University of Portsmouth
Pharmacology BSc (Hons)
University of Portsmouth

Course modalities offered

Key Course Facts

Student Reviews

Below you can see course specific reviews for 20 graduates of Pharmacology BSc (Hons) at University of Portsmouth for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in Pharmacology.

Overall student satisfaction
88 /100
20 total respondents
The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

Salary

Salary of Graduates in Pharmacology

Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of Pharmacology at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £25000 £24000 £30000
25-75 percentile range £21500 - £28000 £20500 - £29000 £25000 - £36000


Salary of all UK Graduates of Pharmacology

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £25018 £24761 £30546
25-75 percentile range £22509 - £29964 £18767 - £33282 £22522 - £40793

Course Description

Overview

If you love performing experiments in high-tech labs and want to study alongside researchers who are doing important work to understand how diseases such as Cancer, Alzheimer's and Asthma can be treated, this BSc (Hons) Pharmacology degree is for you.

Pharmacology is the study of drugs and how they affect living systems. Using specialist facilities, you'll deepen your chemistry and biology knowledge as you study how drugs – such as painkillers, antibiotics and even caffeine – alter the body.

You'll set yourself for a fulfilling career working in an industry that improves the lives of millions of people. You could work in areas such as new drug development, medical writing, regulatory affairs and pharmaceutical marketing.

  • Explore the latest techniques and methods for diagnosing and treating diseases
  • Investigate how cells communicate with each other and why people's bodies respond differently to the same drugs
  • Look at how new medicines are developed, tested and launched
  • Enhance your CV on a laboratory-based work experience module and on a sandwich year in industry (subject to successful applications)
  • Have the opportunity to do summer research placement at one of our partner universities overseas

Accredited by:

This course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

Careers and opportunities

From the medicines in your bathroom cabinet to the drug combinations used to treat cancer, the work of pharmacologists plays a crucial role in society. So there's always demand for pharmacology graduates.

What can you do with a pharmacology degree?

With your degree in pharmacology, you could start a career in any part of the pharmaceutical industry, including:

  • drug development and testing
  • medical writing
  • marketing and sales
  • regulatory affairs

You could specialise in a particular area of pharmacology, such as:

  • cardiovascular pharmacology
  • psychopharmacology
  • neuropharmacology
  • animal pharmacology

Roles you could do include:

  • clinical trial assistant/administrator
  • pharmacovigilance officer
  • research and development scientist/technician
  • secondary school teacher (with additional training)
  • regulatory executive
  • operations scientist
  • research associate

You can also continue your studies at postgraduate level on a PhD, MRes or MSc programme.

Graduate destinations

Previous graduates have gone on to work for organisations including:

  • Bayer
  • Barts Health NHS Trust
  • Hammersmith Medicines Research
  • PharmaTargeting – a research house
  • Reckitt – health, hygiene and nutrition products
  • Molecular Dimensions – a supplier of specialist lab equipment

Work experience and placement year

To give you the best chance of securing a great job when you graduate, this course includes an optional sandwich year in industry and an optional lab-based work experience module (both subject to a successful applications). You could also do a summer research placement at a European university.

Previous students have completed work placements at organisations including pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Catalent.

Our specialist team of Science and Health Careers advisors can help you with finding a work placement and improving your employability skills. They'll provide you with a database of placement vacancies, support with your job search – including help with applications and interviews – and support throughout your placement year.

Jobs & Career Perspectives

15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.

Current jobs

Required skill level of job after 15 months

Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)

Example below based on all graduates of Pharmacology BSc (Hons) at University of Portsmouth

25% Finance Professionals
20% Customer service occupations
10% Artistic, literary and media occupations
5% Process, plant and machine operatives
5% Business and public service associate professionals
5% Sales occupations
5% Information Technology Professionals
5% Elementary occupations
5% Process, plant and machine operatives
5% Finance Professionals

You’ll be assessed through diagnostic tests, written assignments, oral and poster presentations, online tests, group-based assessments. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

Entry Requirements / Admissions

Minimum Required UCAS Tariff

112-120 from A levels, or equivalent, to include 32 points from Biology or Chemistry, plus 32 points from a second pure Science subject or Mathematics. Applied Science not accepted. For A levels which include a separate science practical component, a pass is desirable and may strengthen an application.

UCAS Tariff of Accepted Students for this course

Qualification requirements

Including a relevant subject/science @ C or above (80 UCAS tariff points)

Access to HE Diploma

Including one in a relevant subject/science (80 UCAS tariff points)

31-30 overall or 665-655 in 3 HL subjects.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

Including one in a relevant subject/science (90 UCAS tariff points)

The Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in lieu of one A Level at the A Level grades specified, excluding any subject specific requirements.

If Mathematics is not taken beyond GCSE, a grade 7, (or A) in GCSE Mathematics, or Core Mathematics grade B is essential

M in T Level Health, Healthcare Science, or Science.

English language requirements

test Grade Additional Details
IELTS (Academic) 6

English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.

PTE Academic 54

An overall score of 54 with a minimum of 51 in each skill.

TOEFL (iBT) 79

79 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.

Cambridge English Advanced

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.

Cambridge English Proficiency

Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.

Trinity ISE

Trinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components

Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Pharmacology, BSc (Hons), if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

Costs

Tuition Fees Pharmacology BSc (Hons)

EU £9250 year 1
England UK £9250 year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 year 1
Scotland £9250 year 1
Wales £9250 year 1
Channel Islands £9250 year 1
Ireland £9250 year 1
International £20200 year 1

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship

Placement Year and Year abroad:

UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £925 |

EU – £925 (including Transition Scholarship)|

International (Non-EU) – £2,000

Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice.

Fees may also go up in later years, in line with inflation

Average student cost of living in the UK

Rent £518
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home) £50
Supermarket shopping £81
Clothing £35
Eating out £33
Alcohol £27
Takeaways / food deliveries £30
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food) £24
Holidays and weekend trips £78
Transport within city £17
Self-care / sports £20
Stationary / books £13
Mobile phone / internet £13
Cable TV / streaming £7
Insurance £51
Other £95
  
Average student cost of living £1092

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

How to apply

Application deadline:

January 1, 2025

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Possible Entry Points:

  • year 1 (Default entry point)
  • year 2
  • year 3

University Rankings

Positions of University of Portsmouth in top UK and global rankings.

See all 29 university rankings of University of Portsmouth

About University of Portsmouth

The University of Portsmouth is located on the United Kingdom’s only island city, Portsmouth. This public university, which was previously known as Portsmouth Polytechnic, forms part of the University Alliance, an organisation whose aim is to promote growth and innovation in the UK by putting an emphasis on links with business and industry.

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Student composition of University of Portsmouth

undergraduates:
18085
postgraduates:
5005
Total:
23090
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Where is this programme taught

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