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Pharmaceutical Science (4-year FT)

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-A,B,B

A-Level Chemistry with a minimum of a grade C and one other Science subject at A-Level required (can be Biology [preferred], Physics or Maths).

Can be combined with other Level 3 qualifications e.g. A2's in different subjects to achieve 112 UCAS points

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:30,P:9

To include a minimum of 15 credits in Chemistry (with at least 10 credits at Distinction and 5 at Merit) and 15 credits in Biology at a minimum of a Merit

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

To include 5 in Chemistry and 4 in Biology Higher Level as well as English Language and Maths at Standard Level 5 or Higher Level 4

Equivalent of 112 UCAS points to include a minimum of H1 in Chemistry and H2 in Biology

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM-DDM

BTEC Diploma in Applied Science (Chemistry) only must have merits in the following units: Unit 1 : "Principles and Applications in Science 1" Unit 5: "Principles and Applications in Science 2" Unit 13: "Applications of Inorganic Chemistry" Unit 14: "Applications of Organic Chemistry"

Achieve a minimum of 112 points including Advanced Higher in Chemistry at a minimum of a grade B and Higher in Biology at a minimum of a grade C.

T Level

M

Merit in T Level Science: including a minimum of a B in the Core component and a merit in the Occupational Specialism which must be either in laboratory sciences or metrology sciences.

UCAS Tariff

112-128

UCAS points from a minimum of 2 A-Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications. General Studies & Critical Thinking not accepted.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Pharmacy

Toxicology

Pharmaceutical chemistry

**Reasons to choose Kingston**
- You’ll gain extensive practical experience in newlaboratories after a £6.8 million investment.

- Modules on this course have been accredited by the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS).

- You’ll take advanced postgraduate level modules in the Manufacture and Clinical Trials of Medicines and Advanced Organic and Medicinal Chemistry.

- Our commitment to high quality teaching has been recognised with a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold rating. The University has received an overall rating of Gold, as well as securing a Gold award in the framework's two new student experience and student outcomes categories.

**About this course**
Do you see yourself as a research scientist? Working at the cutting edge of discovering, designing and developing new drugs for clinical purposes? If so, this four-year course is ideal for you.

You’ll explore the sources of medicine, how medicines work, and how they can be formulated (such as via tablet, cream or inhaler), administered, analysed and tested.

The course shares its first two years with the Pharmaceutical Science BSc (Hons) programme and provides a wide understanding of all aspects of the
pharmaceutical industry. In Year 3, you’ll deepen your knowledge of natural product chemistry. You’ll develop skills for testing and evaluating the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceutical products. In Year 4, you’ll develop skills in experiment design, critical analysis, problem-solving and laboratory work.

**Future Skills**
Embedded within every course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate, providing you with the skills most valued by employers such as problem-solving, digital competency, and adaptability.

As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.

At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it.

**Career opportunities**
Pharmaceutical Science is a growth area with good job prospects. Graduates work in areas such as research, development, regulatory affairs and pharmaceutical analysis. They also frequently progress to study PhDs.

Modules

Example modules

– Manufacture and Clinical Trials of Medicines
– Design Discovery and Development of Pharmaceuticals
– Advanced Analytical Science.

For a full list of modules please visit the Kingston university course webpage.

Assessment methods

Teaching methods include lectures, workshops, tutorials and practical classes.

Assessment methods typically comprises of exams and coursework (eg practical work, in-course tests, assignments and essays).

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Kingston University

Department:

Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

72%
Pharmacy
80%
Toxicology
69%
Pharmaceutical chemistry

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

Teaching and learning

68%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
72%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
83%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Toxicology

Teaching and learning

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
74%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
61%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

63%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
61%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
37%
Male students
63%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
D
E

Chemistry

Teaching and learning

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
71%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
87%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

81%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
43%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
D
E

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Pharmacy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,200
med
Average annual salary
95%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

53%
Health professionals
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
6%
Science, engineering and production technicians

As only a relatively small number of students study pharmacology or toxicology, these statistics refer most closely to the graduate prospects of pharmacy graduates, so bear that in mind when you review them. Only a handful of students take first degrees in pure toxicology every year — the subject is more popular at Masters level. Pharmacology is a degree that tends to lead to jobs in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and outcomes are improving again after a difficult time in the last few years. Jobs in pharmacology are often very specialist and so it’s no surprise that pharmacologists are amongst the most likely of all students to go on to a doctorate — if you want a job in research, start thinking about a PhD. As for pharmacy, unemployment rates are below 1% and 95% of pharmacy graduates had jobs as pharmacists (mostly in retail pharmacists) six months after they left their courses - employment rates have gone up significantly in the last couple of years.

Toxicology

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,200
med
Average annual salary
95%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

53%
Health professionals
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
6%
Science, engineering and production technicians

As only a relatively small number of students study pharmacology or toxicology, these statistics refer most closely to the graduate prospects of pharmacy graduates, so bear that in mind when you review them. Only a handful of students take first degrees in pure toxicology every year — the subject is more popular at Masters level. Pharmacology is a degree that tends to lead to jobs in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and outcomes are improving again after a difficult time in the last few years. Jobs in pharmacology are often very specialist and so it’s no surprise that pharmacologists are amongst the most likely of all students to go on to a doctorate — if you want a job in research, start thinking about a PhD. As for pharmacy, unemployment rates are below 1% and 95% of pharmacy graduates had jobs as pharmacists (mostly in retail pharmacists) six months after they left their courses - employment rates have gone up significantly in the last couple of years.

Chemistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,500
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Teaching and educational professionals
14%
Science, engineering and production technicians
14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Chemistry graduates are in demand from a wide range of industries, from the food, oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to consultancy, technical analysis and teaching. They're also prized by business and finance employers for their research and data handling skills — anywhere there is research and data to be explained, you can find chemistry grads. If you want a career in research, you need a doctorate, so start planning now if you fancy one of these exciting and challenging jobs - but good students can usually get grants to take a doctorate, so don't worry about the financing if you think you have what it takes. The recession wasn’t too kind to chemists, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry (one of the key employers for chemists), but things are getting back to normal for this flexible group and it's one of the few degrees that is bucking the current trend and increasing graduate numbers.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Pharmacy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£25k

£25k

£26k

£26k

£36k

£36k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Toxicology

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£25k

£25k

£26k

£26k

£36k

£36k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Chemistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here