Pharmacology
Pharmacologists seek to understand how chemical substances interact with the body. They work as part of a research team that is responsible for screening compounds, developing drugs, undertaking controlled experiments and clinical trials in laboratories.
Their aim is to gain a better understanding of diseases, develop new drugs to treat them and promote the safe use of existing drugs. Other substances such as poisons and toxins are also studied by pharmacologists to try to understand how those substances can harm the body.
A degree in pharmacology can lead to a diverse range of employment and postgraduate study opportunities.
Pharmacologists commonly specialise in a particular field of research such as toxicology (the study of how toxic substances affect living organisms), neuropharmacology (the study of the effect of drugs on the brain and nervous system) or pharmacokinetics (the effect of the body on the drug). It's also possible to focus exclusively on animal medicines.
Opportunities for pharmacology students are very diverse. Whether you want to work in a laboratory environment or outside of the laboratory a pharmacology degree will provide you with an eclectic choice of career opportunities. Many students will choose to work in the pharmaceutical industry, academic research, the NHS, research institutes and government departments. You can find out more about these areas and much more by visiting the British Pharmacology Society website.
Alternatively you may want to use your pharmacology degree to work in areas that support scientific research, such as science policy, marketing, patent work and medical writing.
If you are considering a research career you may well undertake a PhD following your undergraduate degree. Studying a PhD may be possible directly from your first degree or after completing a relevant masters programme.
Finally, you can use the fact that you have a degree that develops a wide variety of qualitative, quantitative and problem solving skills to enter the broader graduate market which may or may not include subsequent training.
What are my career options within research and development (R&D) within academia?
If you want to carry on in the direction of your favourite discipline, then you could take a PhD and subsequent post-doctoral research with the goal of pursuing an academic career.
When considering further study, it is important to note the differences between master's and doctorates, especially in terms of funding.
- Master's degrees are often self-funded, incur student debt, and allow you to deepen knowledge or refocus taught study direction.
- Doctorates are generally externally funded, tend not to incur student debt, and are always research orientated – they are much closer to your final year project than any taught element.
- Doctoral Training Programmes (DTP), sometimes called 1+3s, have the advantage that a year of studying research approaches is spent before the PhD proper begins, but it is worth noting that they are highly competitive and more restricted in research scope than the more conventional three-year PhDs.
Entry requirements for masters degrees are usually 2.2 and for PhDs 2.1 at BSc level – master's degrees might help competitiveness but are not normally a requirement.
It is not essential to progress academically to be involved in university research, nor is there any urgency to take further qualifications.
What are the range of R & D careers I can enter?
General R & D
Research and development not only includes those in universities progressing towards an academic career, it also includes working: within universities:
- within universities as technicians, research assistants, or if more qualified, research associates
- for universities but within the private sector such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
- directly in university spin-offs, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or more established companies.
People frequently move seamlessly from one to another - in and out of “industry” and “academia” – the line between the two is much fainter than people imagine.
If you are drawn to lab work then laboratory work describes graduate entry. For those interested in consultancy, which can be entered at any academic level, there are parallels with Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
Pharmaceuticals
The UK Government’s Office for Life Sciences has produced an infographic on the scale of the biopharmaceuticals sector.
Pharmaceutical companies will undertake research into and manufacture of cancer drugs. Firms such as Roche, Bristol Myers Squib, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Takeda, Pfizer, Eli Lilley, Merck and Amgen manufacture some of the most widely used drugs on the market.
As well as research and development they will recruit graduates to roles such as regulatory affairs, communications and government affairs, finance, commercial management.
Careers within pharmaceuticals
The ABPI lists leading pharmaceutical firms within the UK many of which will offer graduate employment, summer placements and placement years.
Medical research charities and research institutes
Medical research institutes such as those linked to the Medical Research Council will undertake research into health and disease. They can have multiple research areas such as The Francis Crick Institute or a singular focus such as The Cognition and Brain Science Unit.
Medical research charities will fund research in universities and start-ups and will focus on their specialist area such as Asthma UK, British Heart Foundation, Versus Arthritis, Cancer Research UK. These charities often fund PhD studentships as well.
Medical Research Council list of institutes
Biotechnology and contract research organisations (CROs)
CRO’s are companies that support pharmaceutical organisations amongst others to carry out clinical study and clinical trials for drugs and medical devices. Contract Research Map lists the research institutions in each country and the work they are currently doing.
Biopharmguy is a good place to look for businesses involved in biotechnology and contract research.
PhDs
PhD opportunities (funded and non-funded) will be advertised throughout the year by universities, medical research charities, research councils and some pharmaceutical companies.
The two projects below are examples of PhDs advertised in the summer of 2021 that would consider applicants from a pharmacology background.
- First-principles Informed Multi-scale Modelling and Artificial Lung Bioengineering to Study Cardiogenic Oedema and Covid-19
- Role of Calcium Calmodulin Kinase II in the Modulation of Lipid Metabolism and Oxidative Stress in the Articular Cartilage and Osteoarthritis
- Examples of PhDs in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham
- Development of Targeted Therapeutics for Prostate Cancer
Medical technology (MedTech)
Medical technology or the medical device industry is a sub-sector of the life sciences sector, which in the UK is one of the strongest and most productive in the world, turning over in excess of £88.9 billion per year. The medical technology global market is fast developing, making up 52% of industry employment in the life science sector, according to the Bioscience and Health Technology Sector Statistics 2020.
Careers in medical technology
What careers can I go into within life sciences outside R & D?
Data roles
Many life scientists have sufficient data analytic skills to simply apply for roles in data analysis, or even data science.
A good working knowledge of Python/R is needed and SQL is a huge benefit – courses for both are available online. The university's Nottingham Advantage Award (NAA) runs an SQL course and our artificial intelligence (AI) webpage describes how to enter the field of AI.
Forensic scientist
Forensic scientist role is open to biology graduates but it does requires additional training and qualifications and there apprenticeships routes are available.
Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences
Healthcare scientist
If you are drawn to working as a healthcare scientist the Association of Clinical Scientists lists professional bodies related to this area.
Our healthcare scientist page describes the two types of accredited healthcare scientists in UK hospitals – clinical scientists and biomedical scientists. Both careers result in state registration with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). The clinical scientist has a clinical interpretative role while the biomedical scientist is more laboratory based.
The most well-known and structured route, the NHS Scientific Training Programme (STP), is very competitive. For STP applications there is a two-week window in January (of your final year) and it is a good idea to have had practice in the process of applying for roles beforehand so you know what to adjust. STP training starts in September.
National School for Healthcare Science
NHS Careers - Healthcare science
Health communication
Health communication is communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient.
The purpose of disseminating health information is to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy. You could find yourself working in medical communications, healthcare advertising, healthcare public relations, medical writing.
Public health
The NHS Careers website describes the three main areas of public health:
- Health protection - working to prevent the outbreak of epidemics, plan responses to emergencies, or in food safety.
- Improving people’s health - you might be involved in campaigns to encourage healthier eating, physical exercise, or to persuade people to quit smoking and drugs.
- Healthcare services - making sure that everyone has access to high quality health services and medicines that they need when they need them.
Careers in public health
Sustainability roles
Sustainability roles can be explored on our environment and sustainability webpage.
What roles are open to me with a pharmacology degree and additional training?
Graduate courses in a variety of subjects are available. For example:
What are my career options with a science degree?
Science degrees develop analytical, communication and numeracy skills and so there are many directions that a science graduate can take:
Science and pharmaceuticals job profiles from Prospects summarise common destinations of those with science degrees who want to carry on using their degree, including
- bioinformatics
- health informatics
- intellectual property including patent attorney work
- medical sales
- medical writing
- science writing
- regulatory affairs
- science policy
There are also jobs such as teaching and education-related careers which draw on your scientific knowledge.
Biochemistry graduates enter a diverse array of roles spanning accountancy, actuarial work, banking, charity work, finance roles, legal roles, marketing, public relations, sales and so on.
Explore a range of graduate roles
What skills have I developed?
During your course, as well as developing your laboratory expertise, you will develop competencies necessary to be a successful scientist, researcher, or to support whatever career you choose to follow. These competencies will be developed within the curriculum, and during any laboratory placement you choose to undertake.
These skills are as follows:
- Professional communication (written and verbal)
- Co-ordinating with others
- Reflection
- Digital capabilities
- Complex problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- People management
- Judgement and decision making
- Cognitive flexibility
- Team working
- Time management
How do I get work experience?
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university's control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.