Pharmaceutical Science (Placement Year) Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)

The power to change lives

On our Pharmaceutical Science BSc (Placement Year), you will study themes across the disciplines of biology, chemistry, and pharmacology to understand the principles of drug design, development, synthesis, function, characterisation, delivery and side effects.

You will also explore the wider societal and regulatory context of drug development and use and how laboratory drugs are translated into viable consumer products.

You will be taught by our academics whose extensive pharmaceutical science research experience includes the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of various cancers; developing new chemistries for making drugs; and biomedical imaging agents to probe drug activity in cells.

This degree is ideal if you are looking for a career in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries, offering you the scientific knowledge, practical lab skills and career-ready mindset to succeed. You will also build transferable skills and analytical training that will open up potential careers in other fields such as management, teaching, marketing and finance.

Along with your placement year, your degree will be an excellent foundation for a career both within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries and beyond, offering you the scientific knowledge, practical lab skills and career-ready mindset to succeed. Plus, you will pay just 20% of the standard tuition fee during your placement year.

Your journey through pharmaceutical science

Our academics have carefully designed this course to provide you with a structured, progressive training in pharmaceutical science.

* In Year 1 you will lay the foundations of your knowledge that you will build upon through the following years of your degree. You’ll cover core themes including infection and immunity, cell structure and function, organic and inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry and pharmacology.

* In Year 2 you will gain a deeper understanding of biochemistry (how biological processes work on a molecular level), organic synthesis (how drugs are synthesised), and their action within the body (pharmacology), along with how we can probe and understand their actions and interactions.

* You will spend Year 3 on a work placement in industry, building your professional toolkit and gaining valuable insights into a career in pharmaceutical science. You will return to Lancaster to complete your fourth year with renewed confidence and drive to achieve your goals.

* In Year 4, you will study advanced topics in both pharmacology and chemistry which will further develop your skills and knowledge.

You will apply your skills by undertaking a major research project as part of one of our research groups, alongside postgraduate students and postdoctoral staff. This is an exciting opportunity for you to address a significant contemporary research problem and apply your learning to global health challenges.

A hands-on course

You will develop your practical skills from the start of your studies in our modern, research-grade teaching laboratories.

They will be at the centre of your degree and are where you will put the knowledge you have acquired from lectures and tutorials into practice.

As a pharmaceutical science student you will benefit from our biomedical and life sciences labs and our chemistry labs and analytical facilities.

You will gain hands-on experience (depending upon your specialisation) of using equipment and facilities such as:

* our bioimaging facility

* protein purification and characterisation facilities

* cell sorters

* confocal microscopes

* flow cytometers

* PCR thermocyclers

* cell culture facilities

* advanced chemical synthesis techniques

* chemical characterisation, including infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass-spectrometry

* chemical separations, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)