Personal statement for pharmacology???

Original post by d0nkey_dude

I would like to study pharmacology, but some unis that I want to apply to can call it pharmaceutical science/chemistry. Do i call it pharmacology or just not apply to those universities at all?

Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences/chemistry are quite different courses, just look at the module topics and see if they could be overlapped in your personal statement. Keep it open to both, you don't even need to mention the name of the course, just talk about your interests etc. that go across both subjects e.g chemistry/biology/learning about medications. Hope this helps. :smile:

Reply 4

Original post by alws

Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences/chemistry are quite different courses

Not really actually!

Reply 5

Original post by alleycat393

Not really actually!

Um, yes they are! Pharmaceutical sciences mainly concerns pharmaceutics, medicinal chemsitry and generally how drugs are produced and prepared with a lesser focus on the internal biological effects. Pharmacology is the biology of drugs in the body, e.g the pharmacokinetics and mechanisms of medicaitons in the body. But I guess you know better, don't you?

Reply 6

Original post by alws

Um, yes they are! Pharmaceutical sciences mainly concerns pharmaceutics, medicinal chemsitry and generally how drugs are produced and prepared with a lesser focus on the internal biological effects. Pharmacology is the biology of drugs in the body, e.g the pharmacokinetics and mechanisms of medicaitons in the body.

Course content for both is actually quite similar though yes different courses will have slightly different focuses. From a PS perspective, both can be covered with the same PS with ease. It's very difficult if not impossible to design drugs and understand their mechanism of action without covering the basic biological mechanisms they target.

In the 'real world' people with either degree could end up doing the same job which is the bottom line.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 7

Original post by alleycat393

Course content for both is actually quite similar though yes different courses will have slightly different focuses. From a PS perspective, both can be covered with the same PS with ease. It's very difficult if not impossible to design drugs and understand their mechanism of action without covering the basic biological mechanisms they target.

Exactly, the two courses can actually be combined quite smoothly into one personal statement, so it should fortunately be easy for OP. Just depends if he/she would like to study both as they are somewhat different.

Reply 8

Original post by alws

Exactly, the two courses can actually be combined quite smoothly into one personal statement, so it should fortunately be easy for OP. Just depends if he/she would like to study both as they are somewhat different.

So generally, as a PS reviewer, I'd never recommend someone combine courses into one statement but if they are similar enough which these two are then it's pretty much about different unis calling the course different things, not that the courses are different :smile:

Reply 9

Original post by alleycat393

So generally, as a PS reviewer, I'd never recommend someone combine courses into one statement but if they are similar enough which these two are then it's pretty much about different unis calling the course different things, not that the courses are different :smile:

To be fair, as I said earlier they are quite different courses (a number of universities offer both courses), but the subjects are based on the common topic of medications.

Reply 10

Original post by alws

To be fair, as I said earlier they are quite different courses (a number of universities offer both courses), but the subjects are based on the common topic of medications.

I'm sorry hun but they really aren't. The same uni offering both means little. Have a look through the course content yourself. You might find that a lot of the modules are either shared or taught by the same people. The modules offered may be slightly different but that is true also for courses called the same thing at different unis. So based on that every single course offered in the UK is unique in some way. If you can write two courses into the same PS they are pretty much the same course with slightly different focuses.

We can agree to disagree but this is the PS help forum so as a PS reviewer I'm asking you to please not confuse applicants.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 11

Original post by alleycat393

I'm sorry hun but they really aren't. The same uni offering both means little. Have a look through the course content yourself. You might find that a lot of the modules are either shared or taught by the same people. The modules offered may be slightly different but that is true also for courses called the same thing at different unis. So based on that every single course offered in the UK is unique in some way. If you can write two courses into the same PS they are pretty much the same course with slightly different focuses.

We can agree to disagree but this is the PS help forum so as a PS reviewer I'm asking you to please not confuse applicants.

I'm trying to confuse applicants, are you serious?
Says the person who is saying these two subjects are interchangeable when they are not, the modules are not "slightly different", you are just spreading clear disinformation.
Don't tell me to look through the course content, I already have done so, you clearly have not! If we compare the Pharmaceutical chemistry MSci at QMUL with Pharmacology BSc also at QMUL, I can't see a single common module.

Pharmaceutical chemistry MSci - Basic biochemistry, fundamentals of spectroscopy, fundamentals of inorganic chemsitry, organic synthesis, advanced pharmaceutical chemistry, applied spectroscopy.
Pharmacology BSc - Biomedical physiology, chromosomes and gene function, immunology and infection.

I know there are some overlaps, but they are not the same course. I am trying to provide the full picture to the original poster so he applies for the course he wants, what if he for example hates organic synthesis and organic chemistry practicals - that is a major part of pharmaceutical science and he may not enjoy the course.

Reply 12

Original post by alws

I'm trying to confuse applicants, are you serious?
Says the person who is saying these two subjects are interchangeable when they are not, the modules are not "slightly different", you are just spreading clear disinformation.
Don't tell me to look through the course content, I already have done so, you clearly have not! If we compare the Pharmaceutical chemistry MSci at QMUL with Pharmacology BSc also at QMUL, I can't see a single common module.

Pharmaceutical chemistry MSci - Basic biochemistry, fundamentals of spectroscopy, fundamentals of inorganic chemsitry, organic synthesis, advanced pharmaceutical chemistry, applied spectroscopy.
Pharmacology BSc - Biomedical physiology, chromosomes and gene function, immunology and infection.

I know there are some overlaps, but they are not the same course. I am trying to provide the full picture to the original poster so he applies for the course he wants, what if he for example hates organic synthesis and organic chemistry practicals - that is a major part of pharmaceutical science and he may not enjoy the course.

Yes I'm being perfectly serious.

Pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences are not the same thing. Chemistry and related subjects are a whole different ball game.

It's funny that you picked QMUL as an example as I have worked and taught there so am well aware of the course offerings :smile:

We really are just going round in circles now. As i said the bottom line is that people with either a pharmacology or pharmaceutical sciences degree can end up doing the same job. They can also write both courses into the same PS so for all practical purposes the courses are very similar.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 13

Original post by alleycat393

Pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences are not the same thing. Chemistry and related subjects are a whole different ball game.

It's funny that you picked QMUL as an example as I have worked and taught there so am well aware of the course offerings :smile:

Well the original post suggests the user was also looking at pharmaceutical chemistry and also thinking it is "another name for the same course", so it is important I made reference to pharmaceutical chemistry too.

Reply 14