Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the healthcare profession concerned with the preparation, dispensing, and safe use of medicines, and with advising patients and other healthcare professionals about the therapeutic, legal, and practical aspects of drug treatments. Pharmacists are among the most accessible healthcare professionals in the UK, working in community settings, hospitals, GP practices, and a growing range of specialist clinical roles, and playing an increasingly important part in medicines optimisation as the NHS seeks to ensure that patients get the best outcomes from their treatments.

At University College London, this four-year programme leads to a Master of Pharmacy degree, which is the required qualification for registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council. The programme covers the pharmaceutical sciences in depth, including pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, developing your understanding of how medicines work, how they are formulated for patient use, and how the body handles them. Clinical pharmacy and practice modules develop the patient-facing skills needed for professional practice, and experiential placements in community and hospital settings give you supervised practice experience that prepares you for independent professional work.

UCL's location in London provides access to major NHS teaching hospitals and a diverse patient population that enriches your clinical training.

Qualified pharmacists work across a range of settings. Community pharmacy provides the most visible public role, with pharmacists advising patients, dispensing prescriptions, managing minor ailments, and increasingly delivering clinical services such as blood pressure monitoring and vaccinations. Hospital pharmacy focuses on the safe use of medicines in clinical settings, with pharmacists working on wards, in specialist clinics, and in medicines information and clinical trials.

GP practice and primary care pharmacy is a rapidly growing area. The pharmaceutical industry employs pharmacists in regulatory affairs, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and clinical development. Academic pharmacy and research are further careers for those who continue to postgraduate study.