Can I be part of Research and development in a pharma industry with a MPharm degree?

Hi, I am applying to university soon aspiring to work in a pharma industry in research and development but I am not sure if a masters degree in pharmacy will allow give me a better opportunity than a chemistry for drug discovery degree or a medicinal chemistry degree.

Reply 1

OmiCronP8

5

Short answer is... it depends.

Longer answer is... it depends on so many factors. Like the company, what research they do, the hiring managers, their HR, what area you want to try to get into. So I wouldn't worry about that.

They are all good options for you to get a job in the pharmaceutical industry after you graduate. Just choose the course that interests you the most and then do that. You will enjoy it more and probably get better marks.

Reply 2

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by Zhen88

Hi, I am applying to university soon aspiring to work in a pharma industry in research and development but I am not sure if a masters degree in pharmacy will allow give me a better opportunity than a chemistry for drug discovery degree or a medicinal chemistry degree.

Go look on LinkedIn and find a bunch of people who do what you want to do & look at their pathway, try and identify the “normal route” and alternative pathways

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Zhen88

Hi, I am applying to university soon aspiring to work in a pharma industry in research and development but I am not sure if a masters degree in pharmacy will allow give me a better opportunity than a chemistry for drug discovery degree or a medicinal chemistry degree.

A degree in pharmacy qualifies you to be a pharmacist. It's not the same as a degree in pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacology. Note I suspect many R&D roles in the pharma sector will be recruiting PhDs rather than bachelors (including undergraduate masters) graduates. Worth as above seeing what the actual people in the roles you want to do have studied. I imagine there probably are some pharmacists who have moved into that, although equally I suspect as above they may have done a research degree afterwards and/or had a lot of industry experience.

Realistically though if you don't want to be a dispensing pharmacist - I don't think you should aim to do a pharmacy degree. The pharmacists who have gone into those areas probably did not do their pharmacy degree intending from the outset to do something other than pharmacy. I strongly suspect that they did the pharmacy degree, then after working as a pharmacist somehow ended up moving into that industry for whatever reason by whatever route. If you have no interest in that to start with then an MPharm adds nothing that another degree can't give you (likely in a shorter time period of time and more focused on what you actually want to do rather than the practice of being a pharmacist).

If you're just interested in the study of drug interactions and effects in the human body in health and disease, look for degrees in pharmacology or pharmaceutical sciences. If you're interested in how new drugs are created/formulated/synthesised, look for degrees in chemistry and related areas. If you're interested in how these processes are scaled to industrial level to meet global demand for them, look into courses in chemical engineering.

Original post by Zhen88

Hi, I am applying to university soon aspiring to work in a pharma industry in research and development but I am not sure if a masters degree in pharmacy will allow give me a better opportunity than a chemistry for drug discovery degree or a medicinal chemistry degree.

Hi @Zhen88!
My Name is Dominic and I am a 4th year Mpharm student at the University of Nottingham.

A Masters in Pharmacy is a degree that teaches you skills and knowledge to be a Pharmacist in many different sectors: Hospital, community, GP and even industry.
At the end of the degree there is an exam called Oriel which all MPharm students have to sit in the UK to get a foundation training place in which after completion of that and another exam you will become a registered pharmacists.

Some of these foundation places are in industry, with companies like GSK, however there are a very limited number (i think there were something like 3 places in the whole of the UK in previous years) and is therefore super competitive to get a place at one of these places.

Therefore if research is what you want to do, an MPharm probably is not the best way to achieve that, as most of the training in the degree is tailored towards being either a community, hospital or a GP pharmacist.

Courses like Pharmacology or Pharmaceutical sciences might be more of interest to you, especially because the pharm sci course here at Nottingham offers a chance for a placement year between your 2nd and 3rd year of University, allowing you to get real-life experience in the field.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to reply to this message.

Dom 🙂

Reply 5

KristenHarris

1

Original post by Zhen88

Hi, I am applying to university soon aspiring to work in a pharma industry in research and development but I am not sure if a masters degree in pharmacy will allow give me a better opportunity than a chemistry for drug discovery degree or a medicinal chemistry degree.

If you aspire to work in pharmaceutical R&D, choose a degree based on your career goals. A master's in pharmacy is ideal for roles in drug formulation, clinical trials, or regulatory affairs. Chemistry for drug discovery or medicinal chemistry focuses on early-stage drug design and development, making them better suited for research-oriented roles. Evaluate industry trends, job descriptions, and program specifics to align your choice with your aspirations.

Can I be part of Research and development in a pharma industry with a MPharm degree?

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