Pharmacy MPharm

The Aston Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree is designed to equip you with a comprehensive understanding of pharmaceutical science and the practical skills necessary to excel professionally.

This programme stands out as a premier pathway for aspiring pharmacists, providing a full learning experience combined with hands-on learning through our extensive network of industry partners, developing your skills in our dedicated specialist facilities, and benefiting from the experience and insight of our expert teaching staff.

You will benefit from extensive patient contact throughout the course, both within the University and through a series of professional experiences in different workplace environments such as hospitals, community pharmacies, GP surgeries and primary care settings.

We also have a strong focus on interprofessional practice and collaborative care, offering opportunities for you to learn with, from and about other healthcare specialities. In addition, our final-year students can personalise their learning through elective choices and research projects, including in pharmacy practice, which can be based in either community, hospital or primary care practice.  The programme is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). It will prepare you for the one-year Foundation Training that you will need to complete and pass after completing your degree to become a UK-registered pharmacist.

The course delves into twelve integrated themes spanning three fascinating areas of study: ‘The Professional’, mastering the science of safe and effective healthcare delivery; ‘The Medicine’, learning how medicines are discovered, formulated, and used in practice; and ‘The Patient”, the immersion into the multifaceted world of patient care, covering a wide range of clinical conditions.

Foundations

Your first years of the MPharm Pharmacy degree introduce you to key concepts of pharmaceutical science - the process of discovering, designing, and formulating new drugs, discovering how drugs interact with the body, understanding the chemical properties of drugs, drug safety, and patient care. You’ll begin to learn how to make professional judgements based on evidence in pharmacy practice and develop effective leadership and management skills. 

Build upwards

With the fundamentals learned in your first three years firmly in place, your final year culminating in a master’s degree provides you the opportunity to apply knowledge to more complex clinical cases and build your understanding of real-world industry practice.

Placement

You will benefit from extensive patient contact throughout the course within the university and through a series of professional experiences in different workplace environments such as hospitals, community pharmacies, GP surgeries and deliver patient services in supervised on campus clinics. You will practise and perfect your skills in bespoke, immersive simulation suites and interact with ‘patients’ using cutting edge AI technology. We also have a strong focus on interprofessional practice and collaborative care, offering opportunities for you to learn with, from and about other healthcare specialities.

Facilities

Pharmacy students have access to a range of specialist facilities that reflect the hands-on learning within the field. In these settings, you gain practical experience alongside like-minded students, with pharmacy workshops and lectures guided by industry professionals and expert technicians.

Course Modules

Year 1

Pharmacy Stage 1

Year 2

Pharmacy Stage 2

Year 3

Pharmacy Stage 3

Year 4

Pharmacy Stage 4

https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/pharmacy-mpharm/september-2027

The Aston Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) curriculum utilises a range of different assessment types and the assessment strategy reflects both the national educational requirements in the FHEQ and the professional educational standards and learning outcomes from the GPhC.

The four levels within Miller’s Triangle have been used within the national pharmacy educational standards and applied to the outcomes defined in the 2021 GPhC Standards. Assessment formats include diagnostic tests, written examinations, synoptic assessments, coursework, oral presentations, poster presentations, clinical simulation activities, OSCE and other case-based assessments, portfolios, laboratory practicals and calculations, amongst a range of others. Clinical and therapeutic summative assessments in Stages 3 and 4/F have been developed to include prescribing skills.

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

• General Pharmaceutical Council