Home

Pharmaceutical Research MRes

London, Bloomsbury

Work as a pharmaceutical researcher and get ready for doctoral study, with a research master’s focused exclusively on a 10-month novel research project in the pharmaceutical sciences specialism of your choice. 

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£21,500
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£42,700
Duration
1 calendar year
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

An upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or higher in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy, the pharmaceutical or physical sciences or related fields, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required.

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.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g. Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to UCL.

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’ll work alongside senior investigators and doctoral researchers as a member of one of our world-leading research groups, contributing to academic papers and establishing your expertise in one of four areas – pharmaceutical & biological chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, or pharmaceutical practice and policy.

With well-established progression routes to either doctoral or commercial research positions, you’ll be perfectly placed to explore your PhD options either through our Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies, or our collaborative partnerships with companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and GSK.

With a wide range of optional taught modules designed to complement and inform your chosen research specialism, you’ll develop research independence, along with the confidence and skills to lead novel projects and make your mark in the exciting world of pharmaceutical research. 

Who this course is for

This research master’s is specifically designed for science graduates intending to pursue a research career in either academia, government agencies, biotech and pharmaceutical industries, or healthcare research.

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

What this course will give you

If you’re keen to begin your pharmaceutical research career, this research master’s offers an ideal opportunity to pursue your intended specialism. You’ll get to choose from four sub-departments in the UCL School of Pharmacy, offering a virtually unrestricted range of dissertation topics – and at least one of 42 world-leading experts to guide your progress.

What you will gain from this course:

  • Study at the UCL School of Pharmacy, currently 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).
  • Complete a 10-month self-directed research project, building your research portfolio and exploring opportunities to publish your work.
  • Gain first-hand insight into globally significant research underway in this field in areas like personalised medicine and more sustainable drug synthesis.
  • Explore PhD funding with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) & Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centre for Doctoral Training in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies, an international partnership between UCL, the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy and the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals in Ireland.
  • Build your expertise under the guidance and mentorship of one of the 42 world-leading senior investigators here at the UCL School of Pharmacy.
  • Hone your independent research skills, producing written reports and developing your data analysis abilities.
  • Support your research aims with optional taught masters-level modules in diverse areas such as analysis and quality control, nanomedicines and developmental neuroscience.
  • Study in the heart of London at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, a district famous for its cultural and educational institutions. 
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

This research master’s will also equip you for a significant number of specialist and consultancy roles working with local, national and international governmental agencies and NGOs.

Graduates of this course have gone on to roles as biological scientists and production and process engineers at companies such as Siba or Dexa Laboratories of Biomolecular Science.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 cohorts.

Employability

Approximately half of the graduates of this course are accepted onto a pharmaceutical science PhD programme, either here at UCL or within another academic institution.  

The other half progress into commercial research positions within a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare research, biotech and agrochemical manufacturing companies.  

Networking

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

  • Attend academic conferences and present your work as a member of UCL’s pharmaceutical research community.
  • Take part in careers events through UCL Careers during the academic year, and enhance your CV writing and interview skills. 
  • Get involved with research projects and connect with industry collaborators through the CDT for Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies.
  • Establish strong working relationships with senior investigators and research peers at the UCL School of Pharmacy. 

Teaching and learning

The research component of the course is delivered through laboratory work, seminars and participation in research training courses. The taught component involves a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops.

The research and taught module components will be assessed individually. Assessment of the research component is via a written research dissertation, an oral presentation and a viva voce examination. Taught module assessment involves examination and coursework.

Students pick two 15 credit modules with 150 learning hours each, of which approximately 15 hours is contact time (this will vary depending on the module chosen). Students conduct a 10-month research project worth 150 credits equating to 1500 hours of research-based study (i.e. contact with the research team). This would be approximately 35 hours per week for the project.

Modules

The Pharmaceutical Research MRes programme will comprise both a taught module and a significant, large research component. As an MRes student, you will attend appropriate courses from the PhD training programme that covers research skills, presentation and scientific writing skills. You will join a research group and will work within this group under the supervision of an Academic Principal Investigator (PI) at UCL School of Pharmacy. You will carry out a programme of full-time research equivalent to approximately ten months duration. This research will be written up as a dissertation at the end of the period of study.

You will be assessed by an oral presentation of the work to staff and peers, and by the written content of the dissertation and by a viva voce examination.

You will also study specialist modules, which can be at any time during the twelve months of your MRes programme depending on the timetabling of the modules. Your supervisor can recommend to you the appropriate modules that are relevant to the topic of research being carried out. Module availability may vary from year to year.

Compulsory modules



Optional modules










Pharmacogenomics, Adverse Drug Reactions and Biomarkers








Clinical Pharmaceutics






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 MRes in Pharmaceutical Research.

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

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

Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening

—

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) £21,500
Tuition fees (2026/27) £42,700

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

There are no course-specific additional 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

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:

  • Why you want to study Pharmaceutical Research at graduate level
  • Why you want to study Pharmaceutical Research at UCL
  • What particularly attracts you to this course
  • How your academic, professional and personal background meets the demands of this course
  • 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 course match what the course will deliver.

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.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

School of Pharmacy
School of Pharmacy

sop.pgt@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.