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Pharmaceutical Formulation and Entrepreneurship MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This MSc will provide students with the skills and knowledge to allow them to participate effectively in the creation and growth of high-impact pharmaceutical business ventures. Its graduates will be ideally positioned to initiate their own start-up companies or join existing biotech or pharmaceutical businesses.

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

Applications closed

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

Applications closed

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Entry requirements

An upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or higher in pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, biotechnology, pharmaceutics or a related field in the life or physical sciences, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

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 will learn how to develop and assess a new business concept, and how to raise finance for and market a business and its outputs. They will build their scientific skill set by exploring four scientific research areas in pharmaceutics, and will interact closely with and be mentored by those who have direct experience of initiating a start-up business.

Who this course is for

The programme is suitable for graduates with a first degree in a physical or life science, not necessarily pharmacy, who wish to launch a business in the pharmaceutical sector or join one of the many fast-growing biotech companies in the UK or worldwide. Those interested in joining major pharmaceutical companies will also benefit.
Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

This programme is unique in equipping students with a broad skill set in both medicines design and entrepreneurship. It is delivered by world-leading academics in both the UCL School of Pharmacy and UCL School of Management and UCL Global Business School for Health.

UCL staff with direct experience of launching a pharmaceutical start-up will teach students best practice and how to overcome the major challenges involved in enterprises of this kind.

UCL’s central London location combines state-of-the-art research with an entrepreneurial dynamic that fosters start-up creation, and provides access to venture capitalists, business angels, and world-leading pharmaceutical companies. UCL Innovation and Enterprise, UCL’s centre for entrepreneurship and business interaction, offers UCL students direct practical support in launching a business.

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

The foundation of your career

Employability skills are embedded in the programme, with emphasis placed on the development of "soft" skills and a series of workshop sessions organised on CV writing, undertaking interviews, and networking. We make extensive efforts to provide opportunities for students to meet with potential employers. Students from this MSc are highly competitive in the global jobs market.

Employability

Graduates from this MSc find work in various areas of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. They are fully equipped with the skills to start their own businesses and can approach UCL Innovation and Enterprise to assist with this if desired. Alternatively, they may join small biotech or major pharmaceutical companies, pursue further research in academia, work in consulting, or join world-leading technology companies where there is increasing emphasis on healthcare and the life sciences. For instance, recent graduates have undertaken PhD research at UCL or University of Cambridge or found work with start-ups such as Intract Pharma.

Networking

Students on this course join a diverse research environment and are able to build networks within the School of Pharmacy with other Masters students, as well as other postgraduate students and academic staff members.

Accreditation

Satisfies the academic requirements for the award of Chartered Chemist (CChem) for students entering the programme between 2018 and 2023 who take the four optional chemistry modules.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical sessions, as well as industrial visits. Assessment is through a combination of written examinations, coursework assignments and project work.

Assessment will be through a combination of written examinations, coursework assignments and project work.

Typically, a 15-credit module includes 150 hours of notional student learning time comprised broadly of teaching time, independent study, assessment, and feedback. This time includes activities that take place in in-person-on-campus contexts such as on-campus lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, studios and workshops, as well as tutor-mediated activities that take place in online environments. Typically, the hours for self-directed studies are around 10 hours a week of study time for each 15-credit module in each semester.

Modules

You will study four compulsory modules in business/innovation and entrepreneurship and choose four scientific modules in the development of dosage forms from a selection of eleven optional modules. Assessment is through a mixture of coursework and exams. You will also undertake a laboratory-based research project and a group project in which you develop a business case to seek funding for a pharmaceutical product or innovation. Your projects are assessed through a written dissertation and an oral presentation.

Compulsory modules








Optional modules






Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Pharmaceutical Formulation and Entrepreneurship.

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 Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) £19,300
Tuition fees (2024/25) £37,500

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

There are no programme-specific additional costs.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

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

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of Pharmaceutical Formulation and Entrepreneurship
  • why you want to study Pharmaceutical Formulation and Entrepreneurship at graduate level
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme at the UCL School of Pharmacy/ UCL School of Management/UCL Global Business School for Health
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree and how this programme meets these needs

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Got questions? Get in touch

School of Pharmacy
School of Pharmacy

sop.pgt@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.