Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists (Taught)

Independent Prescribing (IP) is becoming an essential skill for pharmacists, to enhance their existing role or to act as a catalyst for role change. Our dedicated IP Team continues to develop the curriculum to ensure you meet the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) learning outcomes and are appropriately prepared for your future prescribing practice.

Applications for the February 2026 intake will open on Monday 10 November 2025.

Please note that this course is extremely competitive, and places fill up quickly on a first come first serve basis. The University reserves the right to close the course early if sufficient applications are received.

Why choose this course?

• 1st Independent Prescribing Course for Pharmacists to be accredited in the UK

• Learn from tutors who are qualified prescribers

• Our programme is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council

• The distance learning format of the course enables you to study where and when it is most convenient

Our course is designed specifically for pharmacists and both the course manager and course tutors are qualified prescribers. In addition, our course has been approved by the GPhC to be delivered by a distance learning format requiring only four days attendance at the University and a further two online study days over a 6-month period.

The distance learning format of the course enables busy health professionals to study where and when it is most convenient to them.

The aims and learning outcomes for the course are those stipulated by the GPhC for a full Independent Prescribing programme. They are expressed below in a manner that is compatible with Masters level study.

Following completion of the course, pharmacist independent prescribers will be able to demonstrate all 32 of the GPhC learning outcomes, by applying knowledge of therapeutics and prescribing to the condition(s) for which they intend to prescribe, using an evidence-based approach that takes into account recent research and current professional practice.

About Keele
Keele University was established in 1949 by the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Founded to meet the needs of a changing world, Keele has always had a pioneering vision to be a different kind of university.

We excel in both teaching and research, with some of the most satisfied students in England, and research that is changing lives for the better at a regional, national and global level.

Our beautiful 600-acre campus is one of the biggest in Britain – but all the most important services and facilities are on your doorstep, with accommodation, teaching spaces, facilities including a medical centre, sports centre and pharmacy, and a range of shops, eateries and entertainment venues – including the Students’ Union – clustered around the centre.