BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science

What is Pharmaceutical Science?

The pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical industry makes a vital contribution to society through the development and production of drugs such as antibiotics for infectious diseases, cancer treatment drugs and antiviral drugs for HIV. The pharmaceutical sector plays a vital role in Ireland’s economy with over 150 pharmaceutical companies, including 13 of the world’s top 15. There is a strong demand for graduates qualified in pharmaceutical science and employment prospects are excellent.

What is the BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science course?

The BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science is a full time, four year, honours degree which can be chosen within the WD002 - Bachelor of Science (Hons) Common Entry Route. This course is designed to produce graduates for the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical industry. Students will be exposed to a broad range of subjects and laboratory instrumentation relevant to the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical industry. The course also provides graduates with a range of transferable skills so that graduates are qualified for a wide range of science-based industries.

BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science work placement

A six-month work placement is included in the third year of the course.

Research at WIT

WIT lecturing staff teaching on this course are actively involved in a range of highly successful and well-funded research work related to pharmaceutical science. Collaborators include national and international universities and research institutes, and industrial partners from the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical sector both in Ireland and abroad. Current research areas include: development of novel polymers for therapeutic drug delivery, biomedical research in eye treatment, novel analytical methods for pharmaceutical products, sensing devices for environmental analysis, biotechnology for drug synthesis and bioremediation.

Pharma Industry Awards

The four-year BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science course won the prestigious Pharma Education & Training Award in the Pharma Industry Awards 2017. The awards are a 'benchmark for excellence for those operating in Ireland's pharma industry'.

The programme was also nominated for two awards in 2018: The Education Awards 2018: Best Student Experience Award and the HR Leadership and Management Awards 2018: Excellence in Education and Training Award.  

Read more in our news section.

Video: learn about pharmaceutical science in 3 minutes