Why study this course with LJMU?
- Accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Taught by one of the oldest and well-established schools of pharmacy in the world
- Excellent links and work placement opportunities with leading local hospitals, community pharmacies and primary care teams
- Strong focus on the application of science to clinical practice
- Work placements, student-patient engagement and inter-professional learning from Year 1
- Strong support for students personal and professional development to help achieve their full potential
- LJMU ranked 18th in the UK for pharmacy and pharmacology (The Guardian University Guide 2025)
- 97% of students surveyed said the teaching staff on this course were good at explaining things (NSS 2024)
- International Foundation Year course available offering direct progression onto this degree programme - visit LJMU's International Study Centre to find out more
About your course
By studying the professionally-accredited undergraduate Masters degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) at Liverpool John Moores University you will enjoy innovative and high quality pharmacy teaching, plus opportunities to complete placements in community, hospital and primary care settings, inter-professional learning, patient/public engagement and practice simulations.
The MPharm Pharmacy programme offers you the opportunity to develop as a key healthcare practitioner with an advanced understanding of the science-basis for practice, leading you to become an 'expert in medicines'. We place a strong emphasis on ensuring the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviours and values necessary for individuals to work in partnership with patients and other healthcare professionals in order to provide accessible, compassionate and integrated person-centred care with a focus on enhancing patient outcomes.
Our MPharm programme undergoes continual review to ensure we provide our students with the most up-to-date knowledge, practice-relevant skills and professional confidence to become competent, safe and effective person-centred prescribing practitioners, while still retaining the advanced scientific knowledge and skills basis that is so unique to pharmacy.
Students will graduate from the LJMU programme with the confidence to continue personal and professional development more independently, with the confidence to begin making good clinical and professional decisions based on evidence and risk assessment, and with a spirit of team-based working. Following graduation with an MPharm Pharmacy degree, students will be fully prepared to begin the Foundation Training Year for trainee pharmacists, as part of the formal professional development path leading towards registration with the GPhC.
Course modules
What you will study on this degree
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Core modules
Optional modules
Core modules
Core modules
Professional accreditation
The MPharm Pharmacy programme is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Your Learning Experience
Excellent facilities and learning resources
We adopt an active blended learning approach, meaning you will experience a combination of face-to-face and online learning during your time at LJMU. This enables you to experience a rich and diverse learning experience and engage fully with your studies. Our approach ensures that you can easily access support from your personal tutor, either by meeting them on-campus or via a video call to suit your needs.
Teaching is provided via a combination of structured online learning and lectures, interactive workshops, practical laboratory and clinical practice sessions, small-group tutorials, seminars and professional placements. You will be expected to engage fully with all aspects of the programme (including, for example: lectures, workshops, practicals, simulation and placements) and to undertake additional study around the taught subjects in your own time using our libraries and virtual learning environment, Canvas.
As the course progresses, practical work and clinical skills development accounts for an increasingly large proportion of your study time, and you will also develop some of the skills you need to undertake independent research.
The MPharm Pharmacy programme makes full use of innovative learning enhancement practices, which our students tell us they value very highly. This includes the use of technology to enhance the learning experience, for example through the use of interactive patient communication/clinical assessment mannequins and virtual patient technology during “clinical simulation” workshops. In addition, we incorporate development of a range of clinical, professional and interpersonal skills necessary for becoming an effective and safe, future independent prescriber.
Work-related learning
Applying scientific principles to practical clinical situations is the key focus of this programme, and there is no better way to practise this than by undertaking a professional placement. Thanks to our links with many local hospitals, community pharmacies and primary care providers, you will be able to gain direct experience of the day-to-day work of a pharmacist and build up your skills in preparation for your Foundation Training Year. Employers tell us that our graduates are able to apply excellent clinical skills as soon as they begin work, and this is largely down to clinical experience gained on the course.
Dedicated personal tutor, plus study skills support
One-to-one support is crucial for your academic and career development, and for this reason you will be allocated a personal tutor for the duration of your studies at LJMU. They will arrange regular tutorials with you to discuss course issues, monitor progress, support professional development and plan work.
The school is fully committed to promoting a learning environment that supports a culture of equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) and has a Disability Support Coordinator, an EDI Coordinator and a School EDI Working Group. Personal Tutors also play a vital role in promoting awareness of support services for students.
Assessment varies depending on the modules you choose, but will usually include a combination of exams and coursework.
We acknowledge that all students perform differently depending on how they are assessed, which is why we use a combination of different assessment methods. For example, coursework could be in the form of a pharmaceutical care plan for a fictional patient, development of a medicines formulary, preparation and delivery of a research seminar or a viva voce examination to assess your awareness and understanding of your own practice.
We pride ourselves on developing our students by ensuring we equip you with the knowledge and skills base required in your journey to become competent professional pharmacists. As such, we include assessments to ensure you meet the minimum expectations for competence in various skills at each level of study. You will have to carry out clinical examinations of patients and take practical exams to ensure that you can perform the core duties of a pharmacist under UK law and meet the expectations and Professional Standards of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Over the course of the programme, exams range from multiple-choice or short answer questions to longer analytical essays or discussions of therapeutic strategies in a clinical scenario.
Where you will study
What you can expect from your School
You will study at the Byrom Street site in the university's City Campus in the heart of Liverpool. Our state-of-the-art laboratories and teaching spaces will ensure you enjoy a first-class study environment. The Avril Robarts library is within easy walking distance and here you'll find all the information you need to support your studies.
Course tutors
Dr Alice McCloskey
- Programme Leader
I enjoy teaching on the MPharm course and conducting research. LJMU has a friendly and supportive environment
I enjoy teaching on the MPharm course and conducting research. LJMU has a friendly and supportive environment
Dr McCloskey is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. She studied MPharm Pharmacy and has a PhD. Her area of expertise is novel drug delivery systems and medicines use in patients at extremes of age (children and older adults). Dr McCloskey’s research interests span bench to bedside activities. She works closely with the NHS and pharmaceutical industry to improve the use of existing medicines in patients at the extremes of age. She also designs novel formulations to provide a personalised medication approach for patients where formulations do not exist or conditions have no cure. Dr McCloskey’s work contributes to research and teaching in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. She is co-lead of the Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics Research Group and a member of the Formulation and Drug Delivery Research Group and Institute for Health Research.
You are prepared for the challenges you may face in your career and the future. The course is based on the application of knowledge to real life scenarios, enabling you to think critically
Career paths
The MPharm qualification is your first step towards qualification as a pharmacist in the UK.
When you graduate, you will need to undertake a Foundation Training Year in practice and be successful in a national registration assessment to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). Once you have demonstrated your practical competence, taken professional examinations and provided the GPhC with a statement of fitness to practice (and sometimes evidence of a Disclosure Barring Service check), you will be eligible to work in any branch of pharmacy.
The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences has strong links with a number of leading hospitals and primary care providers, including the Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust (at the Royal and at Aintree), Broadgreen, Arrowe Park (Wirral), Countess of Chester, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Whiston Hospital, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (Mental Health) Trust, Merseycare and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, and also with local GP medical centres and community pharmacies. This means you can be confident that you will have excellent training on placement and with teacher-practitioner pharmacists on campus during your studies.
A career in pharmacy has excellent prospects and salaries are very competitive. Most pharmacists work in hospitals, health centres and community pharmacies. There are also opportunities in the drugs development industry or in university-based research.
Useful links
Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)
The site provides more information on pharmacy as a career; the different sectors pharmacists can work in – such as community, hospital and industry; and videos of different specialisms within pharmacy – such as A&E pharmacists. Information is also available about pharmacist independent prescribing.
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the pharmacy regulator. The Council's job is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of members of the public by upholding standards and public trust in pharmacy. The site includes details regarding the education requirements of become a pharmacist.
Student Futures - Careers, Employability and Enterprise Service
A wide range of opportunities and support is available to you, within and beyond your course, to ensure our students experience a transformation in their career trajectory. Every undergraduate curriculum includes Future Focus during Level 4, an e-learning resource and workshop designed to help you to develop your talents, passion and purpose.
Every student has access to Careers Zone 24/7, LJMU's suite of online Apps, resources and jobs board via the LJMU Student Futures website.
Tuition fees and funding
- Home full-time per year:
- £9,535
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in accordance with any changes to the maximum allowable fees set by the UK Parliament. In the event of such a change, any fee increase will be subject to a maximum cap of 10% of the total course cost as originally stated at the time of your offer.
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:
- library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
- access to programme-appropriate software
- library and student IT support
- free on-campus wifi via eduroam
Additional costs
Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:
- accommodation and living expenditure
- books (should you wish to have your own copies)
- printing, photocopying and stationery
- PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
- mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
- field trips (travel and activity costs)
- placements (travel expenses and living costs)
- student visas (international students only)
- study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
- academic conferences (travel costs)
- professional-body membership
- graduation (gown hire etc)
Funding
There are many ways to fund study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you'll find all of the information you need on our specialist funding pages.
There will be transport costs for placements across all levels.
Entry requirements
Please choose your qualifications below to view requirements
Grades/points required from qualifications: BBB-ABB (120-128)
Work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth by visiting the UCAS Tariff Calculator.
Qualification requirements
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply.
All candidates who pass the initial admissions assessment will be interviewed. In order to prepare for your interview you should consider the following:
- Consider why you are interested in studying pharmacy
- Think about what a pharmacist does in their day-to-day role and what the different roles involve (for example community versus hospital pharmacy)
- Consider what key values a pharmacist needs in their profession
The interview will last approximately 15 minutes. Please ensure that you have valid ID with you to show the interviewer.
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The university reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the university. Where this does happen, the university operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.
Further information on the terms and conditions of any offer made, our admissions policy and the complaints and appeals process.