Pharmaceutical Science MSc

Core modules

• Advanced Pharmaceutics

  You’ll be taught by specialists in drug delivery while you gain knowledge and practical skills to critically assess the design, formulation process and use of formulation of solid, semi-solid and liquid dosage. You’ll get hands-on when you investigate pharmaceutics-related problems to generate new data. In addition to the traditional dosage drug dosage forms, you’ll investigate advanced drug delivery approaches and systems such as vesicular carriers, dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanoemulsions and microspheres. You’ll also cover the use of biodegradable polymers in various drug delivery applications. While developing your understanding of physicochemical interactions and incompatibilities, you’ll become confident in practical decision making for effective medicine, the development of appropriate analytical techniques to assess dosage form stability and drug release profile.

• Drug Design and Discovery

  Focus on the development pathway of a drug from its initial discovery to extensive clinical trials and regulatory approval. You’ll gain in-depth knowledge of the processes of finding a new target causing the disease, applying virtual and experimental models for compound/drug screening, identifying leading drug candidate for further development and performing pre-clinical research activities. You’ll cover the pre-formulation aspects of pharmaceuticals such as pH solubility and stability profiles, partition coefficients, determination of pKa, polymorphism, and compatibility studies of active ingredients and excipients. You’ll discuss the principles of instrumental chemical analysis of drugs and develop awareness of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).This will ensure that you are establishing proper quality systems and ethical considerations, while constantly comparing to real-life industry examples.

• Research Studies

  Designed to provide you with a critical overview of the main methodologies and designs applied to research within medical science, professional practice, regulation and policy, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the theoretical dilemmas and research skills needed for industry. Together, we'll explore the overarching research framework including both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, data collection methods, issues of rigor and data analysis approaches. We'll also look at reviewing published literature, critiquing studies and understanding the methodology of systematic reviews, and ethical issues relating to research conduct and use, and research governance. Our module will provide a framework within which to select, evaluate and justify the research methods chosen for your research project.

• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Quality Principles

  Develop wider knowledge of the integral parts of the pharmaceutical industry including research, development, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sales. You’ll cover the considerations needed to plan, design, construct, validate, and operate complex manufacturing facilities. You’ll also study and debate the practical applications of Good Design Practices (GDPs) including compliance with applicable safety, health, environmental regulations and current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP). You’ll attend seminars which are delivered by pharmaceutical industry practitioners on issues in principles of quality assurance (QA) and quality control tests (QC), as well as understanding documentation, audit and test procedures you’ll need in your career. Finally, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to apply Pharmaceutical Quality by Design (QbD) bases on the application of product and process sciences to provide accelerated regulatory submission pathways for new applications.

• Major Project

  The major project is at the centre of the Masters award and allows you to demonstrate your creativity and apply the skills and concepts you’ve learned in the previous modules. You’ll take the opportunity to carry out an in-depth study in a related specific area of your choice and interest. We’ll encourage you to carry out your major project with an industrial partner to gain real-life experience and contacts in the field. During the project you may generate intellectual property, defined as an idea, invention or creation which can be protected by law from being copied by someone else.