Master of Science in Industrial Pharmacy
The Industrial Pharmacy programme is an advanced interuniversity programme that delivers graduates who are able fulfil the various roles of an industrial pharmacist at a pharmaceutical company. This includes, among other things, drug production and drug analysis, quality control, the development of galenic forms, the registration of medicinal preparations, and clinical research.
What
The Industrial Pharmacy programme is an advanced interuniversity Master’s programme that prepares pharmacists to fulfil thearious roles of an industrial pharmacist at a pharmaceutical company. This includes, among other things, drug production and drug analysis, quality control, the development of galenic forms, the registration of medicinal preparations, clinical research, regulatory affairs, and the marketing of pharmaceutical products.
For whom
The admission requirements depend on your prior education (type of degree, country of issue etc.) or additional experience.
Structure
During the first and the second term, the teaching activities take place at the different partner universities: Ghent University, KU Leuven, and the University of Antwerp. The first term also comprises preparation time for the Master's dissertation.
The second term starts with an intensive preparation phase for the Master's dissertation (in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company). This is followed by the second-term course units as well as a scheduled processing phase and the actual writing phase for the Master's dissertation. The Master's dissertation takes the form of a written report that is presented at a public defence.
Labour Market
The job opportunities for industrial pharmacists are manifold. In the first place, our graduates find employment at pharmaceutical companies, as drug production or drug analysis manager, quality manager, ... . Those of our graduates who have a commercial mindset and business experience or a background in economy, are eligible for the position of product or sales manager, publicity and information manager, medical writer or other more commercial-administrative positions.
Additional job opportunities can be found at cosmetics companies, hospital pharmacies, the government, and in the food industry. Industrial pharmacists also find employment in an academic research context, as do holders of a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Alternatively, they can take on administrative positions at medical departments. Graduates can obtain an official recognition (“Qualified Person”) from the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (the former Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Environment). In order to be eligible for this recognition, however, they must embark on a work placement of at least six months at a EU-based pharmaceutical production unit. This work placement is not a part of the academic study programme. Graduates who wish to embark on such a work placement, should get in touch with prof. dr. T. De Beer.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Broad and versatile curriculum: our programme aims to train holders of a diploma in Drug Development, Pharmaceutical Care, and Pharmacy in the various positions a Master of Industrial Pharmacy can take on in the industry. These positions include the production and analysis of drugs, quality monitoring, the development of galenic forms, the registration of medicinal preparations, clinical research, regulatory affairs, marketing of pharmaceutical products, etc. Our aim is broader than delivering ‘qualified persons’: Industrial Pharmacy graduates can operate in a wide range of the industrial pharmacy sector.
- Master’s dissertation: teamwork with an industrial focus. Since the 2016 curricular review, the Master’s dissertation is set up according to the principles of “project-oriented learning”. Students take on a problem statement that is relevant to and has been defined by the industry. This gives our curriculum a clear industrial focus and a link with the professional field. During an intensive seven-week period of full-time practical work at a company or university, students work on their Master’s dissertation in teams.
- Research-based education: characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry are the fast-changing insights producing new research methods, research findings, health products and social tendencies. Through our interactions with the pharmaceutical industry, we immerse the students in these ongoing pharmaceutical industrial innovations and challenges. With this approach, we imbue in the students a lifelong attitude of inquisitiveness, adaptivity and criticism.
- Stakeholder input and professional field experience: various course units encompass important contributions from professional field experts. Company visits and the “industrial” focus of the Master’s dissertation also contribute to this.
- Our practice-oriented programme is an excellent stepping stone towards the labour market. Industrial Pharmacy graduates have excellent career prospects. They quickly find suitable positions in various sectors of the pharmaceutical industry, often even returning to their former work placement host.
Strengths
- A team of motivated experts: our teaching staff have solid didactic and discipline-specific expertise. Their commitment ensures the quality of the programme. Oour professorial staff is deeply involved in research within their respective fields of study.
- We are an interuniversity programme, which allows us to join forces with the four participating Flemish universities with Pharmacy programmes, including research and education expertise. Our visiting professors bring considerable professional experience to the programme.
- Student admission: our adequate pre-entry student selection is an assurance of the quality of our graduates. Annually we select prospective students based on their curriculum and their performance on a written test. Introducing this pre-entry selection was also a precondition for us to ensure the implementation of a premium-quality Master's dissertation.
- Approachability: our student numbers make immediate and personal contact with our lecturers possible. Students can take their classes in smaller-scale seminar rooms.
Challenges
- An interuniversity advanced Master's programme comes with specific challenges, among them the study programme feedback by students. To further ensure the study programme's quality, we will explore ways to make the student perspective more visible.
- The balance between stand-alone course units and the coherence of the curriculum is another challenge we face. To promote further coherence, the Programme Committee will review curriculum content and the accompanying programme learning outcomes.
- Our study programme has a high workload. The curriculum contains a variety of time-consuming teaching methods such as group assignments. In addition, organising classes and exams at the four participating universities results in significant commuting time for the students. We will explore how we can improve the workload for our students.
- In our competency-oriented education, we want to focus more on appropriate feedback during assessments and exams. We will improve communication with students regarding existing feedback channels and encourage them to use these channels to foster a feedback culture in our study programme.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The resulting Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 22/08/2024.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.