phd in clinical pharmacy in uk

School of Pharmacy MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, School of Pharmacy MPhil/PhD (2024), click here

The UCL School of Pharmacy is a world-leading centre for pharmacy education and research in pharmacy and biomedical sciences. UCL is ranked  4th in the world for pharmacology and pharmacy  (QS Rankings 2024) and  2nd in the world for pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences  (Shanghai Rankings 2023). Furthermore, London was ranked 1st in the QS Best Student Cities 2024 list, making it an ideal location in which to study.

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26), programme starts, applications accepted.

Applications should be submitted at least three months prior to your preferred start date.

Applications closed

Applications not yet open

• 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

The UCL School of Pharmacy stands as a global leader in research across pharmacy, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery, pharmaceutics, and pharmacology.

Renowned for its high-quality research, the School excels in discovering new chemical entities, developing advanced gene therapies for a variety of diseases, and pioneering nanofabrication techniques for personalised drug delivery.

School of Pharmacy PhD students will be able to work in a dynamic and innovative research environment, as well as allowing you to pursue original research and make a distinct and significant contribution to your field. 

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, School of Pharmacy PhD 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

Recent PhD students have found postdoctoral positions in universities in the UK and around the world. Others have found careers in industry, in regulatory affairs, the NHS, scientific publishing, drug licensing, and clinical trial research.

This data is aggregated from the Graduate Outcomes survey data from 2017-2022.

Employability

The programme offers essential transferable skills, preparing our postgraduate researchers to advance beyond their research degrees into prominent roles in academia, industry, and consultancy. It focuses on enhancing crucial skills for early-stage researchers and professionals, including effective communication, dissemination of research findings, and project management.

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

The duration of a full-time research degree is usually three to four years. You register initially for the MPhil degree.

Within three months of joining the programme, you will be expected to agree the basic structure of your research project with your supervisor, along with the appropriate research methods and a realistic plan of your work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for comments and feedback. You will then undertake this project as part of your supervisor’s research team.

You will be expected to upgrade from MPhil to PhD within 9-12 months of enrolment. To complete your upgrade, you submit a report summarising your research to date, and present and answer questions about this work at a viva voce examination.

In your second year, you will continue to explore your research hypothesis and to collect and analyse novel data.  In your third year, you complete your data collection and analysis, and prepare your thesis. You will be encouraged to present your findings at conferences and are required to present at PhD Research Days.

Following the third year, you may be eligible for a year of 'completing research status' if you meet the required criteria, to complete your thesis and to take your viva examination.  

A part-time research degree typically spans five years, beginning with registration for the MPhil degree.

Within the first five months, you will collaborate with your supervisor to establish the basic structure of your research project, select an appropriate research method, and devise a realistic work plan. You will conduct your research as part of your supervisor’s team.

During your second and third years (18-36 months), you will delve deeper into your research hypothesis, collecting and analysing new data. You will also be expected to upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD. This process involves submitting a report summarising your research to date, presenting your work at a viva voce examination, and sharing your findings at a PhD Research Day. 

In the fourth and fifth years, you will finalise your data collection and analysis, and prepare your thesis. You will also be encouraged to present your findings at conferences.

After the fifth year, you may be eligible to transfer to 'completing research status' if you meet the required criteria, for up to two years to finish writing your thesis and undertake your viva examination.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services 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.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide .

Funding your studies

We post studentship information throughout the year. Please visit the School of Pharmacy studentships and funding webpage 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 .

Prospective students are invited to look at our School of Pharmacy Doctoral Training Centre pages for more information about how to apply, and also for further information on existing PhD 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]

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students .

Prospective Students Graduate

• Graduate degrees
• Taught degrees
• Taught Degrees
• Applying for Graduate Taught Study at UCL
• Research degrees
• Research Degrees
• Funded Research Opportunities
• Doctoral School
• Funded Doctoral Training Programmes
• Applying for Graduate Research Study at UCL
• Teacher training
• Teacher Training
• Early Years PGCE courses
• Primary PGCE courses
• Secondary PGCE courses
• Further Education PGCE programme
• How to apply
• The IOE approach
• Teacher training in the heart of London
• Why choose UCL?
• Entrepreneurship
• Inspiring facilities and resources
• Careers and employability
• Your global alumni community
• Your wellbeing
• Postgraduate Students' Association
• Your life in London
• Accommodation
• Funding your Master's

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy is a research area within which you can focus your studies as part of our suite of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences research programmes (MPhil, MD, PhD).

• Fees and funding

We aim to offer knowledge and expertise for a career in the pharmaceutical industry, academia or in primary/secondary care.

Administrative contact(s)

Mrs wendy davies.

Postgraduate Research Administrator

• Email [email protected]
• Telephone +44 (0)29 2087 6419

Research themes

• Informing and influencing the practice of pharmacy
• Development of policy around medicines usage and approval
• Patient perceptions
• Socioeconomic Research.

Areas of Expertise

Is in the development and application of health-related quality-of-life measures with which to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of various drug therapies in a number of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s-type dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and cancer. A composite measure of health status is employed to evaluate patient outcomes using two methodological approaches: firstly, through hypothesis testing studies such as randomised controlled trials and secondly, through the routine application of quality-of-life measures in clinical decision-making (including prescribing) and patient monitoring.

Other research expertise includes:

• development of models for benefit/risk assessment of medicines
• drug treatment decision support systems
• issues relating to global pharmaceutical development and its regulation.

You can search our studentships or find out more about funding.

Tuition fees

Students from the uk.

Get the latest information on postgraduate fees.

Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

Students from the rest of the world (international), programme information.

For programme structure, entry requirements and how to apply, visit the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences programme.

PhD Studentships and projects

Related courses.

• Browse by School

Related subjects

• Search subjects

Related links

• Postgraduate tuition fees Chevron right
• Admissions criteria for postgraduate study Chevron right
• Information for your country Chevron right

Postgraduate

Progress happens when extraordinary people come together to think about what matters most. Join a community where everyone is empowered to reach their potential and make a difference.

Postgraduate prospectus 2025

Download a copy of our prospectus, school and subject brochures, and other guides.

Order or download

Get in touch if you have a question about studying with us.