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Pharmacy

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B-A,B,B

In two sciences. Must include one from Biology or Chemistry, and one from either Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics. You will need to pass the science practical element of the A-level if this is part of your programme of study.

Extended Project

A

For applicants taking the EPQ qualification, an A in the EPQ can be recognised to lower the entry requirements by a single grade. For example an AAB offer would be "AAB from 3 A levels or ABB from 3 A levels and a grade A in the EPQ". Please note that any subject specific requirements must be met.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

You must also have or be working towards English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade B/6 or, where GCSEs have not been taken, an acceptable equivalent (if you require a Tier 4 visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements) and three GCSEs at grade B/6 including Biology, Chemistry, and Maths, or equivalent qualifications (subject and grade). Double science is accepted in place of the separate sciences.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-34

34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL Biology or Chemistry, and grade 6 in HL Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics.

DD in a BTEC Diploma in Applied or Pharmaceutical Science and grade B in A-level Chemistry or Biology.

Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.

The Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in lieu of one A Level at the A Level grades specified, excluding any subject specific requirements.

UCAS Tariff

128-136

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About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Pharmacy

Pharmacists are experts in the field of drugs and medicines, and many now prescribe medicines independently of a doctor. They may be involved in any aspect of drug/medicines preparation and use, from discovery to supply to the patient, while many have a role in optimising drug therapy. This means that once qualified as a pharmacist you have a wide choice of career options in hospitals and community practice, industry and research in the UK or elsewhere in the world.

On this four-year programme you will learn about the discovery and development of new drugs; about their chemical, physicochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties; you will study the clinical uses of medicines and the role of the pharmacist in relation to other healthcare professions. You will learn about the underlying pathophysiology of many human diseases, and how the use of medicines can halt, slow the progression of, or reverse disease processes. You will study in a thriving intellectual environment, alongside leading research laboratories, and a variety of postgraduate and professional courses in the pharmaceutical sciences and clinical pharmacy.

Completion of the course will prepare you for post-graduate training to become a pharmacist or for other career avenues in health, science or education. The programme meets the requirements for accreditation by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and draws on the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) subject benchmark for pharmacy.

The School, one of the long-established pharmacy schools in the UK, retains a strong and supportive 'family' atmosphere, and is based in its own Redwood Building, named after the first professor of pharmacy in the UK.

Distinctive features

You will learn in a research-led institution with academic staff rated highly for research in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014. Our academic staff have a broad range of experience and expertise, many of whom are pharmacists, and all of whom are involved in teaching. Within the course we also involve teacher-practitioners and visiting lecturers from community, hospital, primary care and industrial pharmacy and from pharmaceutical public health and the regulation of pharmacy.

We have an active student society that arranges social, sporting and other events for its members. Alongside this, we also get regular student feedback within an Undergraduate Student Staff Panel.

We provide full access to all resource centres in the University. Staff and students have excellent instruction and support from our subject librarians in the Bute library, who lead induction and skills-enhancement classes on accessing and citing published information.

The School supports and encourages students to improve their information technology skills as well as their mentoring skills of more junior students or other pharmacy team members. In addition, we support engagement in the ‘life’ of the profession through participation in local pharmacy evening meetings or conferences of the British Pharmaceutical Students Association or the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation further afield. The School also fosters and promotes opportunities for ERASMUS international exchange visits of students and funded summer placements in its laboratories for undergraduates.

Our final year MPharm students present their research project findings at a ‘School Research Poster Day’ and see the inclusion of project abstracts in a research abstract booklet.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£28,200
per year
International
£28,200
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

Extra funding

Cardiff University has many scholarships on offer to our prospective students. Please see our website at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/funding/scholarships for further information.

The Uni


Course location:

Main Site - Cardiff

Department:

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

79%
Pharmacy

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

Teaching and learning

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
87%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
58%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

87%
UK students
13%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
91%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£22,000
high
Average annual salary
99%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

93%
Health professionals
2%
Natural and social science professionals
2%
Caring personal services

As only a relatively small number of students study pharmacology or toxicology, these statistics refer most closely to the graduate prospects of pharmacy graduates, so bear that in mind when you review them. Only a handful of students take first degrees in pure toxicology every year — the subject is more popular at Masters level. Pharmacology is a degree that tends to lead to jobs in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and outcomes are improving again after a difficult time in the last few years. Jobs in pharmacology are often very specialist and so it’s no surprise that pharmacologists are amongst the most likely of all students to go on to a doctorate — if you want a job in research, start thinking about a PhD. As for pharmacy, unemployment rates are below 1% and 95% of pharmacy graduates had jobs as pharmacists (mostly in retail pharmacists) six months after they left their courses - employment rates have gone up significantly in the last couple of years.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Pharmacy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£28k

£28k

£38k

£38k

£41k

£41k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of East Anglia UEA | Norwich
Pharmacy
MPharm (H) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 136-165
Same University
Cardiff University | Cardiff
Medical Pharmacology
MPharm (H) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 128-136

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here