Frequently asked questions
We have answered some of your Pharmaceutical Sciences undergraduate questions. If you need more information please email us at Pharmacy_Enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk
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Please view our prospectus pages for course specific entry requirements:
In the MSci Pharmaceutical Sciences (with a Year in Industry) course, you will complete a placement in the final (forth) year. You have to secure a placement in year 3, and all students who enaged with the process found a placement so far. Typically, you till be employed during the palcement year and receive a monthly salary. While this is not guaranteed, all placement students so far have been paid. During the placement year, the tuition fees are significantly reduced.
Specific work experience in a research/industry lab is not required, but if you are able to get some experience it can help you with your decisions and understanding of these professions.
Your statement should:
- reflect an interest in the science of medicines, but with more focus on research and industry
Candidates can switch from the Pharmactuical Sciences courses to the MPharm courses at any point during the application cycle.
- from MPharm to Pharmaceutical Sciences we will require discussion with the course director and a revised personal statement
- from Pharmaceutical Sciences to MPharm we will require you passing the MPharm interview and possibly a revised personal statement
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For conditional firm offer holders we hope that you meet or exceed our offer, but we will offer some flexibility on near misses – where we set the near miss level depends on how many applicants we have and how well everyone has done.
We do consider each candidate individually, including taking into consideration any supporting information that might have affected exam results to make an informed, transparent decision.
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Course structure
Our courses are taught in modules which are fully integrated across each year. Read our modules:
Contact time
Is around 15-20 hours per week. As a guide, one credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. You will spend around 35% of your time in lectures, 25% in laboratories and 25% in workshops. The remaining time will be spent in tutorials, doing original research and completing e-learning activities. There is also time needed for independent study.
Tutor groups
All students are assigned to a personal tutor, who is a member of academic staff teaching on the courses. Each tutor has a group comprimising of 4 to 5 students. You stay together in this tutor group throughout the course.
Tutorial sessions are scheduled into the timetable and you have at least 5 sessions (you can also request additional meetings with your tutor) over the academic year. These sessions are a mix of group and individual discussions. They focus on a range of topics from general discussion about the course, teaching, university life and discussion of exam results. Your tutor can also help with job applications, CVs and references.
Teaching mathods and materials
Teaching involves a mix of lectures, practical’s, workshops, lab work, case studies, placements, small group team work. You are expected to undertake independent study to complement your understanding of the topics being taught.
Most teaching materials, including lectures, practical scripts, case studies etc. are available online before the teaching session. Most teaching sessions, in particular lectures are recorded and available to all students enrolled on the module/course. We currently use Moodle and Echo 360/Engage for teaching materials and recordings.
We include a range of digital learning formats and does also include interactive engagement sessions with staff and students.
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You have the opportunity to apply to study abroad as part of this course, living and learning in a different culture.
There are also study abroad opportunities in year 3 and complete the research project overseas. These are more ad hoc, but students have undertaken projects in Europe.
In your final year, you have the option to complete your placement abroad for example going to Sweden.
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Our students have completed placements and gone into career areas such as:
- Extend your studies by completing a PhD
- Marketing, Research and Development specifically in areas related to manufacturing, drug discovery, patenting and licencing, regulations etc.
- Drug discovery in industry
- Development of medicines
- Managing clinical trials
- Manufacturing e.g. pharmactucial science specialist
- Medical affairs
- Medicine regulation e.g. working on the approval of medicines by regulators in the UK and across the world
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Tanishka shows us inside a lab while talking about why she chose to study Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharm Sci).
Watch a week in the life as a Pharm Sci student.
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Maintaining a work/life balance
Maintaining a healthy work/life balance at university is important. You will be expected to spend time outside of scheduled sessions on your academic studies.
Planning your week in advance to ensure you can manage your time effectively between both studies and social activities can be useful especially when there are upcoming deadlines.
PharmSoc - What is it? Why join?
It is a society for all students in the School of Pharmacy at university. Joining the society will give you the opportunity to meet other pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences students from different years.
They organise a number of academic and social events throughout the year.
The career service and final year placement for Pharmaceutical Sciences
When preparing and searching for placements the careers service offer lots of support. There are sessions run by the careers service which are tailored towards finding placements within the pharmaceutical industry.
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All on campus accommodation is catered; there are several room types available. Breakfast and Evening meals are served in your hall and £25 allowance (per week) on your university card to spend in outlets on campus.
There are several off-campus accommodation options, which are self-catered; Broadgate Park is the closest self-catered accommodation from University Park campus.
Find out more about your accommodation options.
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We gained essential lab skills during practical sessions. One of the lab sessions was based on tabletting and understanding the properties of tablets and requirements within the pharmaceutical industry.
Read our Student Ambassadors offer-holder day talk from March 2020 (pdf download)
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