Pharmacology degree options

[Buzzcock]

Hello all, my DD wants to do a pharmacology degree and has visited quite a few uni open days over the past 6 months. Just not sure if there is any sort of ranking that she should be aware of that’s important or if all of these are good choices? I think she’s keen on somewhere she can do a year in industry, or get a summer internship. Would prefer not to be in London. Not interested in Oxbridge either (sibling is there so has decided it’s not enough fun!) Predicted all Astars and all 9/8 at GCSE.

Edinburgh, Bath, Manchester, Bristol, Notts and maybe Southampton and/or Leeds (haven’t been to either of those 2 yet, visited and liked all the rest). Visited York, but wasn’t keen.

If anyone knows anything about this degree at these unis, that would be great! Thanks so much!

A vote for Bath here. Extremely highly rated for this field and a specialist in what they used to call sandwich degrees.

Thanks @Piggywaspushed , I think Bath is definitely one of her favourites so far so good to hear it’s got a good rep!

Brother did his pharmacology integrated Masters at Bath, then on to Nottingham for PhD and then onto earning mega bucks with BigPharma

DD did Pharmacology at Bristol and loved it. Had the option of doing a year in industry but decided against it in the end. Pursuing a career in entirely unrelated area, but using the scientific and analytical skills she gained during her degree - that makes her stand out in a world of humanities graduates.

Bristol gave them a very useful module in their last year on employability skills - it was all things like writing cvs, job applications, grant proposals, interview practice etc. I can't remember all the details but it seemed very well thought out.

The course itself was quite flexible in terms of module choices and was properly challenging - she felt stretched by it. There was quite a lot of lab work and contact hours, so it was a fairly full-on student experience.

Thanks @damekindness and @Couchpotato3 !

Friends daughter loves Keele.

At Edinburgh pharmacology is one of several possible specialisations within biomedical sciences. DD has just finished her first year there as a biomed student with a different specialism. The standard 4 year course is the same for all biomed students in years 1 and 2, and includes tasters of all the specialist options, including pharmacology, alongside more general courses such as medical biology and biochemistry. They can also take electives outside the department. Years 3 and 4 are when they specialise, but there is still quite a bit of flexibility - DD is also interested in pharmacology and plans to take some pharmacology modules alongside her own specialism. If A level grades are high enough it is possible to apply for 2nd year entry, which means only one generalist year before specialising (DD decided against this, for various reasons). The biomed department seems pretty well organised and supportive to its students. DD is very happy there - loves the city and is enjoying her course.

Haven’t looked at Keele yet @HairyToity , thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks so much for all the information about your DD’s experience at Edinburgh @PumpkinKnitter - I think it’s DD’s favourite so far (competing with Bath) and she really likes the broader approach with the 4 year degree. She’s not keen to start in second year, as she thinks she’ll miss out socially (not sure if that’s true or not). Did your DD apply with A-level predictions or achieved grades? My DD has heard that it can be hard for RUK applicants to get offers, even with all or majority Astar predictions so is hoping that her personal statement can be good enough (again, don’t know how true that is!) Does your DD feel like there are opportunities for industry experience during summer holidays, as they don’t seem to do years in industry? (Compared to Bath, for example)

They do the same at Newcastle, except over three years. Students specialise from year 2. The son of one of my friends specialised in pharmacology and landed a very good job after graduating.

One caveat about pharmacology is that you have to test drugs on animals as part of the course.

Is she definitely interested in Pharmacology as opposed to Pharmacy? Very different courses but often get confused.

Pharmacy will allow her to practice as a registered Pharmacist in the UK (plus she could still go into pharmaceuticals research if she wanted), pharmacology is more about drug-body interactions, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics etc (which is a relatively small part of the pharmacy degree) and would usually lead to a research based career.

I'm a former assistant professor in one of these areas at one of the universities listed on this thread.

Thanks @RampantIvy - she’s not looked at Newcastle, I don’t think, so will mention it to her. A great student city! She’s aware about the animal testing as they were explicit about it at the open days, but thanks for the reminder.

@Lonelylonelylonely thanks and yes definitely pharmacology that she interested in, as she doesn’t want to do a patient-facing role, and more interested in doing research and working in the Pharma industry afterwards (so am assuming PhD needed at some point)

DD applied for 1st year entry with predicted grades (AstarAstarA) and her offer was AAB. According to the admissions statistics about 35% of RUK applicants for biomed got offers IIRC. I think her personal statement was pretty solid, but she didn’t have any spectacular extras added to it.

After her A level results she was given the option of 2nd year entry, but chose to stick with 1st year. The deciding factor was that she is hoping to do a year abroad in Year 3. At Edinburgh a year abroad is an alternative to year 3, not an additional year, and allocation of spaces is based on academic performance in year 1 plus a personal statement. Also she wanted to be able to enjoy her first year at uni without extra academic stress. Based on DD’s experience it probably wouldn’t matter too much socially. She initially made friends through her accommodation rather than her course, and all new students are offered uni accommodation in their first year.

DD is planning to look for a summer internship later in the course, but doesn't really have any idea yet of how hard that will be to find. If she is successful in getting a year abroad it might complicate things depending on how the academic year works out, but hopefully international study would look good on her CV. She wants to do research and is hoping to go on to do a PhD.

Thanks so much for all that info @PumpkinKnitter - I really appreciate it. Especially the process of applying for the year abroad, which I’m pretty sure DD would be keen on too. Good luck to your DD for her second year!

I'd say Bath too. Their life sciences have flown up the league tables in the past few years. Lots of clever hard working students. It.offers mostly STEM degrees so you're more likely to have students in your.first year flat who also have high contact hours. It's hard work, solidarity helps!

Many of their students do a year in industry. It's become more and more difficult to secure a year in industry but as so many Bath students do them, they tend to keep trying throughout the year to secure one, as they are less likely to live with the same peer group from year 2 to Year 3. That persistence can pay off, as something like 40% of placement years are secured after spring.

Thanks @fortyfifty I thought Bath was very impressive at the open day and DD liked it too. The academic staff we met were both knowledgeable and friendly and it seemed like it would be a great place to study. I think if she got offers from both Bath and Edinburgh, it would be a tough decision for her but would be such a lovely problem to have 🤞

@Buzzcock I think either would be a great option. DD didn’t consider Bath as it doesn’t offer her subject, but it sounds excellent. She may find that the decision makes itself once she receives offers.

I studied Pharmacology at Bath back in the early ‘90s and did a placement year working for Bayer. It was very highly regarded then and still is now.

Thanks @OrangeBlossom28 and @PumpkinKnitter - I think at this stage, just knowing which 5 to put down on the UCAS form is the most important thing, and then see where the process takes her. But she has at least 3 which I think she is very happy with for now, and judging by the feedback here, she’s on the right track with them, so big thanks to all!

Friends kid finished this degree at UCL. From the sounds of it, it was pretty awful for a number of very justifiable reasons.

DD's best friend from her undergrad degree did her masters at UCL and the lack of support, especially from the lab technicians was dreadful.

She says going there was not her best decision.

Ucl is a bit of a shit show for this subject. Zero support throughout.

Thanks so much @Dgtrcvgg and @RampantIvy - she actually liked UCL after the open day but really doesn’t want to go to London for undergrad, so was keeping g it in mind for a potential masters further down the line. Might need to rethink that now!

Ucl certainly isn’t what it used to be.

definitely pharmacology that she interested in, as she doesn’t want to do a patient-facing role, and more interested in doing research and working in the Pharma industry afterwards (so am assuming PhD needed at some point)

Just to say PhDs aren't essential to work in the pharmaceutical industry, although the impact of not having a PhD varies from company to company. About half our R&D staff have PhDs and they tend to be more senior but there are senior scientists without PhDs.

DD is doing pharmacology I tegratwd masters at Bath but finding it very difficult to get a placement with no personal contacts.