Home

General Pharmacy Practice PG Dip

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, General Pharmacy Practice PG Dip (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Flexible

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

See Fees Note

Module 1 (60 credits) is £1,350, modules 2, 3, 4 & 5 (15 credits each) are £337.50 each. The APL Mapping fee, for those on a Diploma at a JPB partner University, is £100 (in addition to the fees for Foundation Stage 2). Visit the School of Pharmacy website.

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

See Fees Note

Duration

Not applicable

5 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2026

March 2027

Applications accepted

September 2026 entry: 01 Jun – 24 Aug 2026

Applications not yet open

Entry requirements

Applicants must hold an MPharm degree (480 credits) and be GPhC post-registered pharmacists employed by one of our accredited training centres.

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

This course is a part time modular/flexible course that has a registration period of up to five years and can be completed in two or three years.

The curriculum supports a broad approach to practice - pharmacists are expected to manage issues related to safe and effective provision of medicines regardless of context, including providing information to patients and health care professionals, ensuring the technical and legal aspects of medicines supply are met, providing evidence led clinical advice and more complex problem-solving skills relevant to their future careers.

As the majority of the pharmacist-based learning is undertaken in the workplace, the programme builds on existing systems of clinical supervision, mentoring and facilitation. A senior pharmacist (known as the Educational Programme Director) will be nominated by the Training Centre (Hospital) to take overall responsibility for coordinating the development of practitioners registered on the programme.

Practitioners will then be allocated a specific pharmacist (known as the educational supervisor), who will monitor their progress throughout the programme, signing off aspects of performance as the pharmacist moves through the different stages of post-registration foundation training.

As practitioners rotate through local pharmacy services they are likely to be supervised for shorter periods by other senior pharmacists (known as practice supervisors), who will liaise with their educational supervisor to ensure continuity in the support offered, assessments undertaken and feedback provided.

Who this course is for

Pharmacists registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or within an EU member state who have a practice base (accredited Training Centre) from which to operate, and have access to an Educational Supervisor and a range of Practice Supervisors.

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

What this course will give you

UCL is ranked 3rd in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025) and 4th in the world for pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences (Shanghai Rankings 2024).

Through developing novice pharmacists to identify their own learning needs and address them, the programme aims to develop a workforce with the ability to reflect on learning and engage with continuing professional development throughout their careers and support others to do so.

Assessments not only measure the knowledge base of trainees but also their competence to undertake a range of core tasks as well as an ability to demonstrate critical thought and innovation.

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

The foundation of your career

The curriculum will develop pharmacists who are able to practise at a general level, and consequently embraces clinical, technical, medicines information and patient service elements. The curriculum fundamentally contributes to the Foundation practitioner development strategy and serves as the foundation for future pharmacist development. It supports practitioners to develop knowledge, skills and behaviours during Foundation Stage 2 that will underpin advanced practice development later. The ethos and culture of the course is to enhance and develop self-reliance and an adult approach to learning in support of continuing professional development.

Employability

Graduates typically progress to highly skilled work within the healthcare sector. Employers include NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, Astra Zeneca plc, Pfizer, and Roche Pharmaceuticals.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of graduates 2021-22, 2022-23.

Networking

Students will have multiple opportunities throughout the year to connect and build relationships with colleagues.

Teaching and learning

Learning is conducted using a combination of workplace-based assessments and a programme of study days.

Assessment methods address knowledge, competence and performance and include MCQ and OSCE exams, workplace-based assessments and a range of complex service-driven tasks.

The UCL School of Pharmacy is responsible for the planning, provision and evaluation of the open access study events and formal (summative) assessments as well as providing academic support to practitioners and supervisors. In addition, UCL is responsible for the quality assurance of all aspects of the programme (delivery and assessment) including the accreditation of Training Centres.

In addition to the vocational and work-based learning, there are approximately 100 hours of contact time (study events and assessments at UCL) across the entire programme. For practitioners completing the programme over 3 years, this amounts to an average of under 40 minutes per week.

Study events are organised as three to four-hour sessions that occur two to four times per term, depending on the module.

Practitioners should expect to supplement their work-based learning and study event attendance with self-study of between one to four hours per week, depending on the module, their own learning needs and the pace at which they wish to complete the course.

Modules

In Foundation Stage 1, usually the first 18 months of the programme, you will take one compulsory module (Foundations of General Pharmacy Practice), which will provide you with a broad range of knowledge and skills essential for safe and effective clinical pharmacy practice.

In Foundation Stage 2, usually the second 18 months of the programme, you will build on your learning, through 4 compulsory modules: Therapeutic Review module; Audit or Service Evaluation module; Portfolio, and Quality Improvement module.

In the Therapeutic Review module, you will develop your literature searching and critical appraisal skills, through critical evaluation of the evidence relating to a specific clinical or service issue.

In the Audit or Service Evaluation module you will develop your research skills (audit/service evaluation design, data collection, data analysis, synthesis of recommendations based on your results) through completion of an audit or service evaluation project.

In the Quality Improvement module, you will develop your team-working, critical evaluation and project management skills through development and implementation of quality improvements in your area of practice.

In each of these four modules you will also develop knowledge and skills related to your clinical and professional practice. During each module you will focus your learning relating to professional practice in one of the following areas: Quality & Safety; Individual & Department Performance; and Management & Leadership.

Compulsory modules

Foundation Stage One

Clinical and Professional Portfolio

Optional modules

Using Research in Clinical Practice

Clinical Assessment and Diagnostic Skills

Audit or Service Evaluation

Quality Improvement in Pharmacy Practice

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.

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.

Visit us

All open days and events

19 November 2025

UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom - Open day

Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening

16:30 — 19:30

Are you interested in postgraduate studies at UCL in health, medicine, psychology or life sciences? Join us at our upcoming open evening where you can discover Masters degrees delivered by six UCL faculties: Brain Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences, and Social & Historical Sciences.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	See Fees Note
Tuition fees (2026/27)	See Fees Note

Additional costs

There are no additional course-specific costs.

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

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

Why you want to study General Pharmacy Practice at graduate level
Why you want to study General Pharmacy Practice at UCL
What particularly attracts you to this course
How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging course
Where you would like to go professionally with this qualification

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

The course has two intakes per calendar year in September and March to match the NHS recruitment cycle.

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 does not require references to be submitted in support of your application.

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.