This program delivers industry-ready graduates with a depth of understanding of both drug and device development.
Students will gain insight into contemporary industry practice and will understand the complete life cycle management of a product and how it eventually gets to market.
Enhanced career opportunities in the medical technologies and pharmaceutical (MTP) sector are facilitated due to the unique placements and extensive networking with industry professionals provided throughout the program.
The first year of the program is delivered on-campus at the $100M Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence (PACE). The leading-edge curriculum covers all stages of the drug and device development process, beginning with the understanding of how medical need drives the discovery process, through preclinical development to post-registration surveillance. Course content covers but is not limited to: ethics, governance, regulatory affairs, health economics, drug design and formulation, manufacturing and packaging, clinical drug development including safety (pharmacovigilance) and biometrics aspects from preclinical (animal research) to post-registration. Courses on project management, financial management and commercialisation in the pharmaceutical industry will enable students to develop business acumen and the ability to work in global teams across various disciplines.
In their final year, students will have the opportunity to gain real-world experience in the pharmaceutical industry via one or two extended placements either in Australia or overseas. Alternatively, in first or second semester, students may undertake an independent project working alongside world-class researchers in the state-of-the-art laboratories at PACE.
Courses
See the
course list
for courses that can be studied as part of the Master of Pharmaceutical Industry Practice.
Click on the course code to view the Course Profile, for further
information including advice of courses with shared teaching activities.
Placement courses
Students can undertake up to two placements in year two. Alternatively, students may opt for one placement and one independent research project. Placements and independent research project are completed on a full-time basis. The School of Pharmacy will organise to find and coordinate the placements for students.
Each placement involves in excess extensive hours of supervised experience in the medical technologies and pharmaceutical (MTP) sector. Placements can be in any area related to a product's life cycle, from discovery to post-registration surveillance, including: drug discovery, chemical processes, formulation, manufacturing, pre-clinical, clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoeconomics, regulatory, medical affairs, marketing and biometrics. During placements, students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to a real-life setting and experience firsthand how interactions between the various areas within industry are crucial to successfully managing the life cycle of the product and ultimately, product registration.
Students may undertake their placements outside the Brisbane metropolitan area, including at overseas sites. In this instance, students are required to self-fund travel, accommodation and daily living expenses.
Research component
Research is integrated in two of the first year courses enabling students to develop research skills and enhance their learning experience through project work. Additionally, students who wish to pursue a research focus may undertake an elective independent research project in year 2. These projects are drawn from the extensive research programs being undertaken within the school, covering a number of different fields. The independent research project is completed on a full-time basis.
To complete the Master of Pharmaceutical Industry Practice
To fulfil the requirements of the Master of Pharmaceutical Industry Practice, a student must complete the requisite number of courses chosen
from the course list in accordance with the Program Rules.
To complete the program, a student must complete 32 units from the MPharmIndPrac course list.
Students should be aware of the University of Queensland policies and rules which govern the conduct of UQ programs. These may be found on
the UQ policies and rules page on the
my.UQ website.
