Pharmaceutical Science

Pharmaceutical science is the discipline concerned with the design, development, manufacture, and quality assurance of medicines, sitting at the boundary of chemistry, biology, and engineering to understand how drugs are formulated, how they behave in the body, and how they can be produced safely and effectively at scale. It is a field with direct and significant consequences for public health, underpinning the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries that develop and manufacture the medicines millions of people depend on every day.

At Teesside University, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year that provides a supported entry into the degree for students who would benefit from additional scientific preparation. The foundation year builds the chemistry and biology foundations needed for the main degree content. You will then develop your understanding across pharmaceutical chemistry, drug delivery systems, pharmacology, microbiology, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and the processes used to manufacture medicines at an industrial scale.

A sandwich year and work placement are part of the programme, giving you direct professional experience in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare science setting before graduation.

With a typical entry tariff of 88 UCAS points, this programme is accessible to students with genuine interest in the science of medicines and a willingness to engage with rigorous scientific study. Graduates pursue careers in pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality assurance and control, regulatory affairs, formulation development, analytical chemistry, clinical trials management, and healthcare science roles within the NHS. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in pharmaceutical science, drug delivery, or related life sciences, and some progress to registration as pharmaceutical scientists with the Health and Care Professions Council.