Pharmacology BSc (Hons)

This course is in clearing

Overview

Course modules

If you don't have the standard qualifications or you're coming from an extended break in education, our foundation year is the perfect building block to move you onto the next level, even if you're not sure if this is the right degree for you. This introductory path also provides insights into the various pharmacology career opportunities available to graduates. You'll get a grounding in topics like maths and ICT, which are essential for any science degree. You'll get an overview of biology, chemistry and physics, all topics that will set you up for your full undergraduate degree. You'll also have the chance to apply your learning with an optional short work placement to get you acclimatised to the pharmacology industry.

In the first year of the pharmacology degree, you will gain foundational knowledge in essential sciences through modules in chemistry, cell biology, microbiology, and biochemistry and molecular biology. The pharmacology programme emphasises practical laboratory skills, scientific analysis, and human anatomy and physiology, building a strong base for understanding drug actions and biological processes. The pharmacology course also supports professional development with a focus on employability, academic writing, and transferable skills.

In the second year of the pharmacology degree, you will deepen your knowledge of drug discovery, development, and regulation while exploring topics such as immunology, physiological systems, and cellular biochemistry. The pharmacology programme emphasises practical skills in monitoring physiological functions, investigating drug actions, and conducting biochemical analyses.

In the third year of the pharmacology degree, you'll explore advanced topics such as neuropsychopharmacology, cardiovascular and pulmonary pharmacology, and cutting-edge innovations like AI and personalised medicine. The pharmacology programme delves into toxicology, immunopharmacology, and emerging therapeutics for diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Entry requirements

Degree: 112 UCAS points
Degree with foundation year: 64 UCAS points

What makes this course different

£27,000 starting salary

UEL students successfully completing this pharmacology degree achieved an impressive salary of £27,000, 15 months after graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2021).

Highly rated by our students

100 per cent of students surveyed on this course responded positively to questions on “Academic Support” in the 2025 National Student Survey. (National Student Survey 2025, Results published 9 July 2025)

Outstanding facilities

Your learning will take place in our multi-million-pound bioscience teaching laboratories. Our equipment is in line with industry standards, which will support your transition into employment.

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Course options

Start date

Degree

UCAS code: B210

Pharmacology BSc (Hons), home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant ,
  • Full time, 3 years
  • Pound 9535 per year. Subject to change, see Fees, Funding and Additional Costs below.

Pharmacology BSc (Hons), home applicant, part time

  • Home Applicant ,
  • Part time
  • pro-rata full time fee

Pharmacology BSc (Hons), international applicant, full time

  • International Applicant ,
  • Full time, 3 years
  • Pound 16020 per year

Degree with foundation year

with foundation year
UCAS code: B416

Pharmacology BSc (Hons), home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant ,
  • Full time, 4 years
  • Pound 9535 per year. Subject to change, see Fees, Funding and Additional Costs below.

Pharmacology BSc (Hons), international applicant, full time

  • International Applicant ,
  • Full time, 4 years
  • Pound 16020 per year

Your future career

We offer dedicated careers support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting-edge technologies and facilities. Our pharmacology course will be a great foundation for your future career, whether it be in clinical pharmacology or in a more general science job role.

Industry links

Our annual career conferences have been a source of inspiration, encouragement and valuable information and advice for pharmacology students. These events include talks by alumni, employers and recruitment agencies. Your pharmacology degree will leave you well-placed to take up a research post, maybe at a university or in a research institute, to enter the exciting field of drug discovery. You'll also be able to apply for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine as a graduate.

We also recently hosted the Cross-Institutional Students’ Pharmacology Society Networking event. The event brought together aspiring pharmacologists for a day of networking, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Graduate employers

Our graduates have found pharmacology jobs with a wide range of employers, including the NHS, pharmacies, laboratories, and the wider pharmacology sector. The story of our alumnus Suman Gurung gives an idea of how our course can kick-start your career. He got a BPS bursary worth £2,000 to attend an intensive, one-week residential research techniques course. Suman's excellent final-year stem cell research project, conducted with course leader Dr Ayoub, helped earn him a first-class honours degree. He then landed a job at a cosmetics company working on stem cell therapies for baldness.

Job roles

Graduates from this pharmacology course have gone on to careers as clinical trial administrators, dispensers and technical officers. Alumna Hilda Bellony started her career at Imperial College Hospital after graduating from UEL. She became a researcher at Imperial College London and now works at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Whether you pursue a role in clinical pharmacology or another area, our pharmacology degree will provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.

Further study

For those interested in advancing their education, our pharmacology course provides a strong foundation for postgraduate study.

You might decide to pursue postgraduate study on our MSc courses or explore a career in research on our MRes programme led by Prof Winston Morgan. The university also delivers PGCE courses for those interested in teaching science.

Portrait of a cheerful woman wearing glasses and a black top, seated indoors in a bustling canteen or food hall, with soft, ambient lighting and people gathered around tables behind her.
The Career Zone team was great at helping me with mock interviews. My course leader even gave me example pharmacology questions to revise.”
Roxy Mulligan

Pharmacology BSc (Hons) student, who did a placement at GSK

How we support your career ambitions

Our pharmacology course is geared towards thinking about your future, especially with its work placements and work experience that align with pharmacology career opportunities. Our annual career conferences have been a source of inspiration, encouragement and valuable information and advice for pharmacology students. These events include talks by alumni, employers and recruitment agencies. Your degree will leave you well-placed to take up a research post at a university or in a research institute, entering the exciting field of drug discovery. You could also apply for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine as a pharmacology graduate.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including: 

  • Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, and flexible part-time work in pharmacology
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services
  • Careers workshops and employer networking events
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top: 

  • Work-based projects
  • Cross-institutional networking events and visits to leading pharmacology organisations
  • Support in starting a new business
  • London on our doorstep

How you'll learn

You will design and test your own experiments under the guidance of industry experts. These activities will enhance your independence, knowledge and skills, highly sought after by employers in the pharmaceutical industry.

Guided independent study

Our innovative Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) approach enhances face-to-face learning by providing students with scheduled on-campus contact hours and additional learning opportunities. Through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), students can access course materials and resources beyond their scheduled hours. We offer access to industry-standard technology and specialised spaces to prepare students for their future careers. Dedicated time for activities and development, along with a holistic approach to learning, fosters academic, personal, and professional growth. Students benefit from career support through on-campus and virtual Career Zones, personalised support services, and a dedicated online portal, Track My Future (TMF).

Academic support

Students are supported with academic or subject-related queries by a programme director, module leaders, academic advisors (you’ll have an academic advisor from the teaching team as soon as you arrive with us), and university central support services.

Dedicated personal tutor

If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, English, maths, or statistics, academic tutors offer workshops, drop-in sessions, and one-to-one appointments to help you achieve your potential.

You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the university from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses. Our Student Support hubs feature centralised helpdesks.

UEL provides support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

Workload

The approximate percentages for this course are: 

  • Year 1: 180 hours - Taught Sessions, 60 hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 960 hours - Independent Learning
  • Year 2: 185 hours - Taught Sessions, 55 hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 960 hours - Independent Learning
  • Year 3: 188 hours - Taught Sessions, 52 hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 960 hours - Independent Learning

Your timetable

Each year you will spend up to 240 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.

Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.

Class sizes

The size of classes can vary depending on the nature of the course, module and activity. This can range from large groups in a lecture theatre setting, to smaller groups taking part in seminars and collaborative work allowing for in-depth discussions on pharmacology.

How you'll be assessed

We'll assess you with a mixture of coursework and exams. Coursework includes essays, research reports, group and seminar presentations and a final-year project. Most of the assessment in your first year is by coursework and we'll give you as much feedback as possible. 

  • Year 1 - 58% Portfolio/Coursework, 42% Laboratory/Practical/ICT
  • Year 2 - 35% Portfolio/Coursework 32% Written Exam/Timed Assessment, 25% Laboratory/Practical/ICT, 8% Group Project/Presentation
  • Year 3 - 57% Portfolio/Coursework, 28% Written Exam/Timed Assessment, 10% Case Study/PBL, 5% Group Project/Presentation 

You'll always receive detailed feedback outlining your strengths and how you can improve. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 14 working days, although you will receive immediate feedback following many of our face to face assessments.

Campus and facilities

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by School of Health, Sport and Bioscience

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

Official student data from Discover Uni

The banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).

Statistics for BSc (Hons) Pharmacology Degree, full time

Statistics for BSc (Hons) Pharmacology Degree, full time

What our students and staff say

Biotechnology
My journey at UEL has been an exciting and dynamic learning experience for me. The excellent support and expertise of the lecturers have enhanced my knowledge, building up a strong scientific background. The work placement opportunities provided by UEL add to the experience, helping to put theory into practice. My pharmacovigilance placement with MHRA was a very good way of using my pharmacology knowledge in real life."

Veronica Franklin

Pharmacology, BSc (Hons)

Man standing in the middle of brick archway, with jacket and backpack, smiling at camera
My experience at UEL is something I will always be grateful for. Samir and other lecturers were endlessly encouraging and supportive, and I am keen to push any opportunity for growth. Without such amazing guidance, I'm not sure I'd be having the success I have today."

Peter Ashdown

Pharmacology, BSc (Hons)