations and other services such as blood pressure testing. Community Pharmacists monitor medicines prescribed for patients and ensure they are suitable for the person and won’t cause any unsafe effects. Community Pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare professionals, making them the first port of call for many people who need healthcare advice.

Hospital Pharmacy: In hospitals, Pharmacists review patient medicines, identifying medicines that may need to be stopped and ensuring new medicines are safe for patients. Pharmacists provide advice to other healthcare professionals on the most appropriate medicines to prescribe and other advice such as appropriate formulations for people with swallowing difficulties. Pharmacists in the hospital may also assist with running clinical trials for new medicines and sometimes manufacture medicines in a sterile environment.

Pharmaceutical Industry: As medicines experts, Pharmacists have a unique insight into how to make a drug into a medicine that can safely and easily be taken by patients. This includes everything from how to manufacture tablets and other forms of medicines, to the quality assurance, packaging, licensing and distribution of these medicines.

Regulatory Affairs: Any new medicines coming on to the market must be assessed to make sure they are safe and work as they are supposed to. All medicines are continuously monitored to identify if they are causing harm to people or are not working as they should. Pharmacists have expertise in all aspects of medicines development and therefore are well-placed to work in the regulation of medicines.

Research: Pharmacists can perform research on any topic related to Pharmacy including drug development, formulation development, clinical Pharmacy or other areas related to medicines or healthcare.

In all of these areas, Pharmacists work with multidisciplinary teams, using their knowledge of medicines and healthcare to optimise patient care and outcomes.

This new Pharmacy programme is designed to support you to develop personally and professionally and to equip you to work in all of these roles. The location of the University, just across the road from the hospital, means you will have opportunities to visit the hospital Pharmacy and see what Pharmacists do there. The University has many other healthcare degree programmes including medicine, podiatric medicine, nursing, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Pharmacy students will get to learn alongside students in these courses.

To register as a Pharmacist you must hold an MPharm qualification (Four years Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSc Pharm) and one-year Masters in Pharmacy (MPharm)). This will allow you to sit the exams required to be a Pharmacist.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Course Outline

To register as a Pharmacist in Ireland, you must hold a Masters degree in Pharmacy (MPharm). To obtain this Masters degree, you must first register for the four-year Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (GY505), once you have successfully completed this, you will progress to the fifth year (MPharm). Please note that an additional fee is payable in respect of this fifth year. Once you have successfully completed year 5, and subject to sign-off by your tutor Pharmacist and an absence of Fitness to Practice issues, you will be eligible to sit the Professional Registration Exam for Pharmacy. Evidence of successful attainment of an MPharm degree and successful completion of the Professional Registration Exam, must be provided to the Irish Pharmacy regulator, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), when applying to be added to the register of Pharmacists. More information on this process can be found on the PSI website.

Year 1 provides an in-depth introduction to relevant sciences underpinning Pharmacy including chemistry, physiology, pharmacology, formulation science, biochemistry and anatomy. These subjects will be taught in a Pharmacy-relevant context and provide the fundamental knowledge required for later years of the programme. Students will begin to learn about the role of Pharmacists in society, in particular in protecting and advocating for patients. Students will work in simulated Pharmacy settings and will begin their journey of personal and professional development and reflective practice. Students will learn to make simple pharmaceutical formulations including mouthwashes and other liquid preparations. Students will learn about the legislation and ethical principles governing Pharmacy and will begin to discuss and debate issues of relevance to Pharmacy as well as undertaking one day of placement.

Year 2 begins to integrate core scientific knowledge with clinical Pharmacy and patient care. Case-based learning using real and simulated patients, will enhance students problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork skills. Students will begin to work with their peers from other healthcare courses on simulated clinical activities focused on patient care. Students will complete two weeks of work placement in a patient-facing setting, to apply their learning to real-life scenarios. Modules on pharmaceutical microbiology and toxicology will expand scientific knowledge. The formulation and manufacture of sterile pharmaceutical products will also be introduced, with a site visit to a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. A module on applied data analysis will introduce research methods and give practical experience of analysing data using specific data analytics packages.

Year 3 has an emphasis on students seeking out answers for themselves and applying their knowledge to scenarios relevant to Pharmacy. This year encourages students to move from passive learning to problem-solving, in preparation for their transition to practice placements in Year 4. This year builds on knowledge of pharmaceutical science, the formulation, manufacture and regulation of medicines and includes training on the commercialisation process and visits to pharmaceutical companies. Simulated clinical activities throughout the year focus on clinical decision-making in preparation for clinical practice.

Year 4 begins with a four-month placement activity which can be in a patient-facing setting or in the pharmaceutical industry, university research, the Pharmacy or the medicines regulator. Exciting new opportunities for Pharmacists emerge constantly, meaning the diversity of placement settings increases year-on-year. In semester 2, students will have the opportunity to complete a research project giving an insight into academic research, working in multidisciplinary teams, making evidence-based decisions and presenting research results. Students will focus on medicines optimisation for complex patients and learning to work within multi-professional teams in practice.

Year 5 is future-focused, building on knowledge and skills learned in the course to apply these to potential future developments in Pharmacy. The activities in this year are largely student-led working on real-life scenarios from Pharmacy practice and industrial Pharmacy to solve-problems. This year includes an emphasis on advanced clinical skills and students developing their leadership skills. Students will complete an 8-month placement in a patient-facing setting and a placement research project.

‌Work Placement

Placement opportunities throughout the programme give you the opportunity to use what you have learned in a real-world setting. There are three main placements during the five years of the degree:

Year 2: Two weeks placement in a patient-facing setting. This will allow you to use some of the skills you have learned and get used to working with a team in a Pharmacy setting.

Year 4: This four-month placement occurs from September to December of Year 4. This can occur in a patient-facing setting or in any other setting where Pharmacists may work, including industry, regulation or academic research. Regardless of the setting, you will have a tutor Pharmacist who will ensure you get excellent experience and who will monitor your progress during the placement. Some students may have the opportunity to complete part of their placement or a research project abroad.

Year 5: This eight-month placement must be in a patient-facing setting. Your tutor Pharmacist in this setting will ensure that you get a wide-range of experiences and will monitor your progress, with the aim being that they can sign you off as being proficient against a range of competencies by the end of the year.

Further Education

All Pharmacists are required to complete continuing professional development and to document this. This may take the form of learning from practice, or more structured pieces of education or training. Pharmacists may go on to complete a PhD in Pharmacy practice, formulation science or any other associated subject if they wish to work in academic research or for some industry roles. Masters courses related to Pharmacy (separate from the MPharm) are often undertaken by Pharmacists working in the hospital to progress towards specialisation. Masters courses specific to industry and health economics are also commonly undertaken by Pharmacists.Some Pharmacists may wish to become a “Qualified Person”. This is an industry role related to quality assurance and sign-off of batches of medicinal products. Pharmacy satisfies the educational requirements for the role, but industry experience is also required for this role. Further information is available from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

Fees: Tuition

Fees: Student Contribution

Fees: Student levy

Fees: Non EU

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