Pharmacology

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

If you love performing experiments in high-tech labs and want to study alongside researchers who are doing important work to understand how diseases such as Cancer, Alzheimer's and Asthma can be treated, this BSc (Hons) Pharmacology degree is for you.

Pharmacology is the study of drugs and how they affect living systems. Using specialist facilities, you'll deepen your chemistry and biology knowledge as you study how drugs – such as painkillers, antibiotics and even caffeine – alter the body.

You'll set yourself for a fulfilling career working in an industry that improves the lives of millions of people. You could work in areas such as new drug development, medical writing, regulatory affairs and pharmaceutical marketing.

• Explore the latest techniques and methods for diagnosing and treating diseases

• Investigate how cells communicate with each other and why people's bodies respond differently to the same drugs

• Look at how new medicines are developed, tested and launched

• Enhance your CV on a laboratory-based work experience module and on a sandwich year in industry (subject to successful applications)

• Have the opportunity to do summer research placement at one of our partner universities overseas

Accredited by:
This course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

Careers and opportunities

From the medicines in your bathroom cabinet to the drug combinations used to treat cancer, the work of pharmacologists plays a crucial role in society. So there's always demand for pharmacology graduates.

What can you do with a pharmacology degree?
With your degree in pharmacology, you could start a career in any part of the pharmaceutical industry, including:

• drug development and testing

• medical writing

• marketing and sales

• regulatory affairs

You could specialise in a particular area of pharmacology, such as:

• cardiovascular pharmacology

• psychopharmacology

• neuropharmacology

• animal pharmacology

Roles you could do include:

• clinical trial assistant/administrator

• pharmacovigilance officer

• research and development scientist/technician

• secondary school teacher (with additional training)

• regulatory executive

• operations scientist

• research associate

You can also continue your studies at postgraduate level on a PhD, MRes or MSc programme.

Graduate destinations
Previous graduates have gone on to work for organisations including:

• Bayer

• Barts Health NHS Trust

• Hammersmith Medicines Research

• PharmaTargeting – a research house

• Reckitt – health, hygiene and nutrition products

• Molecular Dimensions – a supplier of specialist lab equipment

Work experience and placement year
To give you the best chance of securing a great job when you graduate, this course includes an optional sandwich year in industry and an optional lab-based work experience module (both subject to a successful applications). You could also do a summer research placement at a European university.

Previous students have completed work placements at organisations including pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Catalent.

Our specialist team of Science and Health Careers advisors can help you with finding a work placement and improving your employability skills. They'll provide you with a database of placement vacancies, support with your job search – including help with applications and interviews – and support throughout your placement year.

Year 1

Core modules in this year include:

• Cells to Systems – 20 credits
• Molecules to Medicines – 20 credits
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry – 20 credits
• Principles of Neuroscience and Pharmacology – 20 credits
• Professional Skills For Drug Discovery – 20 credits
• Scientific Skills For Pharmacologists – 20 credits

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 2

Core modules in this year include:

• Applied Pharmacology of the Nervous and Endocrine Systems – 20 credits
• Biomedical Toolbox – 20 credits
• Immunology, Infection and Inflammation – 20 credits
• Research Methods – 20 credits
• Respiratory, Renal and Cardiovascular Pharmacology – 20 credits

Optional modules in this year include:

• Business For Biosciences – 20 credits
• Enzymes and Metabolism – 20 credits
• Modern Foreign Language (Institution-wide Language Programme) – 20 credits

Sandwich year

On this course, you can apply to do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in the pharmaceutical industry.

We'll help you find work placement opportunities that fit your situation and ambitions. If you successfully secure a placement, you’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

Year 3

Core modules in this year include:

• Antimicrobial and Antineoplastic Agents – 20 credits
• Cellular and Molecular Drug Targets – 20 credits
• Drug Development and Clinical Pharmacology – 20 credits
• Neuropharmacology – 20 credits

Optional modules in this year include:

• Research Based Work Experience – 40 credits
• Project – 40 credits

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You’ll be assessed through diagnostic tests, written assignments, oral and poster presentations, online tests, group-based assessments.
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Royal Society of Biology