Our MSc in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Assurance is aimed at pharmacy, health and biomedical professionals working in the technical services for the NHS or private sector organisations who want to update their skills and knowledge while gaining an academic qualification.
This three-year part-time course allows you to choose from a range of optional units to enable you to develop in your chosen field of interest. Some units allow you to learn alongside students from other healthcare disciplines.
Some of the topics covered by the course are radiopharmacy, aseptics, formulation sciences, production and clinical trials.
You will learn from experts from the NHS and industry, who deliver lectures and workshops as part of the course.
You will also be able to apply what you learn in practical workshops and visits to and placements in NHS and industrial environments.
We aim to provide you with an understanding of core principles and features of clinical pharmaceutical science and professional training.
Successful completion of the course will enable you to:
Students who complete the full MSc qualification will achieve the objectives for the PGDip, and will also critically and creatively evaluate current issues in practice and conduct research that advances pharmaceutical technology, quality assurance and decision-making related to patient care.
This is a residential and distance learning course. Units will include a taught component delivered in Manchester that is supported by extensive experience achieved in the workplace and on visits to specialist facilities.
We use a blend of online and face-to-face methods. This will include small group tutorials, workshops and experience-based learning. You will have a nominated tutor at the University and your practice base to provide guidance on work-based activities and written assignments.
You will engage in work-based learning and demonstrate this to the academic team by producing portfolios of evidence detailing your experiences gained during each visit or placement.
Each unit has a designated leader who is responsible for individual assessments, under the guidance of the course director. All assessments will be monitored and reviewed by the Exam Board.
You must satisfy the course requirements in Year 1 before you can proceed to Year 2 of the course. The timing of re-sits for written examinations will be decided by the course director on an individual basis.
You will take course units covering a wide range of topics within:
Compulsory Components
Optional Components
Introduction to Clinical Pharmaceutical Science 2 (30 credits)
Introduction to Clinical Pharmaceutical Science 3 (30 credits)
You will complete course units from a selection covering:
Compulsory Components
Optional Components (choose 2)
You will complete your research dissertation.
Compulsory Components
There is flexibility through the range of optional units to allow you to develop in your chosen specialist field. Some units also provide the opportunity to learn alongside students from other healthcare disciplines.
The teaching blocks will be held at Chancellors Conference Centre , with some practical sessions taking place on the University campus.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service
Completing this course will help you develop your chosen career path within the pharmacy profession by gaining advanced clinical knowledge, problem solving skills and a critical awareness of the role of pharmaceutical services within the workplace.
The Radiopharmaceutics & PET Radiochemistry course will equip you with the skills to work as a radiopharmaceutical scientist in a PET radiochemistry centre (cyclotron unit) or in the field of conventional radiopharmacy, providing diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals to nuclear medicine centres and specialised commercial centres.
The Radiopharmaceutics & PET Radiochemistry course will provide you with opportunities to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills in the principles and practice of radiopharmaceutical science.
The course is made up of optional and required modules. The MSc pathway requires modules totalling 180 credits to complete the programme, 60 of which will come from a research project. You will complete the course in one year, from September to September.
Teaching
We use lectures, tutorials and laboratory practicals to deliver most of the modules on the programme. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.
Each 30-credit module typically requires attendance at lectures/tutorials (80%) and labs (20%) for 24 full days. Each of these full days’ will include at least six hours of contact time.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
The course is assessed by a variety of mechanisms including:
The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they may change if the course modules change.
Accreditation
This course is accredited by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine – EANM (Radiopharmacy Education Board) and the Royal Society of Chemistry – RSC.
Expected destinations are the NHS and commercial nuclear medicine services, the pharmaceutical industry or PhD research.
Our Nuclear Medicine: Science & Practice course will give you the skills to deliver safe, high-quality nuclear medicine services based on training in a strong scientific and academic framework in an approved structured service environment.
This course draws on professional expertise from many disciplines. Our lectures will instruct you in clinical practice, radiopharmaceutical, scientific and regulatory issues in nuclear medicine, as well as providing a solid foundation in diagnostic nuclear oncology and radionuclide therapy. The course features practical components, ranging from clinical observations, audit, physics and radiopharmacy experiments and original research.
This course will develop your skills so that you can provide safe, high-quality nuclear medicine services.
This programme develops skills for the provision of safe, high-quality nuclear medicine services by offering nuclear medicine training with a strong scientific and academic framework in an approved structured service environment.
Teaching
If you are an MSc student, you will have 222 hours of lectures. The amount of time you will spend on work placement will typically be around 60 days each year. We expect you to undertake 10 hours of self-study each week.
If you are a PG Dip student, you will have 174 hours of lectures. The amount of time you will spend on work placement will typically be around 60 days each year. We expect you to undertake 10 hours of self-study each week.
If you are a PG Cert student, you will have 120 hours of lectures. The amount of time you will spend on work placement will typically be around 60 days each year. We expect you to undertake 10 hours of self-study each week.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
We will assess you through a variety of methods, including:
The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they may change if the course modules change.
This course is primarily taught at the King’s College London St Thomas’ Campus. All teaching materials are accessible on line via the KEATs eLearning platform to support distance learning and revision. Lectures are delivered at St Thomas’ Hospital with a short mini module at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Work placements are usually undertaken in the students’ own institution (UK students) or in major London Teaching hospitals.
Students continue to work in a range of nuclear medicine services.
