Drug Discovery and Development MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Are you eager to gain advanced technical research skills and work at the forefront of drug discovery? Our Drug Discovery and Development MSc offers comprehensive expertise in every stage of the drug development process, addressing the ongoing need for new treatments and preparing for emerging health challenges.

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£20,500
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£39,800
Duration
1 calendar year
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Entry requirements

A second-class UK Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related subject such as pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, pharmacology, physiology, physical science, biochemistry, biotechnology, chemistry, chemical engineering, genetics, material sciences, or a medical degree (MBBS), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

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

Beyond the core modules, you’ll explore two specialist areas in greater depth, choosing from topics including central nervous system disorders, anti-cancer personalised medicines and structural-based drug design.  

Build your knowledge through lectures, tutorials, case studies and seminars, and spend a significant portion of your year applying your skills in lab work – culminating in a lab-based dissertation project with an academic or industry partner. 

Your in-depth expertise together with extensive practical experience will give you the foundation to contribute to potentially life-changing advances in pharmaceutical development. 

Who this course is for

This programme is for science graduates keen to gain the specialist skills for research-based careers in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries, or regulatory work in government. It offers a robust foundation for a PhD focused on drug development.  

What this course will give you

There’s a constant need for the development of new drugs, to improve on existing medicines, address the needs of the ageing population, tackle problems of drug resistance and prepare for emerging pandemics. This full-time programme will equip you with expert knowledge of the entire pipeline of bringing new drugs into existence.  

Under the guidance of the UCL School of Pharmacy’s internationally-renowned academics, you’ll develop skills in molecular modelling, computer-based drug design, analytical and synthetic techniques, and platforms like X-ray and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

What you will gain from this course:

  • Study at the UCL School of Pharmacy, working with UCL’s renowned academics from across the pharmaceutical sciences. UCL is ranked 4th in the world for pharmacology and pharmacy (QS Rankings 2024) and 2nd in the world for pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences (Shanghai Rankings 2023).  
  • Build your knowledge of the core aspects of the drug discovery and development process and specialise in two further areas, such as anti-cancer personalised medicine, central nervous system disorders, vaccinology and diagnostic techniques, and pharmacometrics.
  • Get hands-on practice of techniques and platforms through extensive lab work in both taught modules and your lab-based dissertation.  
  • Hear from active researchers and professionals involved in pioneering developments within high-profile private and public institutions, and grow your network beyond UCL.
  • Gain first-hand insight into globally-significant research underway in the pharmaceutical sciences.
  • Leave well equipped to pursue a PhD, or to contribute to new drug development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. 
     

The foundation of your career

Along with practical expertise in all stages of the drug development pipeline, you’ll develop the critical thinking skills essential for work in academia or industry, and build your communication, presentation and report-writing capabilities. 

You'll have the skills to join research and development teams in pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organisations, or you could apply your expertise in regulatory bodies and government agencies.  

Graduates of this course have gone on to work with the Pro Pharma Group, Novo Nordisk, IQVA, Viatris, UK Biocentre, UGP and various universities including UCL, King’s College London and the University of Oxford.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2019-20, 2020-21 cohorts.

Employability

The range of biological techniques and computational skills you’ll develop on this master’s will give you a solid foundation for working at all stages of drug development. You could build on this expertise through advanced PhD research, or work as a research assistant in institutes involved in drug discovery.

Networking

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

  • Meet students, academic staff and guest lecturers at events, lectures and symposia throughout the year.  
  • 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
  • Attend conferences to network with students and researchers from across the UK.

Teaching and learning

The programme will be delivered principally by lectures given by both internal academic staff and a number of external experts in the drug discovery field. The latter will be active researchers or professionals working in high-profile private or public institutions/industries or organisations. 

Students will be required to analyse data for their written coursework, oral and poster presentations as part of assignments for the different modules of the programme. This will include data generation through conducting hands-on exercises during laboratory and computational practicals and reviewing the current literature, while developing critical thinking and soft skills essential for a career in the pharmaceutical industry and academic environment. 

The coursework assignments will be done individually and/or in groups. Students will be required to instigate or contribute to original research studies, generate new data and report their work in a written dissertation and oral presentation. 

Students will also have the opportunity to explore conducting their final research project with relevant industrial partners where they can apply their skills and gain valuable experience.

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars. Assessment is through a combination of written examinations and coursework, including the dissertation.

In term one, students need to complete all the mandatory teaching linked to two mandatory 30-credit modules.

There are typically around 15 hours per week of taught classes between both modules. During a three-week period, the students will need to attend three workshop sessions (one session per week) lasting seven hours. There are also two lab sessions that will last from 9am to 4pm approximately.

In term two, students will take one mandatory 30-credit module, one mandatory 15-credit module, plus one optional 15-credit module, making a total of approximately 20 hours per week of taught classes.

In term three, students will be working on the completion of their 60-credit Dissertation module.

Typically, the students work on their project around 25-30 hours per week. This is a research project that will be conducted either in the UCL School of Pharmacy or with our industrial partners.

Modules

You will take compulsory modules in the Process of Drug Discovery, the Process of Drug Development, Modern Aspects of Drug Discovery and Research Methods and Techniques in Drug Discovery. 

You will then choose a specialised module in the second part of the programme such as Anticancer Personalised Medicines, Targeting CNS Disorders: Translational Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Advanced Structure-Based Drug Design, Applications of Immunology: Immunotherapy, Vaccinology and Diagnostic Techniques, or Pharmacometrics, and follow a laboratory research project chosen in one of the areas of drug discovery.

Compulsory modules



The Process of Drug Development


Research Methods and Techniques in Drug Discovery


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 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Drug Discovery and Development.

Accessibility

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

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £20,500
Tuition fees (2025/26) £39,800

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

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders 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.

There are no programme-specific additional costs.

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 £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. 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.

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. Further information can be found at Application fees.

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.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • How your academic and professional background meets the demands of Drug Discovery and Development
  • Why you want to study Drug Discovery and Development at graduate level
  • What particularly attracts you to this programme at the UCL School of Pharmacy
  • Where you would like to go professionally with your degree and how this programme meets these needs

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

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.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Got questions? Get in touch

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