Program Overview

Pharmacology is the science underpinning the action of drugs on biological systems, and its reach and impact – playing a vital role in medicine, nursing, dentistry and veterinary medicine. Pharmacology therefore touches all our lives. 

Our MSc in Pharmacology and Drug Development will provide you with unique and unrivalled opportunities to immerse yourself in the clinical, basic science and industrial aspects of pharmacology. You will gain the skills to play an active role in developing the next generation of drugs – either from first principles in the lab, testing in clinical trials, or taking new products to clinic.

The programme is built around five core modules and two optional modules. These modules will give you the fundamental principles of pharmacology and the clinical relevance of drugs for the major organ systems, whilst demonstrating the drug development process, from initial drug design to understanding the importance of clinical trials. You will finish your year with us by conducting a significant research project in either basic or applied pharmacology to generate novel and cutting-edge research findings. The project, which can be lab or non lab based, will be supported by clinical and industry supervisors in the Centre for Biomedicine, which has a strong record of producing 3/4* publishable work.

You will be based in our Centre for Biomedicine and benefit from their academic, educational and industrial expertise, as well as being taught by scholars from departments such as the Hull Health Trials Unit, and other leading clinical and industrial experts. You will receive high quality tuition into the principles and process of clinical trials, covering a range of crucial topics including study rigour, participant recruitment, data analysis and interpretation and appropriate regulatory and governance issues associated with modern clinical trials.

You will be challenged to think differently and develop skills to become a self-directed learner – allowing you to continually grow your pharmacology knowledge throughout your career.

Through our founding corporate partner Reckitt, a leading global hygiene, health and nutrition company with global brands such as Nurofen and Gaviscon, you will also experience regular contact with an industrial mentor, access to Reckitt’s state-of-the-art Science and Innovation Centre in Hull, and taught sessions delivered by industry employees alongside university colleagues.