Pharmacology
Placements and careers
Placements
Placements are a distinctive feature of our undergraduate programme in which the third year is spent out on industrial placement. The placement year offers a period of invaluable experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Why take a placement?
- Placements often lead to a permanent job with the placement company
- Earn a salary
- Employers favour graduates with employment experience
- Experience working in the professional world
- Proven enhanced final year performance
- Develop time management, communication and team work skills
- Invaluable experience of the recruitment process
Support
Our dedicated Placements Team will support and guide you through the recruitment process, developing your skills for applications, interviews and organising employer-led workshops.
During the placement you will also have regular contact with the Placements Team, a Placements Tutor and a workplace supervisor, as well as a visit from a member of staff, in most cases.
What kind of job could you do?
During the placement year, students normally work in the Research & Development laboratories of a major company (e.g. GlaxoSmithKline) in the UK, USA or Europe.
As well as being part of a research team, each MPharmacol student undertakes their own project.
Some of our placement employers have included:
- Astra Zeneca
- Novartis
- Janssen Research
- GSK
- Astex Therapeutics
- Medimmune
- UCB Celltech
- Takeda
- Sanger Institute
- RedX Oncology
We cannot guarantee that a particular placement will be available or that you will be able to earn a particular salary; applications for placements can be very competitive.
Careers
In academia
- via a higher degree (MSc, PhD)
- leading on to postdoctoral research and Career Development Research Fellowship
- to permanent University appointment.
Pharmaceutical Industry
- Graduate or Doctoral entry
- research and development
- toxicology
- research related administration.
Other possibilities
- scientific publishing
- medical writing
- clinical trials organisation.
