University of Reading
UCAS Code: B211 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
A level Biology and Chemistry at grade B.
Access to HE Diploma
including relevant science modules.
Extended Project
In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer. Eligible applicants would receive two offers, our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE Mathematics at grade B (or 6) and GCSE English at grade C (4). International Baccalaureate Standard Level 4 also acceptable.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Higher Level Biology and Chemistry at grade 5.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
including relevant science modules.
Scottish Higher
Higher Biology and Chemistry at grade B.
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)
The Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in lieu of one A Level at the grade achieved, when studied alongside Biology and Chemistry.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Develop the knowledge and skills to work as a pharmacologist within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industries with our new BSc Pharmacology with a Year in Industry.**
This course has been designed to align with the British Pharmacological Society core curricula and was developed with the needs of the pharmaceutical industry in mind.
You will:
- Study the principles of drug action and molecular targets.
- Learn the key mathematical principles and skills required in the industry. This includes statistical analysis as well as handling and analysing big data sets.
- Develop your understanding of systems pharmacology as well as mathematical and computer modelling.
You'll work with academics across our Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, and Mathematical, Physical and Computation Sciences schools.
Reading is one of the UK's top 25 universities for pharmacy and pharmacology (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2022), and we have experts in pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy practice, as well as biomedical science and mathematics, who are all working on different aspects of drug research.
Gain key graduate employability skills and experience during your third year, when you’ll participate in a placement with one of our industry partners.
Our BSc Pharmacology with a Year in Industry course will **not** result in qualification to work as a pharmacist. Please refer to our MPharm Pharmacy or MPharm Pharmacy with Foundation courses if this is the route you wish to follow.
**For more information, please visit the programme page:** https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/medical-sciences-ug/bsc-pharmacology-with-year-in-industry
Modules
The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2025/26. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.
Core modules for this course:
Fundamentals of Pharmaceutical Science
Principles of Drug Action
Anatomy and Physiology
Haematology and Immunology
Drug Design and Delivery.
The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available in the summer of 2024. We suggest that you regularly revisit our course page during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme. Check our website for more details about the course structure.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Reading
School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy
What students say
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.
Pharmacology
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Pharmacology
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Pharmacology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£27k
£38k
£41k
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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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.
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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?
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