Pharmacy

Master of Pharmacy

Course Details

CAO Code	AU975
Level	9
Duration	5 Years
CAO Points	565 (2025)
Method of Delivery	On-campus
Campus Locations	Sligo
Mode of Delivery	Full Time
Work placement	Yes

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Course Overview

The ATU MPharm programme is a five-year Master of Pharmacy programme accredited by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. On completion of the MPharm programme, ATU’s graduates will be eligible to register to practise as a pharmacist in Ireland and across the EU.

ATU’s MPharm programme is modern and future-focused and fully integrates evidence-based clinical pharmacy practice with cutting-edge healthcare and pharmaceutical sciences research. Our programme is designed to engage students and prepare them for diverse careers in the rapidly transforming fields of pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical sciences and wider health sector.

Over five years, students will study in state-of-the-art learning facilities and laboratories at ATU’s Sligo campus. In ATU’s newly-commissioned Model Pharmacy and Pharmacy Professional Practical Centre, students will gain significant hands-on experience with dispensing systems, practise interactions with simulated patients and use clinical equipment. The programme is designed to empower students to develop the necessary competence and confidence to undertake pharmacists’ roles in clinical practice.

Teaching and learning on the MPharm programme is highly integrated across lectures, labs, workshops and practical classes, preparing students for the real-world of clinical professional practice. Students will learn from and alongside pharmacists, clinicians, patients and other leading experts from a variety of fields, as well as undertake structured work placements across the spectrum of pharmacy and healthcare practice.
MPharm students will also develop research skills, undertaking two research projects, one in Year 4 and a Pharmacy Practice Research Project in Year 5 of the programme.

Integrated work placements are a central part of the MPharm programme. Similar to all pharmacy students in Ireland, ATU’s MPharm students complete a structured and mandatory experiential learning programme with three components:

a) a short placement (2-week block) in Year 2,
b) a 4-month placement in Year 4, which may be undertaken in community, hospital, industry or other approved establishment under the tutelage of a tutor pharmacist, and
c) an 8-month placement in Year 5, which may only be undertaken in a patient-facing pharmacy setting, i.e. community or hospital pharmacy under the tutelage of a senior preceptor pharmacist.
In addition to work placements, the MPharm programme also incorporates a schedule of site visits and workplace experiences to develop and deepen students’ understanding of pharmacy practice, health services as well as the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and MedTech industries.

ATU’s MPharm graduates will be equipped with the skills and competencies to prepare them for new technologies, advancements in digital health and expanding pharmacist roles, to meet the future needs of patients and health services.

Course Details

The Pharmacy syllabus is set out in law by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. The ATU five-year integrated programme will provide you with an all-round pharmacy education that integrates pharmaceutical sciences with the practice of pharmacy. This will prepare you for the broad range of careers in which pharmacy graduates work, from the design and identification of new drug molecules, through formulation and development of medicines, to ensuring that these medicines are prescribed, dispensed and used safely by patients. The programme comprises a variety of approaches to teaching pharmacy, including: lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, problem-based learning, team-based learning, site-visits, simulations, clinical case studies, inter-professional learning, interdisciplinary learning, laboratory and dispensing practicals, debates, digital learning, research projects, and career preparation.

The programme is delivered as a series of integrated modules, examples of these modules include: Physiology of the Human Body and Drug Action, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Drug Analysis, Cellular Regulation of the Human Body, Pharmacy Practice, Pharmaceutics, Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Natural Sources of Medicines, Pharmacology and Clinical Therapeutics, Public and Population Health, Sterile Products and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Work Placement, Professional Personal Skills Development • Organisation and Management Skills, Evidence Informing Practice • Advanced Integrated Pharmacy Skills, Leading Safe Use of Medicines.

Assessment throughout the programme includes final examinations and continuous assessments, such as essays, case studies, presentations, lab reports, OSCEs (objective structured clinical examinations), which contribute to the overall mark in a module.

There are approximately 13 hours of lectures, 6 hours of labs and 2 workshops each week. The number of contact hours will vary across different years of the course. Work experience and site visits in clinical and non-clinical settings will take place over all five years of the integrated Pharmacy programme.

Recommended Study Hours per week

Each subject will include lectures, labs, workshops, and practical classes, enabling students to see how all the learning fits together. Work placement is also an important part of this programme.

Examination and Assessment

A variety of written and practical examination and assessment methods are used throughout the course . Students will have the opportunity to complete two research projects during the MPharm programme.

On-Campus Attendance Requirement

The MPharm is a full-time on campus course. Attendance at all practical classes is mandatory, attendance at all lectures is expected.

Progression

ATU’s MPharm graduates will be well equipped to undertake further studies in any of the pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences disciplines including clinical pharmacy at MSc or PhD level.

Download a prospectus

Undergraduate Prospectus

Entry Requirements

Leaving Certificate Entry Requirement	6 subjects at 06/H7 which must include: – Maths at 04/H6 – English at 06/H7 – Chemistry or Physics/Chemistry at H4 – and Physics or Biology or Applied Mathematics or Geography or Geology or Computer Science or Agricultural Science at H4 (Physics/chemistry may not be presented with Chemistry or Physics to satisfy requirements)
QQI/FET Major Award Required	N/A
Additional QQI/FET/ Requirements	N/A
GCE/ A-level/ GCSE Entry Requirement	6 distinct recognised GCSE/A-level subjects which must include: A-level in Chemistry at Grade C and A-level in Biology or Mathematics or Physics or Applied Science or Life and Health Sciences at Grade C and GCSE Maths at Grade B and 3 other subjects at GCSE-level Grade C which must include: English or Irish
Garda Vetting	Entrants to this programme may be required to undergo vetting by An Garda Síochána

Graduate Entry Requirements

Graduate applicants must apply via CAO by Feb 1 of the year of entry programme and will be required to achieve all the following minimum entry requirements:
• Hold (or expect to hold by July prior to entry) a minimum H2.2 Honours Bachelor Degree (NFQ Level 8 or equivalent) in any discipline.
If an Honours Bachelors Degree is not in a scientific discipline, then the applicant must also have either:
• 6 subjects at O6/H7
and
• 2 subjects at H5
to include English, Mathematics, a laboratory science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics,
Physics/Chemistry Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Geography, Geology, Computer Science or Agricultural Science)
and
• Chemistry or Physics/Chemistry at H4
or
• Have successfully completed Chemistry in a Third Level Institution which is at least equivalent to Honours Leaving Certificate Chemistry.
Applicants whose degree was not completed through English are required to provide evidence that they meet the minimum criteria of an approved undergraduate English language test.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview, dates are to be confirmed.

Mature Applicant Requirements

Mature applicants must apply via CAO by Feb 1 of the year of entry and be 23 years of age on or before 1 January of the application year.

Applicants will be required to achieve all the following minimum entry requirements:
• H4 in Chemistry or Physics/Chemistry in the Leaving Certificate (or equivalent)
and
• H4 in one of Physics or Biology or Mathematics or Applied Mathematics or Geography or Geology or Computer Science or Agricultural Science in the Leaving Certificate (or equivalent).
• Application must include a statement of interest.

Shortlisted Applicants may be invited to interview, dates are to be confirmed.

Pharmacy Technician Requirements

Applicants with a pharmacy technician qualification will be required to achieve all the following minimum entry requirements:
• 6 subjects in the Leaving Certificate to include Maths and English at O4 or H6.
• Higher Certificate in Science in Pharmacy Technician Studies (or equivalent), with a minimum grade of 65% in all the science-related subjects.
• Overall GPA of 65% across both the first and second year of the Pharmacy Technician Programme.
• 3 years relevant work experience – form will be provided.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview, dates are to be confirmed.

Fees

Total Fees EU: €3,000

This annual student contribution charge is subject to change by Government. Additional tuition fees may apply. As Year 5 of the MPharm programme is a postgraduate qualification, a fee will apply; this is in line with other Schools of Pharmacy in Ireland. ATU will notify you well in advance of Year 5 what the fee will be. Fees (in 2024/2025) for the Year 5 MPharm programme in other Schools of Pharmacy in Ireland are in the region of €8,000 – €11,000. ATU’s fee will also be in this range

Total Fees Non-EU: €12,000

Further information on fees

Careers

The ATU MPharm programme will offer diverse and rewarding career pathways to graduates, who will have opportunities to work in clinical roles in community and hospital pharmacies; across the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries; as well as in regulatory, policy, academic, research and management roles.
ATU’s MPharm programme is focussed on preparing you for the primary purpose of the pharmacist’s role, as a health professional, which is to enable people to achieve the best outcomes from the use of medication.