Eva who is studying Pharmacy MPharm (with integrated foundation year), tells us about her first year here.
A foundation year prepares you for degree study
If you’ve got your heart set on a subject but don’t think you’ll meet the entry requirements, look into doing a foundation year. It’s very different to sixth form, much more targeted towards the course you want to study, and they do say ‘university days are the best days of your life’, so why not add an extra year?
You put your learning into practice
As a vocational degree, there is quite a focus on gaining employability skills; we have a module called ‘Integrated Pharmacy Knowledge, Attributes and Skills’ which runs throughout every year, in which we learn about pharmacy practice and how to use we’ve learnt in practice.
It prepares you for many different fields
Pharmacy MPharm (with or without a foundation year) is the only course that you can take if you want to become a pharmacist in the UK, however that doesn’t mean that your career options after the course are limited. It’s an integrated Masters degree which is highly regarded in itself in many fields, and the skills you learn mean that you’ll be suited to several scientific, technical or mathematical fields after qualifying.
Studying a degree is so different to college/sixth form
Studying a degree is so different to college/ sixth form in so many ways – ‘one set of exams at the end of two years’ really didn’t work for me. Uni isn’t like that – my course has two sets of exams across each year so you can spread your revision out, and there are also practical assessments and coursework that make up a decent percentage of your final marks, so you don’t have to rely on exam performance alone.
There are lots of work experience opportunities
Pharmacy includes placements of varying lengths, but I also feel that organising your own work experience can be really beneficial in addition to that. You gain a wider variety of experiences and show employers that you’re willing to make the first move.
The disability and dyslexia team are incredibly supportive
I’ve found the disability and dyslexia team to be incredibly supportive, they’ve helped me out so much with getting a Learning Support Plan- which makes exam time less stressful. They have even helped me figure some things out about myself that I didn’t know about or consider before.
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