Pharmaceutical Analysis

Overview

Acquire the skills, knowledge and hands-on experience for a career as a Pharmaceutical Analyst in Industry or Academia.



Who Are You?

You are probably a recent physical or life sciences graduate – chemistry, pharmacy and biology.



But you could equally be in work and want to develop your professional skills. If you are, we offer this course part-time as well, one day per week.



Why Study This Course?

Our industrial partners are always telling us they need people like you. Analysts are among the most sought after professionals with some of the highest employability rates.



You will receive practical training on state-of-the-art separation techniques, such as HPLC/MS and GC/MS, in the purpose built Pharmaceutical Analysis lab designed in partnership with Agilent (a world-leading instrument manufacturer).



Course Structure

If you have a primary degree in chemistry, pharmacy or a related subject, this degree is designed to provide you with advanced knowledge and high-level practical skills in laboratory analysis, and meets the ongoing need for analysts in the pharmaceutical industry.



Apart from basic and advanced separation, spectroscopic and characterisation techniques, you’ll learn about aspects of quality assurance and quality control, as well as the preparation of scientific and technical reports.



Course Details

You’ll learn the theory behind state-of-the-art analytical techniques and have an opportunity to practice your skills using the most modern instrumentation.



You’ll be trained on techniques such as:

• Liquid and gas chromatography (HPLC, GC)

• Mass spectrometry (MS)

• Thermal Analysis (DSC, TGA)

• X-ray crystallography (PXRD, XRD)

• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy



You will also receive training on QA/QC aspects of the Pharmaceutical Industry. For your research project, you’ll spend 2-3 months in a laboratory. You have the option to do this in industry, for example in Almac.

The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.



Year 1

Core Modules

• Advanced Separation Science (20 credits)

• Research Project in Pharmaceutical Analysis (60 credits)

• Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Pharmaceutical Industry (20 credits)

• Solid State Pharmaceutical Analysis Methods (40 credits)

• Chemical, Biochemical and Spectroscopic Analytical Methods (40 credits).

Graduate

Normally a 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in Chemistry, Pharmacy or a closely allied subject. Performance in key modules will be taken into consideration.



Applicants with relevant work experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.



International Students

Please see International Student's link below.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 30th June 2025 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.



Please note: A deposit will be required to secure a place on this course.

2 years (Part-time)

1 year (Full-time)



Contact Teaching hours per week:

Full-time: 12-20 hours

Part-time: 8-12 hours



Teaching Times

Lectures/practicals will be run over a single day each week to accommodate day-release schemes. Teaching may be available outside normal teaching hours to support employed part-time students.

Entry Year: 2025/26

Career Prospects

Introduction

This programme is designed to prepare students for employment as analysts in the pharmaceutical and related industries.



There is currently a high demand, both locally and internationally, for graduates with analytical skills in this sector.



Employment Links

Many of our previous students have gone on to work for companies such as:

• Almac

• Randox

• Norbrook

• Pfizer

http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/