Pharmacy with Preparatory Year

Taught in the Leicester School of Pharmacy - one of the UK’s longest established and well-respected pharmacy schools, the pharmacy preparatory course is a focused pathway for aspiring pharmacists who don’t have the grades for direct entry on to the MPharm programme. As a Preparatory Year student, you’ll belong to our pharmacy community, accessing pharmaceutical laboratories, pharmacy simulation suites and wider university facilities, while receiving tailored support that ensures you feel prepared, connected and ready to succeed.

DMU’s distinctive block teaching approach gives you focused time with academic experts, helping you build strong foundations in chemistry, biology, maths, study skills and communication. You’ll gain hands-on scientific experience and early insight into the pharmacy profession, supported by a school with a proud heritage of producing skilled, compassionate pharmacists.

After successfully completing the preparatory year course and meeting non-academic criteria for continuation, you’ll progress directly onto our GPhC-accredited Pharmacy MPharm (Hons) programme.

Key features

• Build strong foundational skills: The preparatory year equip students with the relevant academic skills and knowledge needed for success on the MPharm.

• Expert teaching: Learn from subject experts in the Leicester School of Pharmacy where we combine academic excellence with high levels of personalised support.

• A renowned reputation: Benefit from over 120 years of teaching experience in the renowned Leicester School of Pharmacy.

• Collaborative learning: Work alongside future health and social care professionals, gaining valuable team-based learning experience.

• Career ready: DMU MPharm graduates have gone on to rewarding careers across all sectors of pharmacy, including roles in community pharmacies, NHS settings, primary care, and the pharmaceutical industry.

• GPHC accredited: Our Pharmacy with Preparatory Year is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), reflecting the high level of teaching and learning on the course.

This integrated pharmacy preparatory year builds core science knowledge, practical lab confidence and essential study skills. Designed for aspiring pharmacists, this pathway prepares you to progress smoothly onto the MPharm degree and into university-level learning.

Year Zero
Human Biology
Basic Microbiology
Introduction to Psychology
Study Skills 1 - Introduction to DMU
Study Skills 2 - Information Technology & Numeracy
Study Skills 3- - Communication Skills
Cell Biology
Chemistry 1
Chemistry 2
Introductory Biochemistry

Year 1
Introduction to Pharmacy and the Patient - Professional Portfolio
Integrated Science for Pharmacy
The Patient: Sensory and Topical Body Systems
Quality medicines: Design, Development and Analysis
The Patient: Internal body systems

Year 2
Introduction to co-morbidities and person centred-care - Professional portfolio
The immune response: Infection and inflammation
Introduction to cardiovascular disease and respiratory systems
Infectious and inflammatory conditions and their management
Ischaemic Cardiovascular disease, hepatic and renal

Year 3
Personalised medicines and the complex patient - Professional portfolio
The patient: The Central Nervous System
Biomarkers and biopharmaceuticals
The patient: The endocrine system
Precision medicine and cancer therapy

Year 4
Future pharmacist: Healthcare professional and expert in medicines – Professional portfolio
Future pharmacist: Research skills for the pharmacist
The patient: Advanced clinical consultation skills (prescribing)
Future pharmacist: Leadership and management skills and behaviours
The patient: Advanced clinical skills, expert in practise (prescribing)

Assessments come in three main forms:

• Diagnostic assessment allows you and your tutors to see your strengths and weaknesses so you can focus your efforts more effectively (e.g. your tutor may ask you to complete a task in class which you can then ‘mark’ yourself and see where your strengths and areas for focus lie).
• Formative assessment allows your tutors to give you feedback which you can use to improve (e.g. you may be asked to write a report for one of your earlier assignments). You will be a given a mark and feedback for this which you can then use to improve your report writing in a later assignment or exam question.
• Summative assessment in which your grade or mark counts towards your final module mark (e.g. an exam at the end of a module).

To work as a teacher at a state school in England or Wales, you will need to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). This is offered on this course for the following level:

• Course does not award QTS