Independent Prescribing

The Postgraduate Certificate in Independent Prescribing is designed for pharmacists in Northern Ireland who wish to train and qualify as non-medical independent prescribers.



The Postgraduate Certificate can be undertaken as a stand-alone course or can be combined into a larger programme of study (see Advanced Pharmacy Practice course).



If you are employed as a pharmacist in Great Britain and wish to train as a non-medical independent prescriber, please visit our PG Cert in Prescribing for Pharmacists.

Core Modules

Person-centred care and collaboration (10 credits)

Disease management (10 credits)

Clinical skills (10 credits)

Professionalism (10 credits)

Learning in practice (20 credits)

Entrance requirements

A primary degree in Pharmacy (minimum Bachelor degree) from an institution approved by the University. Additionally all students must:



• be registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

• be in good standing with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and/or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and any other healthcare regulator with wwich they are registered.

• must have relevant experience in a pharmacy setting and be able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber*

• must identify an area of clinical or therapeutic practice on which to base their learning*

• have a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice*



* Further guidance on the type of experience needed and DPP requirements is provided on the NICPLD website: https://www.nicpld.org/courses/ip2/



Note: this programme is only open to students who are resident in Northern Ireland.



International Students

Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region at https://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/international-students/your-country/



English Language Requirements

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 7.0, with not less than 6.0 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).



International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.



For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.



If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 31st July 2026 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page.

Assessment


Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:


Each module has one or more assessments associated with it. A general overview is provided below:


Person-centred care & collaboration (10 CATS) - assessment is comprised of three elements; consultation skills OSCE, SJTs, and a written assessment.


Disease management (10 CATS) - assessment is comprised of two elements; submission of a treatment plan/ case study in each clinical/ therapeutic area of practice and a summary education table of recent CPD/clinical area.


Clinical skills (10 CATS) - assessment is comprised of two elements: Clinical skills OSCE and the Direct Observation of Procedural Skills assessment carried out by DPP.


Professionalism (10 CATS) –assessment is the submission of a written professional decision making scenario.


Learning in practice (20 CATS) – assessment is the submission of a practice portfolio.

1 year (Part Time)

Entry Year: Academic Year 2026/27

Career Prospects

Professional Opportunities

This PG Certificate in Independent Prescribing enhances the opportunities for pharmacists in Northern Ireland to progress their career through annotation on the pharmacy register as an independent prescriber.