Program Overview

BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science

Why study this course with LJMU?

• A degree leading to a higher than average salary
• Graduates highly sought after in the UK's fastest growing manufacturing industries
• Option to undertake a 12-month industrial placement (placement is not guaranteed)
• Support from a personal tutor for the duration of your course
• Wide range of career opportunities in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnological, food, healthcare, cosmetics and related industries
• 100% of students surveyed said the teaching staff on this course were good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2024)
• 100% of students surveyed said this course was intellectually stimulating (NSS 2024)
• International Foundation Year course available offering direct progression onto this degree programme

About your course

• Completing the BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science degree programme at Liverpool John Moores University will help ensure you enjoy excellent career prospects and enhanced earning potential in a variety of sectors after you graduate.
• On this degree programme you will learn about the physical and chemical properties of pharmaceutically and cosmetically relevant molecules, how they are formulated into delivery systems and their interaction with the human body.
• The aim of the course is to provide you with knowledge and understanding of core subject matter and first-hand experience of relevant laboratory techniques to enable you to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries or progress to further study.
• The programme has been designed to give you a solid foundation in the subjects that underpin Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science and then to explore how research and development procedures are applied in the industry.

Course modules

Year 1

• Physical Properties (20 credits)
• Organic Chemistry (20 credits)
• Principles of Human Biology and Disease (20 credits)
• Formulation Science (20 credits)
• Analytical Chemistry (20 credits)
• Biologically Active Molecules (20 credits)

Year 2

• Pharmaceutical Formulation (20 credits)
• Synthetic and Natural Drugs (20 credits)
• Principles of Pharmacology (20 credits)
• Sterile Pharmaceutical Products (20 credits)
• Pharmaceutical Analysis (20 credits)
• Principles of Cosmetic Products (20 credits)

Year 3

• Research Methods and Project (40 credits)
• Industrial Product Development (20 credits)
• Advanced Pharmaceutical Analysis (20 credits)
• Advanced Delivery Systems (20 credits)
• Safety Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics (20 credits)

Your Learning Experience

• Teaching Support Assessment
• Excellent facilities and learning resources
• We adopt an active blended learning approach, meaning you will experience a combination of face-to-face and online learning during your time at LJMU.
• Teaching is mainly via lectures, but you will also attend workshops, seminars, laboratory sessions and tutorials.
• You will be able to find the content of lectures on Canvas (our virtual learning environment), while workshops provide a forum for discussing the material covered with fellow students.
• Practical laboratory work is highly valued as this is where you get a chance to practise your data skills, as well as planning, research methodology and analysis.

Career paths

• Successful graduates can enjoy above average salaries in this fast growing sector
• As a group, the chemical, pharmaceutical and allied industries form the UK's largest manufacturing industry, growing more than five times faster than any industry in the last ten years.
• It is manufacturing's number one exporter, with an annual trade surplus of just under 5 billion.
• It spends over 2 billion a year on new capital investment.
• This degree programme is the ideal platform from which to launch your career as it is designed to meet the high demand for highly skilled and technology literate people to help these industries continue to be innovative and compete on a global scale.
• As a Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science graduate, you can expect a career in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnological, food, healthcare, cosmetics and related industries, in fields such as information science, formulation, quality assurance, quality control, regulatory affairs, clinical trials, product registration, research and development, production control, production management and marketing.

Tuition fees and funding

• Home: £9,250
• International: £18,250
• Placement year: £1,850 (Home), £3,830 (International)

Entry requirements

• Grades/points required: BCC-BBB (104-120)
• GCSEs and equivalents: Grade 4 or grade C or above in English Language and Mathematics/Numeracy
• A levels: BCC-BBB
• BTECs: Extended Diploma: DMM
• Access awards: Pass overall with a minimum of 104 points in Science related discipline
• International Baccalaureate: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications
• OCR Cambridge Technical: Extended Diploma: DMM
• Irish awards: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications
• T levels: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications

How to apply

• UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses.
• Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here.