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General Pharmacy Practice (Prescribing) PG Cert

London, Bloomsbury

The UCL Clinically Enhanced Pharmacist Independent Prescribing (CEPIP) course is an integrated clinically enhanced pharmacist independent prescribing course. ‘Clinically enhanced’ refers to the additional skills that you will acquire around history taking and physical examination as part of the UCL independent prescribing course. 

UK students International students
Study mode
Flexible
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
Fees to be confirmed
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
Fees to be confirmed
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
Programme starts
March 2025
Applications accepted
All applicants: 09 Dec 2024 – 20 Jan 2025

Applications closed

Find similar courses still open

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for the course are stipulated by the GPhC. Pharmacists wishing to apply for this course must fulfil the following requirements:

  • a. Applicants are registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or, in Northern Ireland, with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
  • b. Applicants are in good standing with the GPhC and/or PSNI and any other healthcare regulator with which they are registered.
  • c. Applicants must have relevant experience in a UK pharmacy setting and be able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber to act as the foundation of their prescribing practice whilst training.
  • d. For the purposes of developing their independent prescribing practice applicants must identify an area of clinical or therapeutic practice on which to base their learning.
  • e. Applicants must have a designated prescribing practitioner who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice. The applicant’s designated prescribing practitioner must be a registered healthcare professional in Great Britain or Northern Ireland with legal independent prescribing rights, who is suitably experienced and qualified to carry out this supervisory role, and who has demonstrated CPD or revalidation relevant to this role.
  • f. Admissions require a lower second class Bachelor's degree, or an Overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. The country profiles on the following page provide more detail about the qualification equivalency information for all countries: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international/country-search.

Applicants must be registered pharmacists with the GPhC/PSNI and must be able to meet the professional standards of the relevant professional body relating to communication. International students: Applicants must be registered pharmacists with the GPhC or PSNI and have patient orientated experience in the UK. The learning in practice element of the course must be undertaken in the UK under the supervision of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) who meets the criteria for acting as a DPP.

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.

For this programme, please contact our UCL Graduate Admissions team.

About this degree

Pharmacists develop knowledge, skills and attributes to undertake safe, appropriate and cost-effective independent prescribing in partnership with patients, carers and members of the multi-professional team. 

Who this course is for

The course is specifically designed to meet the needs of pharmacist prescribers working in medicines optimisation, GP practice, Urgent and Emergency Care and provision of NHS 111 services and care homes. The General Pharmaceutical Council  stipulates entry requirements for the course - please see www.ucl.ac.uk/pharmacy/cepip

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

What this course will give you

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).

We have developed this prescribing course through consultation with key stakeholders, including service providers, clinical practitioners and pharmacist independent prescribers, to meet the needs of pharmacists wishing to train as non-medical prescribers in primary or secondary care. 

You will learn to clinically assess patients using focused medical history taking and physical examination skills whilst having an awareness of additional tests and referral pathways to aid in diagnosis. The course will also enable you to safety-net patients and manage risk.

The course design and assessment strategy are closely aligned to ensure that pharmacists fulfil General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) requirements to qualify as an Independent Prescriber, attain academic and professional skills to provide excellent clinical care, and continue to develop in their future career.

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

The foundation of your career

The overall aim of the CEPIP course is to enable pharmacists to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to undertake safe, appropriate and cost-effective independent prescribing in partnership with patients, carers and members of the multi-professional team.

Employability

Successful completion of this course leads to the professional award of Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing, enabling pharmacists to apply for annotation of their name on the register as an Independent Prescriber. 

This course is fully accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). 

Networking

Students will be able to meet colleagues at various UCL study days at the UCL School of Pharmacy.

Accreditation

Successful completion of this course leads to the professional award of Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing, enabling pharmacists to apply for annotation of their name on the register as an Independent Prescriber. This course is fully accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Teaching and learning

The course constitutes a range of learning activities equivalent to 600 hours study in total (as required for a 60-credit course). 

Students are supported through a blend of learning activities utilising a bespoke on-line learning package, face-to-face learning sessions and work-based learning (the learning in practice time). 

There is also a strong emphasis on student led learning and individual study. In all learning activities, the emphasis is on the student putting their learning into practice and reflecting on their development. 

The course comprises a mix of face-to-face study days, on-line learning, and a minimum of 90 hours of learning in practice time, together with private study and completion of the assessments. 

Nine face-to-face study days (mixture of online and in-person), minimum 90 hours learning in practice time and the remainder is independent study using the online learning materials provided.

Nine face-to-face study days (mixture of online and in-person) with a minimum of 90 hours learning in practice time, and the remainder is independent study using the online learning materials provided.

The course takes around 600 hours of learning. This means that students are expected to spend around 25 hours a week consisting of the following average hours:

  • Online learning - 7.5 hours
  • Study Days (online and in-person) - 2.5 hours
  • Self-directed learning - 3.3 hours
  • Learning in practice time - 3.75 hours
  • Portfolio development - 6 hours
  • Completion of course assignments - 2 hours

Modules

On the programme you will complete one 60 credit Independent Prescribing module.

Compulsory modules



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

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) Fees to be confirmed
Tuition fees (2025/26) Fees to be confirmed

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Additional costs

Students are expected to purchase their own stethoscope (around £80). 

The General Pharmaceutical Council charges a fee for annotating your name on the Pharmaceutical register as an Independent Prescriber once the course is successfully completed (£57).

There are no other associated costs, apart from travel to UCL for the in-person study days. 

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.

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 (Prescribing) at graduate level
  • why you want to study General Pharmacy Practice (Prescribing) at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the chosen programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

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.

Got questions? Get in touch

School of Pharmacy
School of Pharmacy

sop.cepip@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.