UCL or Bath Pharmach

Hi I would really appreciate some help deciding between UCL and Bath for pharmacy. Although bath is higher in uk uni rankings for both pharmacy and overall, on Qs (the more reputable one) UCL is 9th in the world overall and 4th in the world for Pharmacy. London would be expensive but my student finance would also be very high. I’m mainly thinking about employability and future salary

UCL does not have a great reputation for how it treats its undergrad students - 'big Uni' syndrome, thousands of students, and overfocussed on research income.

Definitely something to consider, I’ve heard about a lot of students who had a rough time at UCL. But I’m also considering the name, getting a degree from UCL is something that holds a lot of weight in my opinion when it comes to employment

Hi I would really appreciate some help deciding between UCL and Bath for pharmacy. Although bath is higher in uk uni rankings for both pharmacy and overall, on Qs (the more reputable one) UCL is 9th in the world overall and 4th in the world for Pharmacy. London would be expensive but my student finance would also be very high. I’m mainly thinking about employability and future salary

Hiya, just wanted to give a bit of input as a final year pharmacy student at Bath!
As the others on this thread have said, the rankings for pharmacy mean very little as it is mandatory for all schools of pharmacy to cover the same content by the end of the degree. The differences occur in how this content is organised throughout the course. At Bath, first year is used to get all students to the same level in biology and chemistry. Then, we have modules called specialised integrated units, which focus on a specific body system from a variety of different subject areas (e.g. pharmacology, clinical therapeutics, pharmaceutics). There is more info about this here. I find this helpful, as you gain a really comprehensive understanding of each body system, which is helpful in practice, especially in hospital where patients are often grouped together depending what type of condition they are presenting with. I’m not sure how UCL organises their units but that’s just one aspect I like about the course at Bath.
We also have the advantage of having small cohorts, typically under 100 per year. This means we are offered individualised teaching and are provided a lot of support by teaching staff. You are also allocated a tutor and tutor group (of around 5 students) at the start of first year and this is normally maintained throughout the degree so you can build a close bond with your tutor and they are able to help you throughout the course.
My last point links to what Holly said about placements. Placements are becoming a more significant part of the degree as pharmacists take on a more influential clinical role through factors like being given prescribing rights. Again, I’m not sure how other universities compare, but at Bath they have implemented placements from the start of the course. These are used to support leaning from the different modules, for example in the neurology and mental health module we went to a mental health unit and in my current module on substance use, we are going to a drug rehabilitation centre. These are really helpful experiences to reinforce what we have been learning and understand how the science behind our degree links to clinical practice. There are also longer placements throughout the degree in different sectors, like community pharmacy, GP or hospital. Bath is one of the only pharmacy schools in the Southwest so is able to give us these opportunities across the region. This gives us the opportunity for potentially more exciting and beneficial placements, as they are not trying to cram a lot of students into one location.
While it is true that your degree will not have too much influence on your future employment, I have heard several employers, mostly in hospital, stating that they know Bath prepares its students well for work in practice. This reputation could give you the edge on other applicants. In terms of salary however, depending on the sector, everyone starts on the same salary and then how this increases will depend more on your performance and ambition than which university you went to. Having an MPharm degree will make you very employable and puts you in a good position for after graduation, so job security is practically guaranteed regardless of where you study.
I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any questions about studying pharmacy at Bath 😊
Lauren, University of Bath.

Hi,
I have applied to Pharmacy as a home student however have NOW just been notified on UCAS (after application) that the pharmacy course for this year is only open to international applicants this year?
I have received an interview but have only just found out this information.
Could you please clarify if this is correct and if I've just wasted a university space to a University that won't even accept me for being a home student?
This is so disappointing.
Thanks.

Hi,
I have applied to Pharmacy as a home student however have NOW just been notified on UCAS (after application) that the pharmacy course for this year is only open to international applicants this year?
I have received an interview but have only just found out this information.
Could you please clarify if this is correct and if I've just wasted a university space to a University that won't even accept me for being a home student?
This is so disappointing.
Thanks.

Hiya, just wanted to give a bit of input as a final year pharmacy student at Bath!
As the others on this thread have said, the rankings for pharmacy mean very little as it is mandatory for all schools of pharmacy to cover the same content by the end of the degree. The differences occur in how this content is organised throughout the course. At Bath, first year is used to get all students to the same level in biology and chemistry. Then, we have modules called specialised integrated units, which focus on a specific body system from a variety of different subject areas (e.g. pharmacology, clinical therapeutics, pharmaceutics). There is more info about this here. I find this helpful, as you gain a really comprehensive understanding of each body system, which is helpful in practice, especially in hospital where patients are often grouped together depending what type of condition they are presenting with. I’m not sure how UCL organises their units but that’s just one aspect I like about the course at Bath.
We also have the advantage of having small cohorts, typically under 100 per year. This means we are offered individualised teaching and are provided a lot of support by teaching staff. You are also allocated a tutor and tutor group (of around 5 students) at the start of first year and this is normally maintained throughout the degree so you can build a close bond with your tutor and they are able to help you throughout the course.
My last point links to what Holly said about placements. Placements are becoming a more significant part of the degree as pharmacists take on a more influential clinical role through factors like being given prescribing rights. Again, I’m not sure how other universities compare, but at Bath they have implemented placements from the start of the course. These are used to support leaning from the different modules, for example in the neurology and mental health module we went to a mental health unit and in my current module on substance use, we are going to a drug rehabilitation centre. These are really helpful experiences to reinforce what we have been learning and understand how the science behind our degree links to clinical practice. There are also longer placements throughout the degree in different sectors, like community pharmacy, GP or hospital. Bath is one of the only pharmacy schools in the Southwest so is able to give us these opportunities across the region. This gives us the opportunity for potentially more exciting and beneficial placements, as they are not trying to cram a lot of students into one location.
While it is true that your degree will not have too much influence on your future employment, I have heard several employers, mostly in hospital, stating that they know Bath prepares its students well for work in practice. This reputation could give you the edge on other applicants. In terms of salary however, depending on the sector, everyone starts on the same salary and then how this increases will depend more on your performance and ambition than which university you went to. Having an MPharm degree will make you very employable and puts you in a good position for after graduation, so job security is practically guaranteed regardless of where you study.
I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any questions about studying pharmacy at Bath 😊
Lauren, University of Bath.

how are ur links to industrial pharmacy

Hiya,
We don’t have any placements in industry during the degree so I don’t have any personal experience with it but the pharmacology students, who we work closely with, are often able to secure placements with top companies in their placement year. So I’m guessing the university has a good reputation with those employers.
The students who are interested in working in industry have meetings with the uni before applying for the pre-reg year, in which they get advice on how to transition into industrial pharmacy.
Other than that, I don’t have much more info unfortunately. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.
Lauren, University of Bath

how are ur links to industrial pharmacy

Thank u for the reply it just I want to have the ability to pick between industry or go for the more clinical route so it is possible for me to explore that route and I can have placement there. Question can u balance a part time job while studying and how easy is it to find one

Do you understand the difference between Pharmacy and Pharmacology/Drug Discovery?