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Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy with Extended Placement MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy with Extended Placement MSc (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Full-time

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£21,500

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£42,700

Duration

18 months

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree in pharmacy from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, and registration as a pharmacist. At least one year’s relevant work experience in a clinical setting is normally required. Applicants must be familiar with standard software packages including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

You will delve deep into how healthcare systems work around the world and explore the distinct health needs of different populations – drawing on the various theories and concepts that feed into delivering evidence-based pharmacy services.

An additional six months full-time placement, on top of the standard twelve-month programme, will help you take your clinical experience to the next level, and give you the chance to build a compelling set of clinical and governance skills.

The course is centred on the health priorities of the World Health Organisation, which includes diabetes, cardiovascular and infectious diseases.

Alongside extensive subject expertise, you’ll build valuable critical thinking and leadership skills relevant to the needs of your own country, develop your own learning style, and experience the many personal benefits of a focused eighteen months of self-development.

You can find further information in our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Who this course is for

This master’s course is designed for practising pharmacists who wish to develop specialist clinical pharmacy and leadership skills. It is particularly relevant if you aspire to contribute to the enhancement of pharmacy policy and practice in your country.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

Join us on this 18-month master’s to build the clinical pharmacy expertise and leadership skills you need to take an active role in influencing safe, effective, evidence-informed pharmacy services in your home country.

Co-delivered by expert academics at the UCL School of Pharmacy and specialists at leading London hospitals, the Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy with Extended Placement MSc will equip you with enhanced clinical and research skills – by encouraging you to take an inquisitive and enquiring approach to practice and pharmaceutical care.

What you will gain from this course:

This course is not a route to achieving registration as a pharmacist in the UK.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

As well as specialist expertise in clinical pharmacy, you’ll develop skills in critical thinking, communication, team working and time management, that will stand you in good stead for your future career. You could take your expertise into community work, hospitals, industry or continue in academia. Many graduates in this subject area return to their home countries to take up roles in government ministries, hospitals and universities.* This master’s may also be used as a springboard to pursuing a PhD in the UK or overseas.

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of graduates from 2017-2022.

Employability

With placement opportunities at top London hospitals, and the chance to learn alongside academics influencing pharmacy practice globally, this master’s will give you the preparation you need to build a successful career as a clinical pharmacy specialist.

Networking

You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your master’s.

Attend an annual clinical pharmacy conference to network with practitioners from across the UK.
Take part in careers events through UCL Careers during the academic year and enhance your CV writing and interview skills.
Meet alumni to hear about their experiences and how the course has helped them progress in their careers.
Interact with UK pharmacy staff during your placement and specialist clinical pharmacists who teach on the programme.
Take part in joint sessions with practitioners on UCL’s MSc Advanced Pharmacy Practice.

Teaching and learning

Teaching methods are varied and include lectures, seminars, small group work, problem-based learning (PBL) approaches and individual project work. National experts (pharmacists and other health care professionals) contribute to the programme. Class size varies from six to thirty students depending on the teaching format.

In addition to the taught modules, students are assigned to a clinical placement site at a teaching hospital in the London area. These placements allow access to patients and practices in order to develop skills associated with clinical care, such as identifying pharmaceutical care issues and preparing appropriate care plans to optimise treatment.

A clinical placement tutor is assigned to facilitate learning and demonstrate usual care patterns in the UK.

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops, case tutorials and small-group work. Assessment is through written examination, coursework, resesarch projects and oral presentations.

Contact hours are spent with academic/teaching staff and on placement. Students are normally expected to spent the equivalent of 37.5 hours per week in scheduled teaching combined with placement activity and self-directed study.

You will spend approximately two days per week at UCL and two days at the placement, but this will vary across the terms. Term 3 lends itself to more self-study and the placement, as the focus will be on the research project once the assessments are out of the way.

In the second year of study, those on the eighteen-month pathway will be at their placement site for four days and will have one study day per week.

Modules

: You will attend lectures and workshops on campus which will cover a range of different topics to support your learning for the taught modules. At your hospital placement, you will be working under the supervision of practising clinical pharmacists. You will experience first-hand how clinical pharmacy services operate and integrate with the care provided by other healthcare professionals.

Compulsory modules

Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 1

Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 2

Clinical Practice at Placement Site

Leadership, Healthcare and Pharmacy Innovation

Dissertation - MSc CPIPP

Extended Clinical Practice at Placement Site

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 270 credits. Upon successful completion of 270 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy with Extended Placement.

Placement

For experiential learning in the first twelve months, students will spend two to three days per week at one of our partner hospital sites.

From month thirteen, students will be fully based at a designated partner hospital.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£21,500
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£42,700

Programme is 18 months duration. The published fees are for Year 1 (12 months) and the fees for Year 2 (6 months) will be approximately half of that.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

This programme includes experiential learning at a hospital site. Our partner hospitals are located within Travelcard zones 1-6. Students are responsible for travel costs to allocated placement sites throughout the programme of study. The extended placements incur tuition fees on a pro-rata basis.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would also like to learn:

What attracts you to the extended clinical pharmacy practice course at the UCL School of Pharmacy
Where you would like to go professionally and how this course meets these needs

Students are required to pass an occupational health check at their placement site. Students will be asked to bring along proof of relevant immunisation status for enrolment.

Students are also required to provide a recent police check from their country of domicile.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course requires one professional workplace reference. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.