MSc Clinical Pharmacy for Secondary and Tertiary Care | Part-time | MSc PG Cert, PG Dip

Fees and funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students

Fees

The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:

• library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
• access to programme-appropriate software
• library and student IT support
• free on-campus wifi via eduroam

Additional costs

Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:

• accommodation and living expenditure
• books (should you wish to have your own copies)
• printing, photocopying and stationery
• PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
• mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
• field trips (travel and activity costs)
• placements (travel expenses and living costs)
• student visas (international students only)
• study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
• academic conferences (travel costs)
• professional-body membership
• graduation (gown hire etc)

Funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.

Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.

Employability

Further your career prospects

LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.

The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences is a partner with the Centre for Pharmacy Innovation (CfPI). The CfPI provides excellent links with community pharmacy and secondary care, through the other partners, Lloyds Pharmacies and The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS FT. These links have helped to support the development of this programme and provide assurance regarding the relevance of the course and its content.

Pharmacists are in high demand all over the world and a career in Pharmacy is both focused and rewarding. Under the Agenda for Change, many pharmacists require a postgraduate diploma to move from a Grade 6 to a Grade 7 post, with research skills also increasingly being recognised in requirements for Grade 8 posts.

Teaching

An insight into teaching on your course

Study hours

A significant portion of learning activities will take place in your workplace as you apply your acquired knowledge and skills to the care of your patients. Students are expected to undertake approximately 8-10 hours per week of private study (which includes preparation for webinars and workshops, as well as completing assignments).

Workshops and webinars

Following the relaxation of social distancing measures, on-site teaching for workshops (on a mixture of weekday and weekend dates) have resumed.

Depending on the number of applications received, the weekday workshops may need to be run twice. Therefore, you will be informed of your allocated date when you are offered a place on the programme.

Year 1 workshops – March 2025 cohort

Group 1

• Workshop 1
  12 March 2025
• Workshop 2
  23 April 2025
• Workshop 3
  9 July 2025

Group 2

• Workshop 1
  13 March 2025
• Workshop 2
  24 April 2025
• Workshop 3
  10 July 2025

Year 1 workshops – September 2025 cohort

Group 1

• Workshop 1
  10 September 2025
• Workshop 2
  15 October 2025
• Workshop 3
  14 January 2026

Group 2

• Workshop 1
  11 September 2025
• Workshop 2
  16 October 2025
• Workshop 3
  15 January 2026

Year 2 workshops

Those applying for direct entry into the second year of the PgDip (i.e. those who have completed a PgCert at another higher education institute) will normally start by completing the Quality Improvement in Healthcare module.

• The date for the March 2025 cohort workshop is 6 March 2025
• The date for the September 2025 cohort workshop is 9 September 2025

Webinars are held either during weekday lunch times (typically 1.00pm to 2.00pm) or during week day evenings (typically 8:00pm to 9:00pm). Dates will be provided following registration on the programme. Recordings of all sessions will be made available for those unable to attend.

Teaching methods

The programme’s blended learning approach features a range of online directed study activities (including recommended reading, short recorded lectures and quizzes), webinars, face-to-face study days (in the form of seminars and workshops) and workplace-based learning. To develop an ethos of adult learning, didactic teaching methods are minimised and completing the pre-requisites before attending webinars and workshops will enable you to get the most benefit.

Tutor support

The programme team will allocate you with a Personal Tutor who will offer 1:1 tutorials to discuss:

• Your engagement with the programme (based on attendance at workshops, completion of online study materials, providing feedback after study days)
• Key learning points from study days and how you will subsequently change your practice
• Progress with assignments and portfolio activities
• Feedback from summative assessments

Your employer will allocate you a Workplace Education Supervisor (WES) who will provide mentorship and guidance in the workplace and facilitate completion of supervised learning events (SLEs) to provide you with regular feedback on how to develop your practice. Download the requirements for workplace-based support (including WES’ responsibilities). All WES are provided with training that will cover workplace-based learning and assessment, mentoring and feedback skills.

Assessment

How learning is monitored on your programme

To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.

The programme utilises a range of assessment methods including: written reports, reflective essays, portfolios, case presentations, written examinations and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). All assessments are moderated internally and externally, with merits and distinctions being awarded for very good and exceptional overall performance respectively. You will accumulate credits as you complete each module. The MSc research project requires the submission of a project report.

Entry requirements

You will need:

Qualification requirements

Undergraduate degree

• an honours degree in pharmacy or equivalent

Additional requirements

• Interview required
  • You may be interviewed

International requirements

• IELTS
  • IELTS requirements 6.5 (Minimum of 5.5 in each component)

Further information

• Extra Requirements
  • to be a UK registered (GPhC) pharmacist working in a Secondary Care role, with an opportunity to contribute to the clinical care of patients
  • a term of employment sufficient to allow completion of the registered course (1 year for PgCert and 2 years for Diploma). This does not apply to those applying to 'top-up' a Clinical Pharmacy PgDip to the MSc
  • Students that have obtained an appropriate Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy from LJMU or another institution may be considered for direct entry to the 60-credit research project module to top up their award to a full MSc. Students applying for this route do not need to be employed in a role in England, but must be in a position that would allow them to complete a relevant research project. Individuals interested in this route should contact the course leader by emailing: PBS-Office@ljmu.ac.uk to discuss their circumstances prior to submitting an application.
• RPL
  • Recognition of prior learning may be accepted for direct entry onto the 2nd year of the PgDip if you have already completed a pharmacy-related PgCert at another UK university.

Application and selection

Securing your place at LJMU

To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.

You will need to complete our online application form and submit the supporting documents listed in this section. When completing this form, please note:

• The level of entry is 'Postgraduate Taught'
• Mode of study is 'Part time (EU/Home applicants only)'
• You should then be able to find Clinical Pharmacy for Secondary and Tertiary Care (PgCert, PgDip or MSc) when browsing courses. Please ensure that you select the correct target award and corresponding entry date
• For Current/Previous Qualifications, you only need to include details of your pharmacy qualification and any other university qualifications that you have; details of GCSEs, A-levels or International Baccalaureate are not required
• Your personal statement needs to reflect your suitability and aptitude for the programme. For the application to be accepted by the system, this section needs to be at least 3,000 characters long

You will need to upload or complete the following supporting documents:

• Complete our supplementary application form
• Upload certificate(s) for any degree level or postgraduate qualifications listed in your application
• If applying for direct entry to the PgDip or MSc year of the programme

o Transcript from the Board of Examiners (or equivalent title), which lists the modules completed (and their academic credit rating) and mark(s) achieved
o Copies of the module guides for the modules completed or programme guide, to allow the team to assess which modules on the programme can have accreditation of prior experience and learning granted

• If English is not your first language
  o Details of the university level qualification that you have recently completed in English, or
  o A copy of a recent IELTS certificate

The Lead Pharmacist for Education (or equivalent) in your department to e-mail the following documents to pbs-office@ljmu.ac.uk:

• A completed practice-based support and fees declaration form. Please note that this form has been designed to allow Trusts to submit one form for all their pharmacists applying for a particular cohort. Access details of the practice-based support required
• A two-page summary CV from your practice-based pharmacist tutor
• If your employer is paying all or part of your fee, a copy of the purchase order

NOTE: all documents need to be submitted by the application deadline listed on the website. Late submissions may be possible if the programme team are If there is to attach documents after this date, you will need to email them to the School office: PBS-Office@ljmu.ac.uk. Submitting these forms after the deadline can delay your registration and subsequent access to the virtual learning environment.

Application deadlines

Intake: March 2025
Deadline: 13 January 2025

Intake: September 2025
Deadline: 14 July 2025