phd pharmacy uk

School of Pharmacy MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

The UCL School of Pharmacy is a world-leading centre for pharmacy education and research in pharmacy and biomedical sciences. The School has maintained this status over decades, being recently ranked 4th in the QS World Rankings by Subject (Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2023). Furthermore, London was ranked 1st in the QS Best Student Cities 2023 list, making it an ideal location in which to study.

Important notice

Access to our graduate programme pages may be disrupted between 17:00 (UK time) on Friday, 12 April until 12:00 (UK time) on Monday, 15 April 2024 for upgrading work. During this period our application system will be unavailable. We value your interest in studying at UCL and if you experience any difficulty we recommend you come back to this website once the upgrade is complete.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

Applications closed

• Entry requirements

A UK taught Master’s degree, or a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology pharmacy, pharmacology, or other relevant subject, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

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

Students work in several core research areas:

• understanding the underlying basis of challenging human diseases
• identification of new drugs and drug targets
• medicine development, leading to effective medicines with optimised delivery, and minimising effects
• pharmacy practice and medicines management, specialising in the influence of human behaviour on medicine use

Who this course is for

Our PhD programme is intended for students who wish to obtain high quality scientific training that will enable them to conduct independent research.

What this course will give you

In addition to an advanced hypothesis driven research project yielding top flight publications which change thinking in their chosen fields, students also acquire generic and transferable skills while undertaking their PhD. For example, students graduate with skills enabling excellent scientific presentation, both written and verbal, time management - an essential skill in today's busy world - and networking.

Students have ample opportunities to practice the art of networking with their peer group, both within the school and outside, as students often talk about their work within the school and many students travel the world speaking to scientists about their research work.

The foundation of your career

Understanding the approach of industry to the complex process of discovering, developing, formulating and licensing a medicine provides students with an outlook and expertise valued by employers. Recent PhD students have gone into research roles in the pharmaceutical industry and in universities in the UK and around the world. Others have found careers in regulatory affairs, the NHS or scientific publishing, drug licensing and clinical trial research.

Employability

Recent PhD students have gone into research roles in the pharmaceutical industry and in universities in the UK and around the world. Others have found careers in regulatory affairs, the NHS or scientific publishing, drug licensing and clinical trial research.

The School attracts the leading figures in the field to our diverse programme of events, seminars, lectures, debates and conferences, focusing on critical issues in pharmacy, biomedical research and pharmaceutical industry.

Teaching and learning

PhD research involves a wide variety of learning methods, but your self-directed research activities will be crucial. You can expect to be supported by your supervisor to develop your research skills, as well as learning from other colleagues in our thriving research community. 

Assessment will involve an upgrade from MPhil to PhD, and then the final viva examination.

An agreement is made by students and supervisors as to how their hours are divided between contact and self-directed study. Full-time research equates to approximately 37 hours per week and part-time research hours would not normally be less than 50% of the full-time equivalent 37 hours per week).

Research areas and structure

Research Clusters:

• Age-Related Medicines Development And Use: The cluster aims to cultivate the research in the development of medicines tailored to the needs of patients accross the whole of the life course
• Drug Discovery And Therapeutic Target Identification: The cluster aims to participate in all the stages of early phase drug discovery from chemical biology approaches to new target identification and validation
• Fabrication And Synthetic Technologies For Advanced Drug Delivery: The cluster seeks to develop new dosage forms to optimise drug action
• Medicine Use and Optimisation
• Pharmacoepidemiology And Medication Safety: Researchers are engaged in projects to improve safety and benefit outcomes in the use of medicines
• Translational Neuroscience: Researchers use a wide range of molecular, cellular and whole organism models as well as theoretical approaches to study normal brain function and uncover the fundamental causes of neurological and psychiatric diseases
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Research environment

Students participate in research projects in one of four research departments in the School of Pharmacy:

• Research Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry
• Research Department of Pharmaceutics
• Research Department of Pharmacology
• Research Department of Practice and Policy

An agreement is made by students and supervisors as to how their hours are divided between contact and self-directed study. Full-time research equates to approximately 37 hours per week and students and supervisors decide how those hours are divided between contact and self-directed study.

An agreement is made by students and supervisors as to how their hours are divided between contact and self-directed study. Part-time research hours are agreed by the supervisor and student, but would not normally be less than 50% of the full-time equivalent (37 hours per week).

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.

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

Your research degree may be subject to an Additional Fee Element (AFE). The AFE (also known as bench fees) is an additional cost, incurred by yourself or your sponsor. It is levied to cover the costs related to consumables, equipment and materials etc which are not included in the tuition fee. As each research project is unique in nature, the AFE is calculated on a student by student basis and is determined by your academic supervisor.

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

We post studentship information throughout the year. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pharmacy/study/mphil-phd/studentships-and-funding for new opportunities.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

Our diverse academic environment will give you the opportunity to develop strong transferable research skills and will support a wide range of future research and employment opportunities.

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

[email protected]

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Pharmacy PhD/MRes

• Full-time: Up to 4 years
• Part-time: Up to 8 years for the PhD
• Start date: September 2024
• UK fees: £5,100
• International fees: £30,200 or £26,250 depending on the nature of your project

Research overview

The School of Pharmacy is a world top 5 school two years in a row*. Our teaching, learning materials and student support back this incredible ranking.

Joint 1st place in Research Environment with our colleagues from the Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences **

Joint 4th in the UK for research quality, with 96% of our research assessed as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' **

Join us at the forefront of world-changing research that’s both innovative and relevant, working on new therapeutic targets and treatments that will improve the lives of millions of people.

We work with over 30 leading companies across the healthcare sector, including Boots, Evonik, Mars Petcare UK, Promega, SureScreen Diagnostics, Syngenta, Unilever and Widex A/S.

The school has excellent facilities in:

• molecular biology
• cell culture
• mass spectrometry
• medicinal chemistry (including our 80,000-compound library)
• structural biology
• molecular modelling
• parasitology and formulation
• the only 3DOrbiSIMS in academia
• a high resolution, cryogenic analytical and transfer scanning electron microscope

Research Divisions

All of our postgraduate research students are based in one of our five research divisions:

• Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies
• Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry
• Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation Division
• Pharmacy Practice and Policy (social science-based research)
• Regenerative Medicine and Cellular Therapies Division

You are strongly encouraged to find a supervisor before you apply. You can approach any member of staff in relation to a research project of your own devising or you can look at our current vacancies .

*QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 and 2021.

**Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Course content

The School of Pharmacy PhD is typically a 3 to 4 year research project.  It can be undertaken with a significant laboratory based component or can be focused around pharmacy practice and policy . Within the course a PhD student will receive training within their respective  research discipline  by expert leading academics and technical teams.

The course includes compulsory and optional training sessions covering generic research skills (e.g. report writing) and specific skills relevant to your project. Students are asked to give oral presentations to their division in year 2 and to the School in year 3, and a poster presentation in year 2.

The PhD course can also be taken part-time up to 8 years.

The MRes course is 1-year full-time only.

You will be able to identify a potential supervisor for your project by looking at the  divisions  and  group members . You are strongly encouraged to find a supervisor before you apply. You can approach any member of staff in relation to a research project of your own devising or you can look at our  current vacancies.

When you apply for a place, you will be studying for a ‘PhD in Pharmacy’.

Study options:

• Full-time over 3-4 years
• Part-time up to 8 years

The MRes is a one-year research course.

At least two-thirds of your time will be spent on an in-depth research project. You will be able to identify a potential supervisor for your project by looking at the divisions and group members .

You are strongly encouraged to find a supervisor before you apply. You can approach any member of staff in relation to a research project of your own devising or you can look at our current vacancies.

When you apply for a place, you will be studying for a ‘MRes in Pharmacy’.

Entry requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2024 entry.

Meeting our English language requirements

If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a presessional English course. Presessional courses teach you academic skills in addition to English language. Our  Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK.

If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.

For on-campus presessional English courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations. For online presessional courses, see our CELE webpages for guidance.

Visa restrictions

International students must have valid UK immigration permissions for any courses or study period where teaching takes place in the UK. Student route visas can be issued for eligible students studying full-time courses. The University of Nottingham does not sponsor a student visa for students studying part-time courses. The Standard Visitor visa route is not appropriate in all cases. Please contact the university’s Visa and Immigration team if you need advice about your visa options.

We recognise that applicants have a variety of experiences and follow different pathways to postgraduate study.

We treat all applicants with alternative qualifications on an individual basis. We may also consider relevant work experience.

If you are unsure whether your qualifications or work experience are relevant, contact us .

Additional information for international students

If your course requires ATAS clearance you will need to obtain an ATAS certificate before you can apply for your visa.

The ATAS certificate is also required before you can register at the University. Further details can be found on the Academic Technology Approval Scheme page.

When applying for the PhD course, you will be studying for a ‘PhD in Pharmacy’.

Please find a potential supervisor before applying. We're open for applicants to  contact academic staff  members about PhD projects. 

We don't need a research proposal for the application form but please indicate the research area you're interested in and the supervisor's name.

Points to cover when discussing your interest in applying for a PhD

• Motivation for doing a PhD
• Your academic record and research experience
• Sources of funding
• Research topic

Our step-by-step guide contains everything you need to know about applying for postgraduate research.

If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) .

These fees are for full-time study. If you are studying part-time, you will be charged a proportion of this fee each year (subject to inflation).

UK applicants

We offer a number of projects each year which are funded by:

• the school and university
• industry partners
• centres of doctoral training (CDTs)
• doctoral training partnerships (DTPs)

Some of the funded projects the school offers are posted on our PhD vacancies page .

These are our CDTs at our university that have projects related to pharmacy:

• EPSRC & SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Doctoral Training Programme

There are many ways to fund your research degree, from scholarships to government loans.

Check our guide to find out more about funding your postgraduate degree.

You will have at least two supervisors who will support you throughout your studies. A minimum of 10 supervisory meetings are completed per year.

The school has two Postgraduate Research Tutors, a Disability Liaison Officer and a dedicated Welfare team who can provide additional support.

All students are entitled to 25 days’ annual leave a year, in addition to bank holidays and University closure days.

Researcher training and development

The Researcher Academy is the network for researchers, and staff who support them. We work together to promote a healthy research culture, to cultivate researcher excellence, and develop creative partnerships that enable researchers to flourish.

Postgraduate researchers at Nottingham have access to our online Members’ area, which includes a wealth of resources, access to training courses and award-winning postgraduate placements.

Student support

You will have access to a range of support services , including:

• academic and disability support
• childcare services
• counselling service
• faith support
• financial support
• mental health and wellbeing support
• visa and immigration advice
• welfare support

Students' Union

Our Students' Union represents all students. You can join the Postgraduate Students’ Network or contact the dedicated Postgraduate Officer .

There are also a range of support networks, including groups for:

• international students
• black and minority ethnic students
• students who identify as women
• students with disabilities
• LGBT+ students

SU Advice provides free, independent and confidential advice on issues such as accommodation, financial and academic difficulties.

Where you will learn

Centre for biomolecular sciences.

£40 million has been invested in chemistry and biology labs, giving us the tools to make remarkable advances.

University Park Campus

University Park Campus  covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings and modern facilities. It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.

Most schools and departments are based here. You will have access to libraries, shops, cafes, the Students’ Union, sports village and a health centre.

You can walk or cycle around campus. Free hopper buses connect you to our other campuses. Nottingham city centre is 15 minutes away by public bus or tram.

Boots Science Building

Houses our latest research labs and equipment

See all our research facilities

Whether you are considering a career in academia, industry or haven't yet decided, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Expert staff will work with you to explore PhD career options and apply for vacancies, develop your interview skills and meet employers. You can book a one-to-one appointment, take an online course or attend a workshop.

International students who complete an eligible degree programme in the UK on a student visa can apply to stay and work in the UK after their course under the Graduate immigration route . Eligible courses at the University of Nottingham include bachelors, masters and research degrees, and PGCE courses.

The PhD equips individuals for a variety of careers in both academia and industry. Many graduates find employment within the pharmaceutical sector. We have alumni employed by GSK ,  AstraZeneca ,  Catalant  and  3M  amongst others.

Graduates are also well positioned to pursue academic research careers as post doctoral research associates, and academics all within the UK and internationally.

87.5% of postgraduates from the School of Pharmacy secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £39,857.*

*HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20 data published in 2022 . The Graduate Outcomes % is derived using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on data from graduates who completed a full-time postgraduate degree with home fee status and are working full-time within the UK.

Related courses

Synthetic biology and biotechnology phd/mres, microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry phd/mres, cellular and developmental biology phd/mres, chemistry phd, research excellence framework.

The University of Nottingham is ranked 7th in the UK for research power, according to analysis by Times Higher Education. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a national assessment of the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

• Joint 1st place in Research Environment with our colleagues from the Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (REF 2021). We are joint 4th place in Unit of Assessment 3 with our colleagues from the Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences. This is for both GPA and the percentage of research that is judged to be 'world-leading'. For REF 2021.
• 90%* of our research is classed as 'world-leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*)
• 100%* of our research is recognised internationally
• 51% of our research is assessed as 'world-leading' (4*) for its impact**

*According to analysis by Times Higher Education ** According to our own analysis.

This content was last updated on 28 November 2023 . Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, but changes are likely to occur between the date of publishing and course start date. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply.

Pharmacy and Pharmacology PhD

Most students complete this programme in 4 years full-time.

Our department is one of the UK’s leading research hubs in pharmaceutical science, whose output is consistently ranked among the very best in the field.

Research in pharmaceutical and pharmacological sciences touches all aspects of the design and use of drugs and medicines. These include drug discovery, formulation and delivery, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, immunology, infection and immunity, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacy practice. Study in these areas provides the chance to experience cutting edge research that is directly relevant to some of today’s major challenges in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry.

Our graduates have gone on to work in academic positions in the UK, Egypt, Saudi-Arabia, Thailand, as well as positions in pharmaceutical industry research, regulatory affairs, academic publishing, management positions in UK research councils, recruitment consultancy, medical practitioners.

Find out what our research graduates go on to do

Department of Life Sciences

• Programme structure

Most students complete this programme in 4 years. You cannot take less than 2 years to finish your research and the maximum time you are allowed is normally 4 years.

You may start this programme at any time. Most students start in September.

Occasionally we make changes to our programmes in response to, for example, feedback from students, developments in research and the field of studies, and the requirements of accrediting bodies. You will be advised of any significant changes to the advertised programme, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.

Your academic progress and general welfare will be monitored by your supervisor.

Academic milestones

• Registration
• Candidature
• Confirmation
• Give notice of intention to submit a thesis / portfolio
• Submission for examination
• Examination (Viva Voce)
• Examiners report
• Final submission of thesis / portfolio
• Programme content
• Design projects
• Doctoral skills online
• Doctoral skills workshop
• Interaction and networking
• Laboratory sessions
• Online resources
• Practical sessions
• Research project
• Supervisory team

Research content

Postgraduates students in our department have the opportunity to work in a stimulating environment on leading edge projects ranging from fundamental aspects of drug discovery, action and development, to applied areas closer to healthcare delivery.

The research and generic skills training that comes with the award of a PhD from our department consistently opens the door to key positions in industry and academia, as well as a range of other professions.

Go to our department research page to find out more about our research.

Professional Development

Professional development is a crucial element of doctoral study, not only in supporting your research but also as part of your longer term career development. Our DoctoralSkills workshops and courses will help you build your skills and help you succeed in your doctorate.

Read more about professional development support

Assessment methods

Assessment description.

Most research students who ‘do a PhD’ register in the first instance as probationer for the degree of PhD. Candidates are expected to carry out supervised research at the leading edge of their chosen subject, which must then be written up as a substantial thesis.

The confirmation of the PhD programme (and the end of the probationary period) is subject to students passing an assessment process, which normally involves submission of written work and on oral examination which usually takes place 12 months after the initial registration.

The final stage of the PhD degree is the oral or viva voce examination, in which students are required to defend the thesis to a Board of Examiners.

• Entry requirements

Academic requirements

First or upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject. In certain circumstances we may be able to consider a candidate with a lower second class honours degree or equivalent if the candidate has several years of relevant appropriate industrial or clinical experience.

English Language requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in all components
• The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic): 62 with no less than 59 in any element
• TOEFL IBT: 90 overall with a minimum 21 in all 4 components

You will need to get your English language qualification within 24 months prior to starting your course.

If you need to improve your English language skills before starting your studies, you may be able to take a pre-sessional course to reach the required level.

Two references are required. At least one of these should be an academic reference from the most recent place of study.

• Fees and funding

Fees and funding information for Pharmacy and Pharmacology PhD

Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on whether you are a Home or Overseas student.

Learn how we decide fee status

Tuition fees are liable to increase annually for all University of Bath students. If you aren't paying your fees in British pounds, you should also budget for possible fluctuations in your own currency.

Find out more about student fees

Funding options

Find funding for doctoral research

Payment options

You can pay your tuition fees by Direct Debit, debit card, credit card or bank transfer.

Paying your tuition fees

• Application information
• Programme title Pharmacy and Pharmacology PhD
• Final award PhD
• Mode of study Full-time
• Course code RSPA-AFM02
• Department Department of Life Sciences
• Location University of Bath Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY

3 months prior to the intended start date (for international applicants) or 2 months prior to the intended start date (for home applicants). For example, for an end of September start, the deadline is 30 June (international) and 31 July (home).

• Regulator The Office for Students (OfS)

Applicant profile

Applicants should be clear in highlighting how their PhD will be funded, what support they have arranged in advance, or how they need assistance applying for grants and scholarships.

See our guide about how to apply for doctoral study

Selection process

Applicants will attend an Microsoft Teams or Skype interview with the potential Supervisory Team and the Admissions Tutor.

Immigration requirements

This PhD is covered by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). If you are an international student, you may require an ATAS certificate to join this course and you can find out more about the visa requirements for studying in the UK .

For additional support please contact the Student Immigration Service for matters related to student visas and immigration.

• Programme enquiries

Doctoral Admissions

• Apply for this programme
• Related programmes
• Pharmacy and Pharmacology PhD part-time
• Doctor of Medicine in Pharmacy & Pharmacology MD part-time

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Pharmacy - PhD/ MSc by Research

Annual tuition fee for 2024/25: UK: £4,778 International: £27,360

More details

• Visit an Open Day
• Request a prospectus
• Course details
• Entry Requirements
• Employability

Our Pharmacy PhD/MSc by Research in the School of Pharmacy aims to equip graduates with the skills necessary to contribute to a research portfolio encompassing clinical pharmacy, pharamacology, pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry.

As part of the School of Pharmacy, students will work amongst the very best researchers to produce original and distinctive globally leading research demanded by the expanding role of the pharmacist and pharmaceutical researcher.

Our PhD/MSc by Research program is intended for students who wish to obtain high quality research training that will enable them to conduct independent investigative research.

You can choose from a range of research areas within Pharmacy covering:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Pharmaceutics
• Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery

Find out more about each research theme .

You will work closely with your supervisory team who will help you clarify your project and support your development. Your thesis will represent an original contribution to knowledge and demonstrate independent judgement.

For all you need to know about our staff, news, research areas and the impact of our research visit the  S chool of Pharmacy.

Why study this course?

When you join your programme you will become part of the Graduate School within the College of Medical and Dental Sciences  giving you access to:

• Supervision from leading academics to support you through your research programme including research techniques and training.
• Training and development courses to enable you to gain research and generic (transferable) training skills
• Opportunities to attend and take part in Research Poster festivals and other postgraduate activities to boost your academic and networking skills
• An allocated academic mentor so you can access pastoral support
• State-of-the art facilities to support a range of teaching, learning and research activity with access to dedicated write up rooms, libraries, and computer facilities.

You will also become part of the wider University of Birmingham postgraduate research community located at Westmere House where you have access to training and skills development, careers and employability advice, wellbeing and counselling services as well as welcome activities and events.

Ask a student mentor

The best people to ask about postgraduate study are the students that have done it. Our mentor scheme enables you to directly contact student mentors with any questions that you have about studying here and will offer help and advice from a student perspective. Please feel free to contact the mentors directly using the question box on their profile page.

PhD and MSc by Research Lab: UK: £4,778 full-time, £2,389 part-time International: £27,360 full-time, £13,680 part-time

PhD full-time Non-Lab: UK: £4,778 International: £21,360

PhD part-time Non-Lab: UK: £2,389 International: £10,680

The above fees are for one year only. If you are studying over two or more years, tuition fees will also be payable in subsequent years.

Find out about our latest vacancies and scholarship opportunities by searching our  Doctoral Researcher Database .

We welcome enquiries from students who have obtained funding and self-funded students looking to conduct research in other areas and encourage prospective doctoral students to  contact our staff  to discuss their intended area of study.

To search for postgraduate research funding opportunities to support your studies at the University of Birmingham use our funding database .

How To Apply

Before you make your application.

When submitting an application for any postgraduate programme, you are also required to submit supporting documentation to accompany your application form. To give your application the best chance of success follow our  step-by-step guide .

Making your application

If you have got everything ready to apply then please go to the 'Apply Now' button at the top of this page. We look forward to receiving your application.

International applicants

We encourage you to apply early, so that you have plenty of time to prepare the necessary travel, study and immigration documents. In some cases, it may be a time-consuming process. You will find further information and guidance for prospective students regarding visas and immigration on our Student Help pages.

After you have submitted your application

Once you've completed your online application and submitted it electronically, it will be checked by staff in the Postgraduate Admissions team before being sent to the College of Medical and Dental Sciences for consideration. Selection processes differ depending on the type of application you have made.

If you need any help with you application or have any further queries please contact us:

Email: [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 5005

You may wish to register your interest with us to receive regular news and updates on postgraduate life within this Department and the wider University.

• How to apply

To apply for a postgraduate research programme, you will need to submit your application and supporting documents online. We have put together some helpful information on the research programme application process and supporting documents on our how to apply page . Please read this information carefully before completing your application.

Our Standard Requirements

2:1 honours degree in a subject relevant to the research area you applying to.

International Requirements

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a GPA of 14/20 from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of the Licenciado or an equivalent professional title from a recognised Argentinian university, with a promedio of at least 7.5, may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. Applicants for PhD degrees will normally have a Maestria or equivalent

Applicants who hold a Masters degree will be considered for admission to PhD study.

Holders of a good four-year Diplomstudium/Magister or a Masters degree from a recognised university with a minimum overall grade of 2.5 will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students with a good 5-year Specialist Diploma or 4-year Bachelor degree from a recognised higher education institution in Azerbaijan, with a minimum GPA of 4/5 or 80% will be considered for entry to postgraduate taught programmes at the University of Birmingham.

For postgraduate research programmes applicants should have a good 5-year Specialist Diploma (completed after 1991), with a minimum grade point average of 4/5 or 80%, from a recognised higher education institution or a Masters or “Magistr Diplomu” or “Kandidat Nauk” from a recognised higher education institution in Azerbaijan.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a GPA of 3.0/4.0 or 75% from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with a CGPA of 3.0-3.3/4.0 or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Students who hold a Masters degree from the University of Botswana with a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/5.0 (70%/B/'very good') will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.

Please note 4-year bachelor degrees from the University of Botswana are considered equivalent to a Diploma of Higher Education. 5-year bachelor degrees from the University of Botswana are considered equivalent to a British Bachelor (Ordinary) degree.

Students who have completed a Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.

A Licenciatura or Bacharelado degree from a recognised Brazilian university:

• A grade of 7.5/10 for entry to programmes with a 2:1 requirement
• A grade of 6.5/10for entry to programmes with a 2:2 requirement

Holders of a good Bachelors degree with honours (4 to 6 years) from a recognised university with a upper second class grade or higher will be considered for entry to taught postgraduate programmes.  Holders of a good Masters degree from a recognised university will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good post-2001 Masters degree from a recognised university will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students with a minimum average of 14 out of 20 (or 70%) on a 4-year Licence, Bachelor degree or Diplôme d'Etudes Superieures de Commerce (DESC) or Diplôme d'Ingénieur or a Maîtrise will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.

Holders of a bachelor degree with honours from a recognised Canadian university may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. A GPA of 3.0/4, 7.0/9 or 75% is usually equivalent to a UK 2.1.

Holders of the Licenciado or equivalent Professional Title from a recognised Chilean university will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Applicants for PhD study will preferably hold a Magister degree or equivalent.

Students with a bachelor’s degree (4 years minimum) may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. However please note that we will only consider students who meet the entry guidance below.  Please note: for the subject areas below we use the Shanghai Ranking 2022 (full table)  ,  Shanghai Ranking 2023 (full table) , and Shanghai Ranking of Chinese Art Universities 2023 .

需要具备学士学位（4年制）的申请人可申请研究生课程。请根据所申请的课程查看相应的入学要求。 请注意，中国院校名单参考 软科中国大学排名2022（总榜） ，  软科中国大学排名2023（总榜） ，以及 软科中国艺术类高校名单2023 。  

Business School    - MSc programmes (excluding MBA)  

商学院硕士课程（MBA除外）入学要求

School of Computer Science – all MSc programmes 计算机学院硕士课程入学要求

College of Social Sciences – courses listed below 社会科学 学院部分硕士课程入学要求 MA Education  (including all pathways) MSc TESOL Education MSc Public Management MA Global Public Policy MA Social Policy MA Sociology Department of Political Science and International Studies  全部硕士课程 International Development Department  全部硕士课程

  All other programmes (including MBA)   所有其他 硕士课程（包括 MBA）入学要求

Please note:

• Borderline cases: We may consider students with lower average score (within 5%) on a case-by-case basis if you have a relevant degree and very excellent grades in relevant subjects and/or relevant work experience. 如申请人均分低于相应录取要求（5%以内），但具有出色学术背景，优异的专业成绩，以及（或）相关的工作经验，部分课程将有可能单独酌情考虑。
• Please contact the China Recruitment Team for any questions on the above entry requirements. 如果您对录取要求有疑问，请联系伯明翰大学中国办公室   [email protected]

Holders of the Licenciado/Professional Title from a recognised Colombian university will be considered for our Postgraduate Diploma and Masters degrees. Applicants for PhD degrees will normally have a Maestria or equivalent.

Holders of a good bachelor degree with honours (4 to 6 years) from a recognised university with a upper second class grade or higher will be considered for entry to taught postgraduate programmes.  Holders of a good Masters degree from a recognised university will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good Bacclaureus (Bachelors) from a recognised Croatian Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 4.0 out of 5.0, vrlo dobar ‘very good’, or a Masters degree, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a Bachelors degree(from the University of the West Indies or the University of Technology) may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. A Class II Upper Division degree is usually equivalent to a UK 2.1. For further details on particular institutions please refer to the list below.  Applicants for PhD level study will preferably hold a Masters degree or Mphil from the University of the West Indies.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good Bachelors degree from a recognised institution with a minimum overall grade of 6.5 out of 10, or a GPA of 3 out of 4, and will usually be required to have completed a good Masters degree to be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Bakalár from a recognised Czech Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 1.5, B, velmi dobre ‘very good’ (post-2004) or 2, velmi dobre ‘good’ (pre-2004), or a good post-2002 Magistr (Masters), will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good Bachelors degree from a recognised institution with a minimum overall grade of 7-10 out of 12 (or 8 out of 13) or higher for 2:1 equivalence and will usually be required to have completed a good Masters/ Magisterkonfereus/Magister Artium degree to be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of the Licenciado or an equivalent professional title from a recognised Ecuadorian university may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. Grades of 70% or higher can be considered as UK 2.1 equivalent.  Applicants for PhD level study will preferably hold a Magister/Masterado or equivalent qualification, but holders of the Licenciado with excellent grades can be considered.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a GPA of 3.0/4.0 or 75% from a recognised institution. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Bakalaurusekraad from a recognised university with a minimum overall grade of 4/5 or B, or a good one- or two-year Magistrikraad from a recognised university, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Masters degree with very good grades (grade B, 3.5/4 GPA or 85%) will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. 

Holders of a good Kandidaatti / Kandidat (old system), a professional title such as Ekonomi, Diplomi-insinööri, Arkkitehti, Lisensiaatti (in Medicine, Dentistry and Vetinary Medicine), or a Maisteri / Magister (new system), Lisensiaatti / Licenciat, Oikeustieteen Kandidaatti / Juris Kandidat (new system) or Proviisori / Provisor from a recognised Finnish Higher Education institution, with a minimum overall grade of 2/3 or 4/5, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters/Maîtrise with a minimum overall grade of 13 out of 20, or a Magistère / Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies / Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures Specialisées / Mastère Specialis, from a recognised French university or Grande École to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a Magister Artium, a Diplom or an Erstes Staatsexamen from a recognised university with a minimum overall grade of 2.5, or a good two-year Lizentiat / Aufbaustudium / Zweites Staatsexamen or a Masters degree from a recognised university, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Most taught Masters programmes require a minimum of an upper second class degree (2.1) with a minimum GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/5.0 Students who have completed a Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good four-year Ptychio (Bachelor degree) with a minimum overall grade of 6.5 out of 10, from a recognised Greek university (AEI), and will usually be required to have completed a good Metaptychiako Diploma Eidikefsis (Masters degree) from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

4-year Licenciado is deemed equivalent to a UK bachelors degree. A score of 75 or higher from Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) can be considered comparable to a UK 2.1, 60 is comparable to a UK 2.2.  Private universities have a higher pass mark, so 80 or higher should be considered comparable to a UK 2.1, 70 is comparable to a UK 2.2

The Hong Kong Bachelor degree is considered comparable to British Bachelor degree standard. Students with bachelor degrees awarded by universities in Hong Kong may be considered for entry to one of our postgraduate degree programmes.

Students with Masters degrees may be considered for PhD study.

Holders of a good Alapfokozat / Alapképzés or Egyetemi Oklevel from a recognised university with a minimum overall grade of 3.5, or a good Mesterfokozat (Masters degree) or Egyetemi Doktor (university doctorate), will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with a 60% or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of the 4 year Sarjana (S1) from a recognised Indonesian institution will be considered for postgraduate study. Entry requirements vary with a minimum requirement of a GPA of 2.8.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a score of 14/20 or 70% from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree from a recognised institution, with 100 out of 110 or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Students who hold the Maitrise, Diplome d'Etude Approfondies, Diplome d'Etude Superieures or Diplome d'Etude Superieures Specialisees will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees (14-15/20 or Bien from a well ranked institution is considered comparable to a UK 2.1, while a score of 12-13/20 or Assez Bien is considered comparable to a UK 2.2).

Students with a Bachelor degree from a recognised university in Japan will be considered for entry to a postgraduate Masters degree provided they achieve a sufficiently high overall score in their first (Bachelor) degree. A GPA of 3.0/4.0 or a B average from a good Japanese university is usually considered equivalent to a UK 2:1.

Students with a Masters degree from a recognised university in Japan will be considered for PhD study. A high overall grade will be necessary to be considered.

Students who have completed their Specialist Diploma Мамаң дипломы/Диплом специалиста) or "Magistr" (Магистр дипломы/Диплом магистра) degree (completed after 1991) from a recognised higher education institution, with a minimum GPA of 2.67/4.00 for courses requiring a UK lower second and 3.00/4.00 for courses requiring a UK upper second class degree, will be considered for entry to postgraduate Masters degrees and, occasionally, directly for PhD degrees.  Holders of a Bachelor "Bakalavr" degree (Бакалавр дипломы/Диплом бакалавра) from a recognised higher education institution, with a minimum GPA of  2.67/4.00 for courses requiring a UK lower second and 3.00/4.00 for courses requiring a UK upper second class degree, may also be considered for entry to taught postgraduate programmes.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Most taught Masters programmes require a minimum of an upper second class degree (2.1) with a minimum GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/50

Holders of a good Postgraduate Diploma (professional programme) from a recognised university or institution of Higher Education, with a minimum overall grade of 7.5 out of 10, or a post-2000 Magistrs, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a score of 16/20 or 80% from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a Bachelors degree from a recognised university in Libya will be considered for postgraduate study. Holders of a Bachelors degree will normally be expected to have achieved score of 70% for 2:1 equivalency or 65% for 2:2 equivalency. Alternatively students will require a minimum of 3.0/4.0 or BB to be considered.

Holders of a good pre-2001 Magistras from a recognised university with a minimum overall grade of 8 out of 10, or a good post-2001 Magistras, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes

Holders of a good Bachelors degree from a recognised Luxembourgish Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 16 out of 20, or a Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Spécialisées (comparable to a UK PGDip) or Masters degree from a recognised Luxembourgish Higher Education institution will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Masters degree will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees (70-74% or A or Marginal Distinction from a well ranked institution is considered comparable to a UK 2.1, while a score of 60-69% or B or Bare Distinction/Credit is considered comparable to a UK 2.2).

Holders of a Bachelors degree from a recognised Malaysian institution (usually achieved with the equivalent of a second class upper or a grade point average minimum of 3.0) will be considered for postgraduate study at Diploma or Masters level.

Holders of a good Bachelors degree from the University of Malta with a minimum grade of 2:1 (Hons), and/or a Masters degree, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree (Honours) from a recognised institution (including the University of Mauritius) will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.  Most taught Masters programmes require a minimum of an upper second class degree (2:1).

Students who hold the Licenciado/Professional Titulo from a recognised Mexican university with a promedio of at least 8 will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.

Students who have completed a Maestria from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree, licence or Maîtrise and a Masters degree, with a score of 14/20 or 70% from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Students with a good four year honours degree from a recognised university will be considered for postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. PhD applications will be considered on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with 60-74% or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Doctoraal from a recognised Dutch university with a minimum overall grade of 7 out of 10, and/or a good Masters degree, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree (minimum 4 years and/or level 400) from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.  Most taught Masters programmes require a minimum of an upper second class degree (2.1) with a minimum GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/5.0

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good Bachelors degree from a recognised institution with a minimum GPA of B/Very Good or 1.6-2.5 for a 2.1 equivalency, and will usually be required to have completed a good Masters, Mastergrad, Magister. Artium, Sivilingeniør, Candidatus realium or Candidatus philologiae degree to be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with a CGPA of 3.0/4 or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a Bachelors degree from a recognised university in the Palestinian Territories will be considered for postgraduate study. Holders of Bachelors degree will normally be expected to have achieved a GPA of 3/4 or 80% for 2:1 equivalency or a GPA of 2.5/4 or 70% for 2:2 equivalency.    

Holders of the Título de Licenciado /Título de (4-6 years) or an equivalent professional title from a recognised Paraguayan university may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. Grades of 4/5 or higher can be considered as UK 2.1 equivalent.  The Título Intermedio is a 2-3 year degree and is equivalent to a HNC, it is not suitable for postgraduate entry but holders of this award could be considered for second year undergraduate entry or pre-Masters.  Applicants for PhD level study will preferably hold a Título de Maestría / Magister or equivalent qualification, but holders of the Título/Grado de Licenciado/a with excellent grades can be considered.

Holders of the Licenciado, with at least 13/20 may be considered as UK 2.1 equivalent. The Grado de Bachiller is equivalent to an ordinary degree, so grades of 15+/20 are required.  Applicants for PhD level study will preferably hold a Título de Maestría or equivalent qualification.

Holders of a good pre-2001 Magister from a recognised Polish university with a minimum overall grade of 4 out of 5, dobry ‘good’, and/or a good Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Studiów Podyplomowych (Certificate of Postgraduate Study) or post-2001 Magister from a recognised Polish university with a minimum overall grade of 4.5/4+ out of 5, dobry plus 'better than good', will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good Licenciado from a recognised university, or a Diploma de Estudos Superiores Especializados (DESE) from a recognised Polytechnic Institution, with a minimum overall grade of 16 out of 20, and/or a good Mestrado / Mestre (Masters) from a recognised university, will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good Bachelors degree from a recognised Romanian Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 8 out of 10, and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree/Diploma de Master/Diploma de Studii Academice Postuniversitare (Postgraduate Diploma - Academic Studies) or Diploma de Studii Postuniversitare de Specializare (Postgraduate Diploma - Specialised Studies) to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Диплом Специалиста (Specialist Diploma) or Диплом Магистра (Magistr) degree from recognised universities in Russia (minimum GPA of 4.0) will be considered for entry to taught postgraduate programmes/PhD study.

Students who hold a 4-year Bachelor degree with at least 16/20 or 70% will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.   

Students who hold a Maitrise, Diplome d'Etude Approfondies,Diplome d'Etude Superieures or Diplome d'Etude Superieures Specialisees will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. A score of 14-15/20 or Bien from a well ranked institution is considered comparable to a UK 2.1, while a score of 12-13/20 or Assez Bien is considered comparable to a UK 2.2

Students who hold a Bachelor (Honours) degree from a recognised institution with a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/5.0 (or a score of 60-69% or B+) from a well ranked institution will be considered for most our Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees with a 2:1 requirement.

Students holding a good Bachelors Honours degree will be considered for postgraduate study at Diploma or Masters level.

Holders of a good three-year Bakalár or pre-2002 Magister from a recognised Slovakian Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 1.5, B, Vel’mi dobrý ‘very good’, and/or a good Inžinier or a post-2002 Magister from a recognised Slovakian Higher Education institution will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good Diploma o pridobljeni univerzitetni izobrazbi (Bachelors degree), Diplomant (Professionally oriented first degree), Univerzitetni diplomant (Academically oriented first degree) or Visoko Obrazovanja (until 1999) from a recognised Slovenian Higher Education institution with a minimum overall grade of 8.0 out of 10, and/or a good Diploma specializacija (Postgraduate Diploma) or Magister (Masters) will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students who hold a Bachelor Honours degree (also known as Baccalaureus Honores / Baccalaureus Cum Honoribus) from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Most Masters programmes will require a second class upper (70%) or a distinction (75%).

Holders of a Masters degree will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a Bachelor degree from a recognised South Korean institution (usually with the equivalent of a second class upper or a grade point average 3.0/4.0 or 3.2/4.5) will be considered for Masters programmes.

Holders of a good Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with 7 out of 10 or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and will usually be required to have completed a Masters degree, with 60-74% or a CGPA 3.30/4.0 or higher for 2:1 equivalency from a recognised institution to be considered for entry. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Kandidatexamen (Bachelors degree) or Yrkesexamen (Professional Bachelors degree) from a recognised Swedish Higher Education institution with the majority of subjects with a grade of VG (Val godkänd), and/or a good Magisterexamen (Masters degree), International Masters degree or Licentiatexamen (comparable to a UK Mphil), will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good "PostGraduate Certificate" or "PostGraduate Diploma" or a Masters degree from a recognised Swiss higher education institution (with a minimum GPA of 5/6 or 8/10 or 2/5 (gut-bien-bene/good) for a 2.1 equivalence) may be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, with a GPA of 3.0/4.0, 3.5/5 or 75% from a recognised institution to be considered. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

Holders of a good Bachelor degree (from 75% to 85% depending upon the university in Taiwan) from a recognised institution will be considered for postgraduate Masters study. Holders of a good Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.  Most taught Masters programmes require a minimum of an upper second class degree (2.1) Students who have completed a Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.

Holders of a good Masters degree from a recognised institution will be considered for entry to our postgraduate research programmes.

Holders of a good Masters degree or Mphil from a recognised university will be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes.

Students with a Bachelors degree from the following universities may be considered for entry to postgraduate programmes:

• Ateneo de Manila University - Quezon City
• De La Salle University - Manila
• University of Santo Tomas
• University of the Philippines - Diliman

Students from all other institutions with a Bachelors and a Masters degree or relevant work experience may be considered for postgraduate programmes.

Grading Schemes

1-5 where 1 is the highest 2.1 = 1.75 2.2 = 2.25 

Out of 4.0 where 4 is the highest 2.1 = 3.0 2.2 = 2.5

Letter grades and percentages 2.1 = B / 3.00 / 83% 2.2 = C+ / 2.5 / 77%

Holders of a postdoctoral qualification from a recognised institution will be considered for PhD study.  Students may be considered for PhD study if they have a Masters from one of the above listed universities.

Holders of a Lisans Diplomasi with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0/4.0 from a recognised university will be considered for postgraduate study at Diploma or Masters level.

Holders of a Yuksek Diplomasi from a recognised university will be considered for PhD study.

Students who hold a Bachelor degree from a recognised institution will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Most Masters programmes will require a second class upper (2.1) or GPA of 3.5/5.0

Applicants for postgraduate research programmes should hold a good Bachelors degree / Диплом бакалавра (Dyplom Bakalavra), Диплом спеціаліста (Specialist Diploma) or a Dyplom Magistra from a recognised Ukrainian higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 4.0/5.0, 3.5/4, 8/12 or 80% or higher for 2:1 equivalence and will usually be required to have completed a good Masters degree to be considered for entry to postgraduate research programmes. Applicants with lower grades than this may be considered on an individual basis.

The University will consider students who hold an Honours degree from a recognised institution in the USA with a GPA of:

• 2.8 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for entry to programmes with a 2:2 requirement 
• 3.2 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for entry to programmes with a 2:1 requirement 

Please note that some subjects which are studied at postgraduate level in the USA, eg. Medicine and Law, are traditionally studied at undergraduate level in the UK.

Holders of the Magistr Diplomi (Master's degree) or Diplomi (Specialist Diploma), awarded by prestigious universities, who have attained high grades in their studies will be considered for postgraduate study.  Holders of the Fanlari Nomzodi (Candidate of Science), where appropriate, will be considered for PhD study.

Holders of the Licenciatura/Título or an equivalent professional title from a recognised Venezuelan university may be considered for entry to a postgraduate degree programme. Scales of 1-5, 1-10 and 1-20 are used, an overall score of 70% or equivalent can be considered equivalent to a UK 2.1.  Applicants for PhD level study will preferably hold a Maestria or equivalent qualification

Holders of a Bachelors degree from a recognised Vietnamese institution (usually achieved with the equivalent of a second class upper or a grade point average minimum GPA of 7.0 and above) will be considered for postgraduate study at Diploma or Masters level.  Holders of a Masters degree (thac si) will be considered for entry to PhD programmes.

Students who hold a Masters degree with a minimum GPA of 3.5/5.0 or a mark of 2.0/2.5 (A) will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees.   

Students who hold a good Bachelor Honours degree will be considered for Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. 

International Students

Learn more about  international entry requirements  

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries; our  country pages  show you what qualifications we accept from your country.

English Language Requirements

You can satisfy our English language requirements in two ways:

• by holding an  English language qualification  to the right level
• by taking and successfully completing one of our  English courses for international students

Please note IELTS requirements for Postgraduate Research programmes in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences are 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any band.

If you need help with your English language skills then support is available. 

The English for Academic Purposes Presessional course is for international students who have a conditional offer to study at the University, but who do not currently meet the English language requirements. The course is tailored to your level of English and allows you to meet the English language requirements for your programme without retaking IELTS. The EAP programme runs throughout the year and offers different programme lengths ranging from 42 weeks to 6 weeks. The length of course you need depends on your future course, your existing IELTS score and the English level you need for your university degree.

Find out more about the  English for Academic Purposes Presessional  course.

We offer a diverse range of research areas within School of Pharmacy. To help you identify a supervisor related to your research area you may like to explore the research interests of our academic staff.

Clinical use of medicines in paediatrics, and their development; medicines adherence, pharmaceutical risk; rational prescribing, and the rational use of antibiotics

• Contact: Professor John Marriott  
• Contact: Dr Anthony Cox

Pharmaceutical care and clinical pharmacy, particularly related to symptom control end of life care; educational research and inter-professional education

• Contact: Dr Christine Hirsch

Nanomedicine and drug delivery; the development of soft and hard nanomaterial -based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy and neurodegenerative disorders ; the efficient intracellular delivery and targeting of small molecules (anticancer drugs) and macromolecules (protein and nucleic acid); nanotoxicology of the developed drug delivery systems and other nanoparticles.

• Contact:  Dr Hanene Ali-Boucetta

Pharmaceutical technology; more specifically designing nanosized drug delivery systems and understanding how their physio-chemical properties can impact on their behaviours, fate and toxicity in a physiological environment.

• Contact: Dr Marie-Christine Jones

There are also existing research opportunities within the Institute offering specific topics and projects on which you can complete your PhD. Search our  Doctoral Researcher Database  to find out about our latest vacancies and scholarship opportunities or if you are looking to conduct research in other areas  contact our staff  to discuss your intended area of study.

We have a global reputation for our world leading research and teaching as follows:

• Times 2023: Ranked 15th for Pharmacology & Pharmacy and 15th for Medicine.
• Complete University Guide 2024: Ranked 11th for Pharmacy and 19th for Medicine.
• QS World rankings 2023: 67th for Medicine, and Pharmacy ranked in the top 100. The Life Sciences and Medicine overarching faculty area is ranked joint 62nd in the world.
• US News rankings 2023: 65th for Clinical Medicine.
• Shanghai rankings 2022: 51st – 75th for Clinical Medicine.
• Times Higher Education rankings 2024: 74th for Clinical & Health.

Our employability rates within the College are excellent, with 95% of all surveyed students achieving employment within a year of study.

A high proportion of our postgraduate research students go onto roles such as Research fellow/ postdoctoral researcher, medical writer, scientist/ research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, and clinical trial coordinator.

Employers include the NHS Trusts, Cancer Research UK, pharma and biotech companies (including AstraZeneca, Covance, Binding Site, Immunocore, Johnson and Johnson), Medical Communications agencies (e.g. Fishawack, Insight Medical Writing), the Armed Forces and the University of Birmingham.

Career support through Career Network

A PhD is the highest level of academic achievement available and vital for the continued professional development of scientists. Completing a PhD at Birmingham will extend your knowledge base in your chosen subject, as well as enhancing your problem solving and analytical; communication and teaching; and leadership and management skills – all of which are valued across the academic and private sectors. It will also enable you to provide you with the opportunity to develop your network of peers, collaborators and colleagues to support your onward career.

Whatever path you choose to take as a postgraduate researcher, the University offers guidance and support in all aspects of planning your next step. Our resources include:

• Alumni biographies and talks to learn more about their career journey and reflect on the journey you may follow after completing your PhD;
• Resources for writing industry or academic specific applications, CVs and cover letters;
• Up to date information about the PhD labour market;
• Career planning guide;
• Job searching resources both for roles within academia and non-academia;
• Training and skills development workshops for postgraduate researchers;
• Access to the Postgraduate Enterprise Summer School
• Virtual Consultancy Challenge
• 1-1 Business start-up advice

Find out more on our  Careers Network for Postgraduate Researchers web pages .

Our Careers Network offers free online resources, face to face consultation and also runs the Global Careers blog, with posts about having a career abroad and international graduates building a career in the UK. International students are also supported via the Global Careers event series, designed for international students, focusing on country or industry specific job applications and interview skills.

Events in the past have included:

• Hays Asia recruitment event - for offices across China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia
• Global opportunities at Amazon
• Global University Career Development Conference (GUCDC)
• LinkedIn group for international students and alumni from the University of Birmingham to connect
• Online chat events

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Our research programme in Pharmacy gives you the integrated, broad-based research training needed to exploit current advances in pharmaceutical and biological sciences and pharmacy practice.

Key information

• Duration 3 to 4 years full-time
• Start date September, January, May
• Location Medway

Within the school we have a number of home, EU and international postgraduate students who are undertaking doctoral research degrees. Graduates who obtain their PhD from Kent or Greenwich are highly sought after by prospective employers, both within the UK and overseas. Destinations for doctoral graduates include university academic departments, research institutes and leading pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies.

About Medway School of Pharmacy

Medway School of Pharmacy is one of the few regional schools of pharmacy in the UK, a collaboration between the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich.

The impetus for the formation of the Medway School of Pharmacy came from the local community, who recognised the shortage of qualified pharmacists in all branches of the pharmacy profession in Kent.

The School is now recognised as an established school with accreditation from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Graduates are employed in health disciplines in Kent and the south-east and more broadly across the UK.

Everything you need to know.

Entry requirements, study support.

A first or 2.1 honours degree in an appropriate subject and a taught Master’s. Potential applicants with non-standard qualifications but significant experience should contact the School’s Director of Graduate Studies.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications. 

Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country  and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language entry requirements

This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.  

Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage . 

Examples:  

IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component 

PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test 

A degree from a UK university 

A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country 

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways .

Postgraduate research is a fantastic opportunity and significant investment in your future, enabling you to expand your knowledge, skills and career options – all while making a meaningful impact and contribution to an area you are passionate about.

At Kent, we also recognise the significant financial investment that comes with postgraduate study, and we offer a range of scholarships for our postgraduate researchers, to help keep your mind on your studies, and off your finances.

Scholarships can be broad, or specific to your situation, background or even country – so please do use our scholarships finder to discover the options available to you.

We also have research partnership funding with research councils and government schemes in specific areas of interest that can help you take your research to the next level with additional financial support.

Find out more on our fees and funding page and discover what option is right for you.

Postgraduate resources

Postgraduate students have access to all the facilities at the Medway School of Pharmacy, including clinical skills labs and a ‘simulation man’. As the School of Pharmacy is a joint venture between the two universities, students have access to facilities at Kent’s Medway and Canterbury campuses, and the University of Greenwich.

Dynamic publishing culture

Medway School of Pharmacy has a research culture and as such postgraduate students publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: International Journal of Pharmacy Practice ; Nephron Physiology ; Acta Physiologica ; Purinergic Signalling ; and European Journal of Pharmacology .

Researcher Development Programme

Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.

The Medway School of Pharmacy houses strong and vibrant research groups that span a range of pharmacy-related areas. Staff have a wealth of research experience, and UK and international links with both industry and academic institutions.

Chemistry and drug delivery

This group has laboratories with dedicated state-of-the art drug delivery, nanotechnology, spectroscopy, chromatography and organic synthesis facilities. It brings together researchers in medicinal chemistry and drug design, nanotechnology and materials science, drug delivery and pharmaceutics encouraging a multidisciplinary approach to research. Research covers synthesis and biological evaluation of potential anti-cancer agents, structure-based drug design, QSAR predication of ADMET properties, controlled release, particle engineering, powder technology, pharmaceutical technology, and novel drug delivery systems, with a focus on respiratory drug delivery.

Biological sciences

This group is housed in recently refurbished laboratories with dedicated state-of-the-art molecular biological, electrophysiological, tissue culture and microscopy facilities. The research is divided into four main themes; infectious diseases and allergy; neuroscience; renal and cardiovascular physiology; and pharmacology. Examples of current work include: investigation of the use of non-pathogenic virus ‘pseudotypes’ to study pathogenic RNA, study of the properties of neuronal potassium channels and their modulation and the development of new therapies for patients that have developed acute kidney injury in collaboration with a major pharmaceutical company.

Pharmacy practice

This group conducts research in two areas: public health and medicines optimisation, with a particular focus on cardiovascular diseases and mental health. Work in public health includes studies in physical exercise, alcohol, cardiovascular screening and spirometry testing, plus pharmacovigilance. Studies in medicines optimisation include work in dementia, bipolar disorder and stroke, with an emphasis on the patient perspective.

Staff research interests

Medway School of Pharmacy has over twenty academic research staff arranged in three primary research groups: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Drug Delivery and Clinical and Professional Practice. Each of these academics has developed their own research programme.

Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website .

Graduates who obtain their PhD from Kent or Greenwich are highly sought after by prospective employers, both within the UK and overseas. Destinations for doctoral graduates include university academic departments, research institutes and leading pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies.

The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide .

For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact [email protected] .

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from  UKCISA  before applying.

General information

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Additional costs

General additional costs.

Find out more about  general additional costs  that you may pay when studying at Kent. 

Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:

• University and external funds
• Scholarships specific to the academic school delivering this programme.

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Ready to apply?

Learn more about the  application process  or begin your application by clicking on a link below.

You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.

Need help deciding?

Our friendly team is on hand to help you with any queries you have.

Find the right supervisor for your and your research project.

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Everything you need to know about applying to Kent from abroad.

Apply for entry to Pharmacy

• Full-time at Medway
• Part-time at Medway

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Supporting your success

We are here to support your postgraduate journey.

Kent ranked top 50 in The Complete University Guide 2024 .

Support for funding so you can focus on your studies.

Research excellence.

Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.

It’s easy to study on or off campus at Kent – discover what is right for you.

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

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PhD/MPhil Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences / Programme details

Year of entry: 2024

• View full page

Programme description

Our PhD/MPhil Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences programme enables you to undertake a research project that will improve understanding of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Our areas of research within pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences include:

• development of novel nucleic acid-based diagnostics and therapeutics;
• modelling and simulation of pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions and pharmacodynamics in healthy virtual populations;
• modelling and simulation of pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions and pharmacodynamics in patient populations;
• analysis of inter-individual variability in drug metabolizing enzyme activity;
• optimal design of early phase clinical trials with new therapies and drug combinations;
• applications of systems biology approach to prediction of drug absorption, distribution and Elimination;
• extrapolation of in vitro data to predict in vivo pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics;
• applications of PKPD in drug development and therapeutics, particularly endocrinology, drug abuse, and paediatric pharmacology;

Special features

Training and development

All of our postgraduate researchers attend the Doctoral Academy Training Programme delivered by the Researcher Development team . The programme provides key transferable skills and equips our postgraduate researchers with the tools to progress beyond their research degree into influential positions within academia, industry and consultancy. The emphasis is on enhancing skills critical to developing early-stage researchers and professionals, whether they relate to effective communication, disseminating research findings and project management skills.

Teaching and learning

Applicants are specifically matched with a Primary Supervisor and individual project based on their research interests and background.

International applicants interested in this research area can also consider our PhD programme with integrated teaching certificate .

This unique programme will enable you to gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, whilst also carrying out independent research on your chosen project.

Scholarships and bursaries

Funded programmes and projects are promoted throughout the year. Funding is available through UK Research Councils, charities and industry. We also have other internal awards and scholarships for the most outstanding applicants from within the UK and overseas.

For more information on available the types of funding we have available, please visit the  funded programmes  and  funding opportunities  pages.

What our students say

Disability support.

• University of Bradford
• Postgraduate

PhD (School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences)

Suitable for applications.

Apply to study your PhD at the Bradford School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, which encompasses multidisciplinary research in the Centre of Pharmaceutical Engineering Science and is also research active in the following areas:

• Education Innovation Research & Development
• Medicines Development and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Medicines Optimisation
• Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
• Institute of Cancer Therapeutics

Over 80% of outputs  in  Allied Health Professions ,  Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy, Chemistry and Engineering  are rated as Internationally Excellent or World Leading ( REF 2021 ).

We welcome applications for postgraduate research degrees all year round, and will consider alternative starting dates when the timing doesn't fit with our two enrolment intake dates: October and February.

Entry requirements

Faculty research is very important and recruitment of high quality postgraduate research students is a key part of the Faculty of Life Sciences strategic plan.

Selection of PGR students will be subject to successful interview (either in person or by skype or conference call) by the supervisory team and one independent member of academic staff with significant PGR supervisory experience.

See specific entry requirements on the individual project pages .

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we ask for a minimum standard entry requirement of 6.0 IELTS (with sub tests not lower than 5.5).

The certificate must have been gained within two years of the proposed start date.

If you do not meet the IELTS requirement, and you have a UKVI approved IELTS, you can take a University of Bradford pre-sessional English course. See the Language Centre for more details . For further information on English Language requirements please see the dedicated international entry requirements page .

What you will study

We aim to train multidisciplinary researchers capable of working as independent investigators and/or academics across the public and private sectors. Each individual team member is encouraged to expand their horizons overarching various aspects of pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice. 

The Faculty of Life Sciences is the largest in the University with an active PGR community. The University strategy is implemented at Faculty level within an institutional PGR Framework and is in line with QAA/RCUK recommendations. Each PGR student is a member of Bradford School of Pharmacy affiliated to a one of our research groups. PGR students are allocated to the supervisory team comprising of the principal investigator of the project and the second supervisor. 

Students are required to undertake training in scientific writing, producing a critical appraisal of research in their field within their first 6 months and additionally have access to Masters (level 7) modules to enhance skills relevant to their project such as for example: separation techniques (HPLC), spectroscopic methods (FTIR, RAMAN), structural crystallography and others.

Throughout the course of study, students are responsible for developing a Personal Development Folder which incorporates monitoring and progression requirements as well as generic and specific training records. 

Students have several opportunities to present their work to their peers within the faculty at regular research seminar series, and at a dedicated Symposium aligned with the Faculty Research Open Day.

Fees, finance and scholarships

Tuition fee 2023.

Please see the tuition fees website for the relevant tuition and writing up fees:

• Home students
• International students

Additional costs

There may be additional costs that you may incur as a student. Though these are not essential to your programme of study you need to be aware of them as a student of the University. A list of the sort of costs you might expect can be found on our fees and finance section.

Financial support

See our fees and financial support section.

Scholarships

Every year we award numerous non-repayable scholarships to UK, EU and international students on the basis of academic excellence, personal circumstances or economic hardship. For full details, visit our  scholarships  section.

Available PhD projects

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Career prospects

Many of our graduates find employment as post-doctoral research and development scientists, analytical scientists in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries, research managers, academics, clinical researchers in the NHS and other managed care organisations, in the UK, the EU and overseas. 

Career support

The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes. Specialist support is available throughout the course from the  Career and Employability Services , including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and utilise their extensive resources.

Designed specifically for doctoral researchers, there is extensive training and development opportunities included in our unique and flexible  Postgraduate Research Framework . This bespoke offering tailored for research students, provides training opportunities to support your future employability and your development as an independent researcher.

Study support

When you join the University of Bradford you will take part in both a University wide and a faculty based Induction Programme, which is a requirement for all full-time and part-time research students. This will help you understand the academic and social environment here, and give you an introduction to all the services, support and training available to you.

The University induction provides students with information on student support systems, library services and the availability of central training courses covering areas such as general statistics, referencing, IT and communication skills (abstract and report writing, presentation in local research seminars, attendance and presentation on external conferences as well graduate teaching assistant training).

Following this you would also undertake a comprehensive induction programme organised by the Faculty of Life Sciences. Students are supported by Personal Academic Advisors, and we use Training Needs Analysis to determine an individualised programme of generic and discipline specific training.

The institution also subscribes to the Vitae Research Development Framework Planner which all students are encouraged to engage with. Training opportunities are advertised throughout the academic year on the PGR website. The Faculty of Life Sciences offers both scientific generic and specialised training courses in house (ethical considerations, data analysis, personal development and employability) and facilitates attendance at external courses. 

Postdoctoral Researchers follow a career staff development plan including the “Realising Your Research Potential” cohort training programme. This programme has been developed for early career researchers and academics who have the interest and potential to engage in research activity.

Training is aimed to help kick-start their research career by development of the skills needed as well as connecting PDRs to a network of colleagues from across the University including access to the University-wide events currently organised in our annual seminar programme: Costing your Research Grant, Research Ethics Approval Process, European funding - visit by UKRO Representative, Winning Grant Funding, Research Professional Workshop, Knowledge Transfer Partnership Information Session and Yorkshire Innovation Fund Information Session.

How to apply

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MPhil/PhD Programmes

If you're considering a PhD in the field of pharmacy, discover the programmes that we have to offer here at Newcastle University.

• Postgraduate Research
• Newcastle University
• School of Pharmacy
• Study With Us
• Postgraduate

Excellent training in becoming a researcher

Our MPhil/PhD programmes offer excellent research training across all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences and clinical pharmacy, incorporating a comprehensive training programme. All programmes are supported by our Graduate School in the Faculty of Medical Sciences .

Our research themes

Disease selective medicines

Our aim is the development and evaluation of therapeutics. With improved disease selectivity, reduced systemic toxicities and enhanced delivery.

Rational medicine use

Our aim is to develop a programme of research to support the safe, effective and fair use of medicines in our society. We influence pharmacy and healthcare guidelines nationally and globally.

Pharmacy education

We build upon the School’s innovative leadership in the development and facilitation of an integrated curriculum for pharmacy education and education of the future pharmacy workforce.

Our School Postgraduate Research Student Coordinator is Dr Keng Wooi Ng.

He's happy to answer any of your questions.

MPhil and PhD programmes

Details of our MPhil and PhD programmes can be found here.

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PhD opportunities

Our research areas.

Types of doctoral degree

Part-time study

PhD by Distance

Find a PhD opportunity that aligns with your interests and career ambitions. We want to ensure that your time spent with us is as rewarding as possible. To allow you to explore your various options, below is a list of some of the PhD supervision areas that we have available. You can find a more comprehensive list on our  PhD supervisor research areas page .

You can also propose your own project that aligns with our research. Find out more about how to apply for a PhD , and identify and contact a supervisor .

Our research

Work with us

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• How to Apply
• Get a prospectus
• Ask us a question
• Learn about the Doctoral and Researcher College

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PhD Opportunities at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science

About our postgraduate research studies.

The Institute of Pharmaceutical Science (IPS) is an enabling and rich environment for students to undertake their postgraduate research studies. Across the three research groups of Drug Discovery, Medicines Development, and Medicines Use; we have approximately 100 students on 3, 3+1, and 4-year track PhD programmes.

Most of our PhD students are embedded on one site, engendering an environment of engagement (student led seminars, social activities, annual symposium day), interdisciplinary curiosity, and experience of cutting edge and diverse methodology platforms. This results in a unique, strong and exciting research journey.

The research experience of our PhD students can be further strengthened from competitive internal funds to allow you to travel to learn techniques in collaborator labs, or funds for conference participation from the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine and the Centre for Doctoral Studies.

• Drug Discovery
• Medicines Development
• Medicines Use

Types of Scholarships

Our PGR student body is international and this is reflected in the diversity of routes by which our students are funded. King's has annual application rounds of certain initiatives such as Medical Research Council- Doctoral Training Programme (MRC-DTP), London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Partnership funded by BBSRC (LIDo-DTP), and the King’s-China Scholarship Council (K-CSC).

Other PGR students may be funded by Industry, foreign government organisations, or self-funded. Some programmes have specific application procedures that must be adhered to and can be found below with particular timelines during the year.

If you need help discussing a research project you have seen advertised, or you need help in devising a research project but are unsure who might be the best person to supervise it, it is best to identify our research staff in Drug Discovery, Medicines Development, and Medicines Use. This will also give you a more detailed understanding of the range of expertise of specific academics and research activity within IPS.

Centre For Pharmaceutical Medicine PhD Studentships

New phd opportunities to start in 2022.

• Understanding emerging models of patient engagement and their impact on the research, development and use of medicines (C. Copeland & G. McClelland)
• Machine learning based algorithms to improve the clinical management and outcomes of patients with cardiovascular disease (M. Alhnan & A. Ferro)
• Appraising the accelerated approval of medicines used for cancer care (S. A. Jones & Y Kamel)
• Developing a case to widen the access to topical onychomycosis therapies and provide personalised treatment (S. A. Jones & G. McClelland)
• Understanding how the regulation of borderline substances influences medicine quality: Vitamin D as a case study (S. A. Jones & C. Naraynassamy)
• Exploring new digital platforms to provide patient information on how to use medicines (M. Alhnan & G. McClelland)
• Theranostic hydrogen sulphide dressings in wound healing (A. Dyson & A. Lockett)
• Exploring Antipsychotic-Associated Pneumonia through host-immune responses (C. Copeland, R. Amison & Paul Rees)

How to apply

King’s Apply

Unless guided by programme specific calls, application is via King's Apply.

Postgraduate Apply - Contact Us

Contact the team if you are applying for Postgraduate courses

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PhD Postgraduate Research in Pharmacy

University of east anglia uea.

• 3 years Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
• 6 years Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

PhD, Mphil Pharmacy & biomedical sciences

University of strathclyde, phd (school of pharmacy and medical sciences) doctorate, university of bradford, phd postgraduate research opportunities in pharmacy and biomolecular sciences, liverpool john moores university.

• 4 years Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
• 7 years Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

Pharmacy PhD

University of brighton, molecular pharmacology phd, university of glasgow.

• 5 years Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
• 5 years Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

Pharmacy MD

Newcastle university.

• 24 months Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
• 48 months Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

University of Nottingham

• 4 years Full time degree: £5,100 per year (UK)
• 8 years Part time degree

Pharmacy (Pharmacology and Physiology) - PhD

University of kent, phd postgraduate research in pharmacy, university of wolverhampton.

• 8 years Part time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)

PhD in Pharmacy & Pharmacology

University of bath.

• 2 years Full time degree: £4,800 per year (UK)
• 3 years Part time degree: £2,400 per year (UK)

School of Pharmacy MPhil/PhD

Ucl (university college london).

• 3 years Full time degree: £6,035 per year (UK)
• 5 years Part time degree: £2,930 per year (UK)

Pharmacy, Pharmacology & Biomedical Sciences PhDs and Mphils (Distance Learning)

University of portsmouth.

• 6 years Distance without attendance degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

Pharmacy - PhD

University of birmingham.

• 3 years Full time degree: £4,778 per year (UK)
• 6 years Part time degree: £2,389 per year (UK)

Pharmacy, PhD

Swansea university.

• 3 years Full time degree: £4,800 per year (UK)
• 36 months Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
• 72 months Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

Pharmacology and Drug Discovery PhD

• 3 years Full time degree: £5,100 per year (UK)

Pharmacy, Pharmacology & Biomedical Sciences PhDs and Mphils

Pharmacy (health services research) - phd.

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About Doctorate Degrees in Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the science and profession of preparing and dispensing medical drugs. A Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD) is a prestigious programme designed for practicing pharmacists seeking to advance their clinical and research skills in pharmacotherapy and the pharmaceutical sciences.

Students can find more than 45 doctorate programmes available in the UK. Candidates for this programme typically require a master’s degree in pharmacy, pharmacology or a related field, along with substantial professional experience. Graduates emerge as highly qualified experts, ready for leadership roles such as clinical pharmacy specialists and consultants, healthcare administrators, research scientists and academic educators.

What to Expect

The PharmD curriculum in the UK is a terminal degree which encompasses a wide range of heavily research-focused topics including clinical pharmacokinetics, drug development, patient-centred and evidence-based practice. It prepares candidates for high-level inquiry and innovation in pharmacy, as well as pharmaceutical technology and laboratory research.

Students engage in extensive clinical training, research projects and coursework, developing skills in clinical decision-making, patient care and pharmaceutical policy. The programme is tailored to the individual’s professional interests and career goals. Assessment includes clinical competencies evaluations and a final dissertation, demonstrating the student’s ability to contribute to the field and encouraging collaboration with healthcare professionals across various fields.

Regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in the UK, PharmD graduates are positioned at the forefront of pharmacy practice and research, ready to drive innovation and improvement in medication management, healthcare policies and public health outcomes.

Course type:

• Distance learning Doctorate
• Full time Doctorate
• Part time Doctorate

Qualification:

Universities:.

• Cardiff University
• King's College London, University of London
• Medway School of Pharmacy
• University of Reading
• Ulster University
• University of Sunderland
• University of Lincoln
• University of Oxford
• Keele University
• University of Manchester
• University of Liverpool
• Queen's University Belfast
• University of Cambridge
• St. George’s University, Grenada (with partner campus in Newcastle, UK)

Related Subjects:

• University of Kentucky

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Research that Matters PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences

IN THE PAST 10 YEARS

FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

Training Tomorrow's Leaders

Pharmaceutical science is the lifeblood of health care. Ready to conduct cutting-edge research? Develop drugs for the treatment of human diseases? Study how the human body reacts to medicine? Then pharmaceutical sciences is for you. 

UKCOP's Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program is dedicated to a holistic, student-centric training model that provides our students with instruction, guidance, and mentorship in 3 domains:  Breadth (across pharmaceutical sciences disciplines), Career (focused on real-world skills and experiences, driven by individual student goals), and Scientific Depth (project-based research to achieve expertise and rigor). 

Our Guiding Principles

We train students to become rigorous scientists, focused on drugs and drug therapy, who are well-rounded problem solvers poised to lead in academia, healthcare, industry and society.

• We recruit the best and brightest students who will become critical thinkers empowered to impact society
• We educate using an integrated training system
• We are One Program in pharmaceutical sciences with thematic tracks
• Our program is student-centric and harnesses our unique strengths
• We strive to maximize programmatic relevance in a changing environment

Learn more about the principles that guide the design and execution of our program:

UK Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program Guiding Principles Document

Publication in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Feola DJ, Black EP, McNamara PJ, and Romanelli F.  Development of guiding principles for a new era in graduate education.   American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education .  2019 Mar;83(2):7422.  doi: 10.5688/ajpe7422

Our PhD Program

Scientific tracks.

Medicinal, Bioorganic & Computational Chemistry

Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Engineering

Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics

Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics

Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy

We wish to remember and honor those who inhabited this Commonwealth before the arrival of the Europeans. Briefly occupying these lands were the Osage, Wyndott tribe, and Miami peoples. The Adena and Hopewell peoples, who are recognized by the naming of the time period in which they resided here, were here more permanently. Some of their mounds remain in the Lexington area, including at UK’s Adena Park.

In more recent years, the Cherokee occupied southeast Kentucky, the Yuchi southwest Kentucky, the Chickasaw extreme western Kentucky and the Shawnee central Kentucky including what is now the city of Lexington. The Shawnee left when colonization pushed through the Appalachian Mountains. Lower Shawnee Town ceremonial grounds are still visible in Greenup County.

We honor the first inhabitants who were here, respect their culture, and acknowledge the presence of their descendants who are here today in all walks of life including fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals.

• PhD in Pharmacy

What does a PhD in Pharmacy Involve?

A PhD in Pharmacy can involve a wide range of subject areas to specialise in. These may include new drug discovery, clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutics, pharmacology and microbiology (to name a few examples).

How long does it take to get a PhD in Pharmacy?

As a full-time doctoral student in the UK, it should take you 3 years to earn a PhD Pharmacy. If you’re studying for a part-time PhD, expect to need about 6 years to complete your research thesis. As is the norm in postgraduate research, you’re likely to register first as an MPhil student, with an upgrade viva at the half-way point leading you to fully enrolling as a PhD student. Postgraduate research programmes are designed on the basis of independent learning and development. As a doctoral student it’s ultimately your responsibility to maintain a focus on time management (with the support of your university supervisor) to ensure that you complete your postgraduate research in good time.

Browse PhDs in Pharmacy

A next-generation genetic technology to identify biotechnologically-valuable enzymes and transporters, development of fluorescent organic molecules for application in super-resolution imaging techniques, ubiquitin-dependent signalling pathways in ageing, speciation in facultatively sexual species, energy dissipation in human soft tissue during impacts, what are the typical entry requirements for a pharmacy phd programme.

In the UK, you should expect most universities to ask for a minimum of a 2:1 undergraduate degree or the equivalent grade from an institution outside of the UK. The degree will need to have been in a field that’s relevant to Pharmacy. You may still be eligible to apply if you have a grade lower than a 2:1, if you also hold a Master’s degree. If English is not your first language, then the University will ask for evidence of your English language proficiency. Usually this is a minimum IELTS test score of 6.5 for research programmes however this may be higher from one university to another.

How much does a Pharmacy PhD cost?

In a UK university, UK based postgraduate research students should expect to incur annual tuition fees in the region of £4,500/year. With a full-time PhD lasting 3 years, this equates to £13,500 in fees. This is on the basis that you’re studying full time; part time students should expect to pay lower fees, with some variability between institutions about how this is calculated. For international students (including now EU students), the annual tuition fee costs around £23,500/year, equating to £70,500 over the span of 3 years. As with all PhDs, potential students will need to consider living costs and any bench fees that may be expected by their particular project or graduate school.

What can you do with a PhD in Pharmacy?

Two common career paths taken by Pharmacy PhDs are to continue into post-doctoral research roles , followed by lectureships and even professorships. The second route that many take is to develop their careers within the pharmaceutical industry. This may in itself involve further research, such as involvement in clinical trials. PhD graduates may become involved in regulation or perhaps move out of the field into areas such as medical writing and publishing. As a PhD holder you’ll have developed many valuable transferable skills in addition to your academic skills, including excellent communication skills, making you attractive to many recruiters.

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