Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy with Extended Placement MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This is an advanced-level programme offered by UCL School of Pharmacy with teaching hospitals in London. It is for pharmacists who wish to develop clinical expertise and leadership to enhance pharmacy services in their home countries. The additional 6-month placement is valuable for those seeking to experience a longer time in clinical practice, further developing medicines optimisation and governance skills.

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
£19,300
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
£37,500
Duration
18 months
Programme starts
September 2024
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 16 Oct 2023 – 28 Jun 2024

Applications closed

Applicants who do not require a visa: 16 Oct 2023 – 30 Aug 2024

Applications closed

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 programme 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 develop clinical pharmacy and leadership skills, inquisitive and enquiring approaches to practice, medicines optimisation and pharmaceutical care delivery, critical thinking and appraisal skills, transferable skills for pharmaceutical care services in new settings and environments, and an international perspective on healthcare systems and health needs of different populations worldwide.

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable for pharmacists who are ambitious to develop the clinical expertise for medicines optimisation, research and leadership skills for enhanced pharmacy services in their home countries

What this course will give you

The programme centres on the health priorities of the World Health Organisation such as diabetes, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. Approximately half of the initial 12-months of the programme is delivered through taught modules at the UCL School of Pharmacy with the remaining time spent gaining clinical and research experience at hospitals in the London area under the tutelage of clinical pharmacy specialists. The programme provides high level, up-to-date clinical teaching alongside experiential learning. 

After completing your research project from the first 12-months, you will consolidate your experiential learning by spending the final 6 months of your degree full-time at the placement site under clinical supervision. From this, you will develop a portfolio of learning in practice and critical reflection. This consolidates the development of the skills and confidence required for leadership and to deliver enhanced clinical pharmacy services.

Students develop new learning styles as they progress through the programme. This makes for a stimulating and challenging year where self-development is central. The cognate programme (12-month CPIPP) has drawn international students from every continent; approximately 40 countries worldwide.

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

The foundation of your career

Some of the skills you will acquire by taking this programme are self-directed learning, critical thinking, reflective practice, medicines optimisation, effective communication and research and evaluation. This programme provides a firm foundation for students wanting to pursue a career in either clinical pharmacy practice or research.

Employability

Graduates usually return to their home countries to take up senior and prominent leadership roles in government ministries, hospitals and universities, or pursue a PhD in the UK or overseas.

Networking

Student will meet alumni, interact with UK pharmacy staff in the workplace (during placement) and have one or more joint sessions with practitioners on the MSc Advanced Pharmacy Practice. Students also have the opportunity to network with specialist clinical pharmacists who teach on the programmme. 

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 6 to 30 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 U

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.

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.

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 12 months, students will spend two to three days per week at one of our partner hospital sites.

From month 13, students will be fully based at a designated partner hospital.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Study Clinical Pharmacy (AM)

An opportunity to meet the Clinical Pharmacy programme lead and ask any questions you have about the programme content, career prospects, and life and study at the UCL School of Pharmacy and UCL.

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Study Clinical Pharmacy (PM)

An opportunity to meet the Clinical Pharmacy programme lead and ask any questions you have about the programme content, career prospects, and life and study at the UCL School of Pharmacy and UCL.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) £19,300
Tuition fees (2024/25) £37,500

This programme is 18 months long The listed fees are for Year 1 (12 months) only. The fees for Year 2 (6 months) will be approximately 50% of the listed fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme 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

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 site throughout the programme of study. The extended placements incur tuition fees on a pro-rata basis.

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.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

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.

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 programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper 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 programme at the UCL School of Pharmacy
  • Where you would like to go professionally and how this programme meets these needs

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

Got questions? Get in touch

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