Course summary

Train to play a vital role in the discovery, development and testing of therapeutic agents to improve global health. If you love lab work and are interested in health and disease but don't want to work in a patient-facing role, then this could be the course for you. Pharmacologists aim to develop safe and effective therapeutic agents. They study the pathological changes that underpin the development of disease and investigate the effects of drugs on the body, including their location and mechanism of action. On the course, you’ll gain an integrated view of drug action linked to disease-related functions of the major organ systems. You’ll enhance your understanding of the fundamental principles of chemistry, biology and the physical sciences, and learn to apply these principles to specific problems in drug discovery. Pharmacology is a very practical subject, and you will develop an understanding of good experimental design, data acquisition and analysis and scientific communication. Professional placement As part of this course you’ll undertake a placement in a pharmaceutical company, research institute or university. You will also complete an extensive research project, giving you invaluable experience of working in the field. Study pharmacology from day one Unlike many universities that start with a general core science year, we teach pharmacology from the outset. This means you'll be confident going into your placement or research project, knowing you already have two years of specialist knowledge and practical experience under your belt. Learn in specialist labs As a highly practical course, you'll get to spend a lot of time in our dedicated pharmacology teaching labs, designed to reflect the practical settings found in industry. You'll be trained in a wide range of traditional and molecular lab techniques across organic and analytical chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, microbiology and pharmaceutics. Workshop sessions will familiarise you with databases and statistical packages to enable you to develop skills in information retrieval and data analysis. Develop your professional skills You are encouraged to become an undergraduate member of the British Pharmacological Society, and attend and present at the annual conference. You'll also have the chance to complete the Home Office Licence Training Course, to help you stand out when applying for placements and jobs. This involves training on the ethics, law and use of animals in research in line with the British Pharmacological Society's Curriculum for the Use of Research Animals.