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Help me choose between pharmacy and pharmaceutical science

I have recently just finished doing a extended degree in science (foundation year) at university. My initial plan was to progress onto pharmacy after completing the year, but to do so you have to get 70% in chemistry and in average. However i only got 60%. After my results came out I contacted my uni and they said I couldn't get onto the pharmacy course and they offered me to do pharmaceutical science, which isn't too bad right? I've been doing some research about the course but couldn't really find anything online. I contacted a few other universities to see if they would take me through clearing. Kingston university said that they could offer me a place onto another foundation course, but this one is 2 years long. They said once I complete the 2 years, if I pass everything (40% on all modules) I would automatically progress onto 2nd year of the mpharmacy course. I don't know what to do as I feel that going with the Kingston option would be long considering that I've already done a foundation year but I also don't know if pharmaceutical science is a degree worth doing. Please help me get some answers.
Original post by Ersla
I have recently just finished doing a extended degree in science (foundation year) at university. My initial plan was to progress onto pharmacy after completing the year, but to do so you have to get 70% in chemistry and in average. However i only got 60%. After my results came out I contacted my uni and they said I couldn't get onto the pharmacy course and they offered me to do pharmaceutical science, which isn't too bad right? I've been doing some research about the course but couldn't really find anything online. I contacted a few other universities to see if they would take me through clearing. Kingston university said that they could offer me a place onto another foundation course, but this one is 2 years long. They said once I complete the 2 years, if I pass everything (40% on all modules) I would automatically progress onto 2nd year of the mpharmacy course. I don't know what to do as I feel that going with the Kingston option would be long considering that I've already done a foundation year but I also don't know if pharmaceutical science is a degree worth doing. Please help me get some answers.


To my knowledge:
Pharmacy - you'll be involved directly with the public, advising them on drugs etc such as your local pharmacist would do (unless you go into research)
Pharmaceutical science - research based, in a lab testing drugs etc

Which one would you prefer?
Reply 2
Original post by Sacred Ground
To my knowledge:
Pharmacy - you'll be involved directly with the public, advising them on drugs etc such as your local pharmacist would do (unless you go into research)
Pharmaceutical science - research based, in a lab testing drugs etc

Which one would you prefer?


I would prefer to do pharmacy, but I have been told that it is a very hard course so I'm not sure what to do. Also from my research it seems that there are very low job opportunities in pharmaceutical science
One is essentially a professional training course to work as a pharmacist in the NHS. The other is a "generalist" course which may be relevant for positions in the industry, roles in pharmacies that do not include dispensing, research etc.

Pharmacy degrees are 4 years long by default, so you only "gain" one extra year doing the foundation at Kingston. However, you will have used up your "gift year" from SFE/SLC so you won't be able to repeat any years of the programme with funding which may have ramifications on your future plans (and if you start that programme, then decide to change to something else, you'll actually have used up the gift year and 1-2 other years which can be a signifcant issue potentially).

Unfortunately nobody here can really tell you what to do - we can only provide you with as much information as possible, so you can make an informed decision. Good luck in either case however :smile:

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