Pharmacy (Professional Msc)

Pharmacy (Professional MSc) - MSc

Open to pharmacists in all areas of healthcare, Keele’s MSc is built around your professional practice. Three compulsory modules prepare you to design and carry out advanced research focused on a relevant area of interest, workplace procedure or practice. For over two decades, Keele University has built an excellent reputation for flexible distance learning that supports practicing pharmacists to develop their specialist knowledge, enhance professional practice and advance their careers. You’ll be supported by a team of experienced, friendly and approachable academic, administrative and technical staff, including your own supervisor for your research project.

Month of entry

February

Mode of study

Online programme, Part time

Location

Online

Subject area

Pharmacy

Fees for 2025/26 academic year

UK - Part time: £4,250 per year

Duration of study

1 year

Apply now

Why study Pharmacy (Professional MSc) at Keele University?

The course benefits from the expertise of experienced academics and practicing pharmacists

MSc offers opportunity to evaluate professional practice within your workplace – past projects have included evaluations of services such as pharmacist-led medication reviews

Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning (CPD4ALL) has a reputation for stimulating courses which meet the needs of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals

Reap the benefit of our longstanding expertise having offered flexible, tailored distance learning provision for busy professionals for over 20 years and dedicated online learning since 2012

Flexible part-time online delivery and modular content allows you to personalise CPD to suit your own needs, experience and qualifications

Course summary

In the fast changing world of pharmacy and healthcare provision, professional development has become essential to advance your career and ensure emerging best prescribing practice transfers to patients, the public and/or your employer.

Studied for one year online – at a time and place that suits you – this professionally focused MSc has been developed for pharmacists working in any patient-facing sector of practice, including hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy and in a GP practice.

It is designed to meet your own learning needs and that of your employer. You’ll not only be able to put your new knowledge and skills to use at work from the outset, but also tailor your master’s level research project so that your findings are directly applicable to your professional practice for the benefit of both yourself and your workplace. You will undertake a six-month service evaluation or research project.

Keele University has become known within the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector for delivering effective, highly flexible continuing professional development (CPD) and lifelong learning for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics and other health care professionals.

We purposefully minimise the impact for your employer: you will not need to be released from work to study and do not need to attend the University in person. All contact with University personnel is done virtually. Furthermore, all of the supervision, academic and personal support you need to succeed will be provided by the University.

While many of our students are sponsored by their employers, some are self-funded and we will try to assist you in identifying appropriate financial support if required, though this cannot be guaranteed. Two current funding streams that we are aware of are: the National Pharmacy Association’s Health Education Foundation Bursary for Community Pharmacists and Pharmacy Research UK’s Research Development Awards.

Next steps

insert-a start insert-a end

Course structure

The Masters programme is taken over one year and it is structured to be suitable for pharmacists from all areas of professional practice and is flexible to your own learning needs and the needs of your employer. There is one intake a year starting in February each year.

The learning materials are delivered on-line. Induction and student progress sessions occur ‘virtually’ so there is no requirement for you to attend Keele University.

As a ‘Professional’ MSc, it is grounded in your individual professional practice. This means that you can focus on an area of interest to you so that you can develop a comprehensive understanding and critical awareness at an advanced level and apply your learning to develop your professional practice/services.

Modules

The module details given below are indicative, they are intended to provide you with an idea of the range of subjects that are taught to our current students. The modules that will be available for you to study in future years are prone to change as we regularly review our teaching to ensure that it is up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods, as well as student voice. The information presented is therefore not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules available in any given year.

Compulsory modules

Introduction to Research Methods (15 credits)

This module aims to develop your understanding of the principles of research, the appropriate use of methodological approaches, and to understand how selected methods may be applied to researching and evaluating practice.

Research in Practice (15 credits)This module aims to develop your knowledge in order to make an informed choice about research design in the context of your practice. You should be able to apply your learning to develop a research proposal focusing on an area of your practice and in doing so develop your interest and expertise in research.

Researching Professional Practice (30 credits)In this module you will undertake a 6 month service evaluation or research project for the Researching Professional Practice module and we strongly encourage you to publish the results of your work and will provide support to enable you to do this.

Next steps

insert-b start insert-b end

Entry requirements

The following section details our typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If you don't see your qualifications listed, please contact us to find out if we can accept your qualifications.

Typical offer:

UK: Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy or equivalent award worth 120 Master’s level credits (FHEQ level 7). You must provide full details of your Diploma syllabus and assessment to enable assessment of its suitability for entry to this course.

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

International applicants: Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy. You must provide full details of your Diploma syllabus and assessment to enable assessment of its suitability for entry to this course. This course is offered online Distance Learning.

We don’t accept degrees from certain universities in Bangladesh, please see our Bangladesh Country Page for more information.

English language requirements

All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from Group D.

References

Normally, you will need to provide at least one academic reference to support your application unless you have been out of study longer than two years. If it has been more than two years since you last studied on a degree-level programme, you will normally need to provide an employment reference instead. For more information about Academic References, please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages.

Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose

Please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages for guidance on what to include in your personal statement.

Recognition of Prior Learning

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process which enables applicants to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study or work and life experiences.

RPL can also be requested for admission onto the start of a programme in lieu of the admission requirements. For more information, see our Recognition of Prior Learning web pages.

General information

The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the typical offer which would be made to candidates, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate's application.

insert-c start insert-c end

insert-d start insert-d end

Your career

Health agencies across the UK, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK, NHS England and NHS Improvement, all agree that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians need the knowledge, clinical skills and behaviours required to provide more patient-centred care.

The NHS in particular is committed to meeting the challenges of a growing and ageing population with the next generation of pro-active, preventative health care, education, advice and treatment. It wants pharmacy professionals to: embrace new ways of working as part of multidisciplinary healthcare teams in GP practices, care homes and urgent care settings such as NHS 111; deliver better and safer services to patients and the public; and help ensure value from the NHS’ investment in medicines.

By studying this MSc, you'll not only learn to spot the potential opportunities to improve patient care and pharmacy practice, but also develop the confidence, skills and knowledge to undertake the appropriate research and evaluation to make the evidence-based recommendations that support it.

Our MSc attracts a broad range of pharmacy professionals, including those working in hospital, GP practices, PCNs, the army, and academia.

The specialist research skills you learn also provide a strong foundation for pursuing further study at doctoral level for those interested in doing so and you could use your MSc to progress to our Professional Doctorate.

Positions may include:

Academic
Lead Pharmacist roles in hospital / GP / PCN
Chief Officer
Acting Dean at Health Education England
Pharmacy advisor at national level

Next steps

insert-e start insert-e end

Teaching, learning and assessment

How you will be taught

The course is delivered entirely online. This includes induction, all learning material, and student progress sessions.

You will need to attend an online induction in February and set aside the equivalent of one to two days (approximately 10-15 hours) for study each week in order to complete your programme. Remember that the online nature of our programme materials, and the fact the MSc focuses on your professional practice, means that you should easily be able to integrate study and work with the support of your employer. You can also choose when and where to study outside of working hours.

Throughout your studies there will be regular virtual 1:1 sessions, providing pastoral and academic support. You will also be assigned a supervisor at the beginning of the Research in Practice module who will support you in planning and undertaking your research.

Keele University has extensive experience of designing programmes of study that are easily accessible and relevant to working healthcare professionals – our distance learning programmes have been running for over 20 years. Throughout your learning journey at Keele University, from the moment you first consider how to meet your professional development needs, you will be fully supported by our team of experienced tutors.

How you will be assessed

Assessment is entirely by coursework, so you don't have to worry about prepping for exams.

As part of the MSc Introduction to Research Methods module, you will undertake an evaluation of two research methods that you might use in your research.

In the Research in Practice MSc module you will develop your research proposal for your project, exploring the aim of your project, how you will conduct your project, analysing the literature and developing a plan for your research project.

The Researching Professional Practice MSc final module assessment is to write a 10,000 word dissertation on your research project that will assess ‘thinking’ and practical skills, and your ability to plan, conduct and report on an investigation.

All the MSc modules also assess your ability to critically appraise the literature and relate published theory to everyday practice.

Next steps

insert-f start

Keele Postgraduate Association

Keele University is one of a handful of universities in the UK to have a dedicated students' union for postgraduate students. A fully registered charity, Keele Postgraduate Association serves as a focal point for the social life and welfare needs of all postgraduate students during their time at Keele.

KPA interior

Hugely popular, the KPA Clubhouse (near Horwood Hall) provides a dedicated postgraduate social space and bar on campus, where you can grab a bite to eat and drink, sit quietly and read a book, or switch off from academic life at one of the many regular events organised throughout the year. The KPA also helps to host a variety of conferences, as well as other academic and career sessions, to give you and your fellow postgraduates the opportunities to come together to discuss your research, and develop your skills and networks.

insert-f end

Our expertise

Teaching staff

Research within the School bridges the interface between new advances in science and technology with medicine and clinical practice, bringing together biological scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians and clinicians.

We have strong links to major employers such as Well, Boots and the National Health Service. It is a tight-knit community of undergraduate and postgraduate students, led by a team of academics with experience of working within a variety of pharmacy sectors and supported by a team of administrators. Together, we are committed to providing you with the best possible educational experience in a friendly setting; much like the ethos Keele University was founded on – the pursuit of truth in the company of friends. We embrace teaching innovation and adopt a variety of teaching and learning methods to enhance your experience with us at Keele University.

Teaching team includes:

Prof Simon White, Reader in Pharmacy Practice – Simon Joined Keele in 2010 from the University of Sheffield where he lectured in public health. His professional background relates principally to clinical pharmacy; his PhD thesis centred on cardiac rehabilitation patients’ perspectives of medicines and lifestyle modification. He is primarily interested in the fields of medicines usage and pharmacy practice, though he has research interests in a diverse variety of related fields, including public health, health services research, implementation science and pharmacy education.

Rose-Marie O'Byrne, MSc Programme Manager – Rose-Marie has worked in practice for over two decades in both community and secondary care sectors in a variety of roles including as a prescribing pharmacist. She joined Keele University as a permanent member of staff in 2017 working across both the clinical diploma programme and the independent prescribing course. In 2021 she took on the MSc programme management. She has a particular interest in the wellbeing of post graduate students which she explored as part of her MA thesis.

Dr Simon Jacklin, Lecturer – Having studied both his MSc and PhD with the School, Simon was appointed as lecturer in 2019. A registered pharmacist with experience in both community and hospital pharmacy, his research and scholarship interests are focused on the education of health professionals. He is particularly interested in clinical decision-making and consultation skills, as well as virtual patient simulations and interprofessional education.
Dr Rebecca Venables, Senior Lecturer – With a background in both community pharmacy and paediatric research, Rebecca joined Keele University in 2013. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham the same year, investigating barriers to administering oral medicines to children suffering from chronic conditions. Her research interests lie within the field of paediatrics and include: barriers to medicines adherence, acceptance of solid oral dosage forms, unlicensed/off-label medicines use and prescribing.
Dr Jessica Thomson, Lecturer – Having already completed her undergraduate degree at Keele, Jessica returned in 2013 to undertake her PhD, which evaluated the use of interactive avatars in pharmacist pre-registration training. She joined the School in 2016 as a lecturer and teaches on a range of clinical and pharmacy practice areas. With experience working in both hospital and community pharmacy, Jessica currently works as a locum pharmacist. She is co-developer of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Shared Decision Making Learning Package and is currently working with NICE and the Personalised Care Institute to train healthcare professionals in Shared Decision Making.

Next steps

insert-g start insert-g end

insert-h start insert-h end

Visit us Enquire about this course Programme specifications

Book to visit us