Studying our BSc (Hons) Pharmacology and Health Science course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. These skills will give you a perspective on the science of drug invention from discovering new drugs through to their use in the clinic. To build the foundations of your study, you will be given a broad understanding of Human Anatomy and Physiology to analyse the relationship between body parts and their functions. This can also be related to our unit in Human Metabolism which you will explore on a cellular level. On a deeper level, you will be introduced to the study of microorganisms in our Microbiology and Biochemistry unit which will give you an understanding of biochemical principles using practical techniques such as spectrophotometry. This closely links to our Cell Biology unit where you will discover various cell structures and types and understand how this is fundamental to human life. In addition, you will gain experience in using light microscopes while establishing good laboratory practice. You will also develop your knowledge on basic concepts in Chemistry and Molecular Genetics where you will get to explore topics such as chromosome function, genetic inheritance and cell division. 

In more specialised areas, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of drugs and its role in treating human diseases in our Pharmacology unit. This can be related to our Immunology unit where you will closely study the human immune system and how it protects us against a range of pathogens and diseases on a cellular level. More importantly, you will gain a broad understanding of Toxicology and its applications to the pharmaceutical sector by examining clinical case reports that involve adverse drug reactions, drug misuse and toxic poisoning. In the field of medicine, you will develop your understanding of how the human body functions in our Medical Physiology unit that will provide you with in-depth knowledge in human physiology, how it is affected by disease and its impact on drug development strategies. You will look more closely at human illness in our Pharmacology of Disease unit that will equip you with the skills to identify the causes of disease and how to treat them using drugs and pharmaceuticals. In practical areas of study, you will learn how drugs are developed and subsequently brought to the market in our Drug Development unit. 

In more advanced areas, you will learn how drugs can be tailored to individual patients and more importantly, reduce side effects and adverse reactions in our Pharmacogenetics unit. More importantly, our Drug Dispensing and Healthcare Policy unit will expose you to how medicines are safely handled, prescribed and administered according to legal and health and safety requirements. This closely links to our Drug Delivery unit where you will identify ways of improved drug delivery, such as through oral or nasal routes, and how this can deliver improved therapeutic outcomes for patients. From a societal point of view, you will learn how pharmacological principles are translated into effective treatments in a clinical setting while considering the impact of modern medicine on public health and society in our Clinical Pharmacology and Public Health unit. Furthermore, you will also learn to translate new technologies into clinical environments in our Translational Medicine unit while considering the ethical implications of this. 

To equip you with the research and practical skills for this course, our Skills in Pharmaceutical Sciences unit will teach you to record, analyse and report data from experiments. Finally, you will undertake a Pharmacology in Health Science Research Project in your final year that will give you the opportunity to plan, design and execute a piece of research into a topic of your interest that is relevant to your field of study. To help you with this, our Skills in Science unit will equip you with a range of skills you need for your research and for a career in science 

English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, and particularly the verb tense system in English, because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when you come to write essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practise each skill and practise it again, so that gradually you will see, hear and feel that your command of the language is improving. 

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practise strategies to help you gain confidence in your own ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including for instance guessing meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognising differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will  be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate level study. 

All of the academic skills are practised in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practise and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increasing your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1. 

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will  now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices which enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy. 

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you are able to work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learnt and practised in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesising, argumentation, critical thinking and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others and practise and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field. 

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area, and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of in both essays and presentations and in seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.