Intercalated Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics
Key information
- Degree
- BSc (Intercal)
- Duration
- 1 years
- Start
- September 2025
- UCAS code
- B212
- Institution code
- Q50
- Entry Requirements
- Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
- Home fees
- £9,535
- Overseas fees
- £29,950
Funding information
Paying your fees
Overview
Gain an appreciation of the scientific foundations of clinical medicine and study the scientific basis of pharmacology and the clinical trials industry.
Our intercalated BSc gives students already taking a medical or dental degree the chance to achieve an additional degree in this specialist field in just one year.
Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics is the study of how drugs and therapies work, and the development of new ones. As research lays bare the molecular basis of disease and treatment, medical staff and researchers need increasingly specialist knowledge in molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry and chemistry.
You’ll cover a number of specialist topics in pharmacology such as drug design, translational pharmacology, innovative therapeutics and clinical trials as well as the role of regulatory agencies in therapeutic innovation and commercial exploitation.
The programme will give you expertise in the discipline, and practical experience of laboratory research. It will enhance your understanding of drugs and prescribing, bringing benefits throughout your medical degree and clinical practice.
As part of your degree, you'll work on a research topic of your own choosing, alongside leading teams at the William Harvey Research Institute.
Structure
You can start your one-year intercalated Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics BSc after the second, third or fourth years of your MBBS, BDS or BVetMed.
Year 1
Compulsory
· Intercalated Research Project
· Classic Papers and Current Topics in Pharmacology
· Clinical Trials and Regulatory Affairs
· Drug Design for Pharmacologists
· Translational Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics
Choose one from
· Biomarkers in Neuroscience
· Cancer Biology
· Molecular Basis of Personalised Medicine
· Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Intercalated degrees
An intercalated degree will broaden your studies as you gain an additional qualification.
It will also:
- strengthen your application if you wish to take the highly competitive academic Foundation Year route into clinical research or education and teaching
- help you to progress into postgraduate training within your chosen speciality
- develop your scientific awareness, with an opportunity to carry out original research
- allow you to experience your chosen field and be sure it’s right for you.
Find out more about intercalated degrees
Teaching
Teaching and learning
You'll receive approximately three hours of weekly contact time per taught module, comprising formal lectures – including from colleagues in the NHS and, in some cases, specialists from abroad.
For every hour spent in class, you'll complete a further six hours of independent study.
Assessment
Assessment typically includes a combination of written exams, coursework essays, journal clubs and oral presentations, and project write up.
Resources and facilities
The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including:
- iLab research facilities
- imaging facilities
- Genome Centre.
Entry requirements
| Contextualised admissions | We consider every application on its individual merits and will take into consideration your individual educational experiences and context. More information on how academic schools and programmes use this information as part of the admissions process, can be found on our contextualised admissions pages. |
Non-UK students
Students from the UK and overseas are welcome to apply for our intercalated degrees.
English language
Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.
You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.
Further information
Find out more about our intercalated degrees.
Funding
Loans and grants
UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for from Student Finance England or other government bodies.
Bursaries
Medical and dental students from Barts and The London will be considered for various bursaries based on research interests, financial need or academic merit.
These bursaries are not available to students from other medical schools, or to Barts and The London students who choose to intercalate externally.
Support from Queen Mary
We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.
Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:
- additional sources of funding
- planning your budget and cutting costs
- part-time and vacation work
- money for lone parents.
Careers
With its focus on pharmacological research, this programme forms a strong basis for careers in academic medicine. Your understanding of the actions of drugs and ability to evaluate the latest research will also be an advantage in any area of clinical work or within the pharmaceutical and clinical trials industry.
About the School
The William Harvey Research Institute was founded in 1986 by the Nobel Laureate Sir John Vane, discoverer of the action of aspirin and prostacyclin. Since 2000, as part of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Queen Mary University of London, the Institute has gone from strength to strength. We are currently the largest pharmacological research institute in the UK university sector and one of the largest in Europe.
Along with our commitment to high-quality research, we also offer education programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate and research level, which are taught by world-leading experts in the fields of cardiovascular, endocrine and inflammation research.
We are proud to have been awarded the Athena SWAN silver award for our ongoing commitment to advancing women’s careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
