Pharmacy (Professional MSc) - MSc
Open to pharmacists in all areas of healthcare, Keele’s MSc is built around your professional practice. Three compulsory modules prepare you to design and carry out advanced research focused on a relevant area of interest, workplace procedure or practice. For over two decades, Keele University has built an excellent reputation for flexible distance learning that supports practicing pharmacists to develop their specialist knowledge, enhance professional practice and advance their careers. You’ll be supported by a team of experienced, friendly and approachable academic, administrative and technical staff, including your own supervisor for your research project.
Month of entry
- January
Mode of study
- Online programme, Part time
Location
- Online
Subject area
- Pharmacy
Fees for 2026/27 academic year
-
Home and International - Part time: £4,250 per year
Duration of study
- 1 year
This course is no longer accepting applications from international students for the 2025/26 academic year.
Why study Pharmacy (Professional MSc) at Keele University?
Course summary
In the fast changing world of pharmacy and healthcare provision, professional development has become essential to advance your career and ensure emerging best prescribing practice transfers to patients, the public and/or your employer.
Studied for one year online – at a time and place that suits you – this professionally focused MSc has been developed for pharmacists working in any patient-facing sector of practice, including hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy and in a GP practice.
It is designed to meet your own learning needs and that of your employer. You’ll not only be able to put your new knowledge and skills to use at work from the outset, but also tailor your master’s level research project so that your findings are directly applicable to your professional practice for the benefit of both yourself and your workplace. You will undertake a six-month service evaluation or research project.
Keele University has become known within the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector for delivering effective, highly flexible continuing professional development (CPD) and lifelong learning for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics and other health care professionals.
We purposefully minimise the impact for your employer: you will not need to be released from work to study and do not need to attend the University in person. All contact with University personnel is done virtually. Furthermore, all of the supervision, academic and personal support you need to succeed will be provided by the University.
While many of our students are sponsored by their employers, some are self-funded and we will try to assist you in identifying appropriate financial support if required, though this cannot be guaranteed. Two current funding streams that we are aware of are: the National Pharmacy Association’s Health Education Foundation Bursary for Community Pharmacists and Pharmacy Research UK’s Research Development Awards.
Course structure
The Masters programme is taken over one year and it is structured to be suitable for pharmacists from all areas of professional practice and is flexible to your own learning needs and the needs of your employer. There is one intake a year starting in February each year.
The learning materials are delivered on-line. Induction and student progress sessions occur ‘virtually’ so there is no requirement for you to attend Keele University.
As a ‘Professional’ MSc, it is grounded in your individual professional practice. This means that you can focus on an area of interest to you so that you can develop a comprehensive understanding and critical awareness at an advanced level and apply your learning to develop your professional practice/services.
Modules
The module details given below are indicative, they are intended to provide you with an idea of the range of subjects that are taught to our current students. The modules that will be available for you to study in future years are prone to change as we regularly review our teaching to ensure that it is up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods, as well as student voice. The information presented is therefore not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules available in any given year.
Compulsory modules
Introduction to Research Methods (15 credits)
This module aims to develop your understanding of the principles of research, the appropriate use of methodological approaches, and to understand how selected methods may be applied to researching and evaluating practice.
Research in Practice (15 credits)
This module aims to develop your knowledge in order to make an informed choice about research design in the context of your practice. You should be able to apply your learning to develop a research proposal focusing on an area of your practice and in doing so develop your interest and expertise in research.
Researching Professional Practice (30 credits)
In this module you will undertake a 6 month service evaluation or research project for the Researching Professional Practice module and we strongly encourage you to publish the results of your work and will provide support to enable you to do this.
Entry requirements
The following section details our typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If you don't see your qualifications listed, please contact us to find out if we can accept your qualifications.
Typical offer:
UK: Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy or equivalent award worth 120 Master’s level credits (FHEQ level 7). You must provide full details of your Diploma syllabus and assessment to enable assessment of its suitability for entry to this course.
You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)
International applicants: Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy. You must provide full details of your Diploma syllabus and assessment to enable assessment of its suitability for entry to this course. This course is offered online Distance Learning.
We don’t accept degrees from certain universities in Bangladesh, please see our Bangladesh Country Page for more information.
English language requirements
All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from Group D.
References
Normally, you will need to provide at least one academic reference to support your application unless you have been out of study longer than two years. If it has been more than two years since you last studied on a degree-level programme, you will normally need to provide an employment reference instead. For more information about Academic References, please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages.
Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose
Please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages for guidance on what to include in your personal statement.
Recognition of Prior Learning
The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process which enables applicants to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study or work and life experiences.
RPL can also be requested for admission onto the start of a programme in lieu of the admission requirements. For more information, see our Recognition of Prior Learning web pages.
Pharmacists who have passed the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD) Foundation Programme can be awarded 60 credits towards the MSc in Clinical Pharmacy Practice (CPP) programme as part of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. For more details please email us.
General information
The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the typical offer which would be made to candidates, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate's application. For international students, find out how we work with approved agents as part of our admissions process.
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Postgraduate funding and scholarships
Funding
Whether you're continuing from undergraduate study or returning to education, our dedicated financial support team is here to help.
We are committed to rewarding excellence and potential. Please visit our scholarships and bursaries webpage for more information.
Please note, if your course offers a January start date, the January 2026 start date falls in the 2025/26 academic year. Please see the tuition fees archive for the 2025/26 fees.
Planning your funding
It's important to plan carefully for your funding before you start your course. Please be aware that not all postgraduate courses and not all students are eligible for the UK government postgraduate loans and, in some cases, you would be expected to source alternative funding yourself. If you need support researching your funding options, please contact our financial support team.
For continuing students, fees will increase annually by RPIX, with a maximum cap of 5% per year.
Additional costs
Teaching, learning and assessment
How you will be taught
The course is delivered entirely online. This includes induction, all learning material, and student progress sessions.
You will need to attend an online induction in February and set aside the equivalent of one to two days (approximately 10-15 hours) for study each week in order to complete your programme. Remember that the online nature of our programme materials, and the fact the MSc focuses on your professional practice, means that you should easily be able to integrate study and work with the support of your employer. You can also choose when and where to study outside of working hours.
Throughout your studies there will be regular virtual sessions, providing pastoral and academic support. You will also be assigned a supervisor at the beginning of the Research in Practice module who will support you in planning and undertaking your research.
Keele University has extensive experience of designing programmes of study that are easily accessible and relevant to working healthcare professionals – our distance learning programmes have been running for over 20 years. Throughout your learning journey at Keele University, from the moment you first consider how to meet your professional development needs, you will be fully supported by our team of experienced tutors.
How you will be assessed
Assessment is entirely by coursework, so you don't have to worry about prepping for exams.
As part of the MSc Introduction to Research Methods module, you will undertake an evaluation of two research methods that you might use in your research.
In the Research in Practice MSc module you will develop your research proposal for your project, exploring the aim of your project, how you will conduct your project, analysing the literature and developing a plan for your research project.
The Researching Professional Practice MSc final module assessment is to write a 10,000 word dissertation on your research project that will assess ‘thinking’ and practical skills, and your ability to plan, conduct and report on an investigation.
All the MSc modules also assess your ability to critically appraise the literature and relate published theory to everyday practice.
