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Pharmaceutical Research MRes

London, Bloomsbury

The Pharmaceutical Research MRes programme is for graduates wishing to pursue a career in research. This programme has a large research component where you will spend at least ten months of the year conducting an in-depth and novel research project that will be at the forefront of research in the area of medication safety and/or pharmaceutical sciences in a department or laboratory of your choice.

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

Applications closed

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

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

The programme provides you with a flexible opportunity for high-level research-based training (you will join a research group) and acquire a range of academic skills including research methods, data analysis and writing research reports that will prepare you for PhD-level study or a career in healthcare research, biotech, pharmaceutical industry or with a government or regulatory body.

The MRes is a full-time postgraduate programme, which has a significantly large research component. You will spend at least ten months of the year conducting an in-depth and novel research project, at the forefront of research in the area of medication safety and pharmaceutical sciences in a department or laboratory of your choice within UCL School of Pharmacy. You will be expected to complement this research with the study of Masters-level taught modules in the subject areas related to the research. You will also attend training courses that develop your research skills. Consequently, you will acquire greater in-depth knowledge in a particular field of research and become a proficient research scientist with a range of technical and academic skills.

Who this course is for

This will prepare you for a career in academia or in healthcare research, biotech, the pharmaceutical industry, or with a government or regulatory body.
Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

An MRes degree in a world-leading research group will provide you with a thorough preparation for tackling research and multi-facetted projects in the future.

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

The foundation of your career

As well as further study, graduates can expect to go into careers in healthcare research, biotech, the pharmaceutical industry or with a government or regulatory body.

Employability

Our graduates have engaged in a variety of careers following the completion of the programme. The majority (approximately 80%) of graduates have successfully enrolled into competitive PhD programmes at UCL as well as other prestigious universities. Some have also acquired positions in industry or have set-up their own biotechnology companies.

Networking

Students on this course become full members of one of the academic research groups and build networks within the School of Pharmacy with other Masters students (MRes, MSc and MPharm) as well as Postdoctoral students and academic staff members. Students also participate in monthly research lectures from external speakers.

Teaching and learning

The research component of the programme 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).

Modules

The 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

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 team.

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

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

There are no programme-specific additional costs.

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.

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 programme
  • how your academic, professional and personal background meets the demands of this 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.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

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.