Entry Requirements:

Pharmacy is an extremely popular choice of career and as such there are limited places for students. Acceptance into our BPharm degree requires a minimum of English as a home language or as a first additional language. Mathematics (not mathematics literacy), Physical Science and/or Life Sciences (or a recognized equivalent) and Computer Literacy are also strongly recommended.

1st Year Curriculum:

First year is spent at Wits Main Campus (Braamfontein) where you will participate in a variety of learning activities and also be introduced broadly to pharmaceutical practice. You will also engage with the Wits Pharmacy Students Council (WPSC) which is proactive in supporting Pharmacy affairs. In the first year you will complete the following courses are:

2nd Year Curriculum:

From the second year, courses are offered in the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences (Parktown Campus). In this respect Wits is unique since it provides interaction with medical students, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses - future health professionals with whom successful team work is essential. During second year more medically and pharmaceutically oriented education is provided. In the second year you will complete the following courses:

3rd Year Curriculum:

Third year is a continuation of second year - only more advanced - particularly in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice. Pharmaceutical Chemistry is divided into two components - organic and analytical chemistry. Clinical subjects that are introduced include Pathology and Medical Microbiology. Pharmacology also begins in third year and deals with individual drugs and their mechanisms of action and continues in the fourth year to provide you with specific knowledge on drugs which makes the pharmacist unique from other health care professionals. Pharmacotherapy is also key in third and fourth year and relates the areas of clinical medicine to treatment with drugs. It helps pharmacists recognize various disease symptoms to initiate treatment when possible and advise doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals on the appropriateness of drug therapy - a stepping stone to Clinical Pharmacy. In the third year you will complete the following courses:

4th Year Curriculum:

In fourth year, business and marketing aspects are covered in Pharmacy Practice, Medicinal Chemistry is introduced and in Pharmaceutics you will learn the principles of biopharmaceutics and the design of drug delivery systems and dosing regimens for patients. Pharmacotherapy is more clinically oriented and you will spend time at various clinics and hospitals where theory is now put to practice. An Emergency Medical Assistants course is offered which equips a graduate for unexpected situations. Furthermore, a Special Undergraduate Research Project is undertaken in a specialist area of pharmacy that you may intend to pursue. In the fourth year you will complete the following courses:

Entry Requirements:

All students who are in their final year of BSc or have a BSc or equivalent degree with at least a C aggregate may apply with a BSc credit in at least one of the following biological science courses at a third year level: Advanced Biology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Genetics, Human Biology, Medical Biochemistry, Medical Cell Biology, Microbiology, Physiology, Zoology. The BSc. Honours in Pharmacology consists of theory of all major organ systems, specific modules and a practical research component. The theory component covers core topics of Pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, antimicrobials and toxicology. The course may be completed over 1 or 2 years, i.e. full-time or part-time. If done part-time, the theory and research project are done in consecutive years. Students with an undergraduate course in pharmacology (i.e. BHSc III Pharmacology) are required to do more research based modules as well as the practical component. 

Entry Requirements:

Students who have a BPharm or an honors equivalent degree (for Pharmaceutical Affairs only) with at least a 65% aggregate for their last two years of study may apply. If you have failed subjects during your BPharm degree may not be suitable for the MPharm degree. We will however, consider your application if there has been a dramatic improvement during your last 2 years of study. Please note that even if you do meet all the requirements for entry into the MPharm, there is still a selction process and no guarantee that you will be accepted. It also depends on the number of places available and the caliber of all the other applicants.

We offer the MPharm degree based solely on research in any relevant field of Pharmacy and includes the areas of Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapy. The course may be completed over 2 or 3 years, i.e. full-time or part-time. If done on a part-time basis, students must ensure that research is undertaken at a laboratory that has been approved by the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

All students applying for our MPharm degree must submit a full CV and motivation letter as to why they believe they should be accepted into the program.

Entry Requirements:

We offer a Master of Science (MSc) degree based solely on research for non-Pharmacy students. This can be done in any relevant field of Pharmacy and Pharmacology and encompasses the broad areas of Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacy Practice, and Pharmacotherapy. Students must have a relevant Bachelor¡¯s degree. The course may be done over 2 or 3 years, i.e. full-time or part-time. If done on a part-time basis, students must ensure that it is done at a laboratory that has been approved by the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. All students applying for the MSc degree must submit a full CV and motivation letter as to why they believe they should be accepted into the program.

The Division of Pharmacology offers a specific MSc. (Pharmacology) degree based solely on research. Students must have a basic knowledge of Pharmacology. The course may be done over 2 or 3 years, i.e. full-time or part-time. If done on a part-time basis, students must ensure that it is done at a laboratory that has been approved by the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

Entry Requirements:

Our MSc degree via Coursework and Research Report is a part-time degree (not a correspondence course). You will need to be able to attend evening lectures at thee Wits Faculty of Health Sciences campus. The attendance of lectures are compulsory and we have the right to call for an explanation of how you intend to get to lectures before we accept you into the program. If you intend to apply for the program you will also need to ensure that you have been accepted by an available Supervisor for the Research Report component of the program before you register. Certified full academic transcripts are required to be submitted together with your application.

Duration: 2 Years

Flexibility: Our Lecturers are external industry experts. Although we keep to timetables and examination dates, there may be instances when times have to be changed at short notice. So, please don't plan any trips or vacations too far in advance. Before you start the course make sure that your employer is aware that lecture or test times may change and that you will need their full support in this regard.

Curriculum for MSc Med in Pharmaceutical Affairs:

• PACY7022A- Research Methodology
• PACY7008A- Management
• PACY7006A- Medicines Control
• PACY7004A- Regulatory Affairs
• PACY7007A- Pharmaceutical Production
• PACY7028A- Pharmaco-economics
• PACY7021A- Clinical Trials

The above modules will be undertaken over 1 year, leaving the following year to undertake the research report component of the degree.

A Research Project is ideally done in year 2, however, the student can register for this course in year one as per arrangement with the supervisor.

These degrees are open to qualified Pharmacists only. The research project can be started at any time once you are registered and following Senate approval. Each module comprises:

• Self-study and compulsory lectures
• Two to four compulsory tutorials (4 x 3 hours) (course dependent)
• Final examination for each course occurs at the end of each module.

While every effort is made to accommodate students, there are many times when examinations cannot be changed. The student needs to make sure that their employers know that they are reading for the Master’s degree and that overseas trips need to be scheduled outside of examination times. You will be presented with an examination timetable when you start the program. Modules are written off at the end of each teaching session. Every effort is made to accommodate students with a convenient examination timetable. Candidates who fail a module can sit a supplementary examination towards the end of the year. External examiners must be paid for this additional time and, therefore, an additional fee will be levied against those students who fail.

The Research Report:

The Research Report should be initiated at the beginning of the two-year program. Research Reports are assessed through a School Research Committee and approval given to proceed. Three such meetings are held each year. Specific direction is given through a project supervisor although the scope and flexibility of the research title is vast.

All students applying for higher degrees must submit a full CV and motivation letter as to why they believe they should be accepted into the program. Applicants who submit a firm motivation by a Supervisor for the Research Report will be given preference.

Regulatory Affairs and Medicine Registration

This module specializes in all aspects of Regulatory Sciences and focusses on addressing the need for trained and skilled professionals working on the regulation of medicines. This course provides the required knowledge on current regulatory issues in the drug development and pharmaceutical industry in emerging markets and covers areas of ethics, writing and evaluating common technical documents, regulatory affairs, clinical trial management, health economics, regulatory sciences for generics, biosimilars, complimentary medicines and medical devices.

Medicines Control

This module covers all pertinent aspects of the control of medicines and includes aspects of compilation and updating of registration dossiers, registration of medicinal products, compilation of package inserts, advertising compliance, screening of data to ensure compliance with registration requirements and registration feasibility, assessing registerability of products, reviewing medicines for claim and labeling compliance, liaison with the Regulatory Authorities and regulatory compliance consultation.

Pharmaceutical Production

This module encompasses a series of   lectures    in which Good Manufacturing Practises (GMP) as utilised in the production of pharmaceutical products are covered. The role of the pharmacist in the Pharmaceutical Industry is included as a subject as well as aspects such as the relationship between Quality Control, GMP, Quality Assurance, Risk Control and the required processes and documentation required to achieve GMP. In addition, the legal aspects regarding the impact of Acts pertaining to the manufacture of Pharmaceuticals are included.

Health Management

This module has been designed to meet the demands of practitioners already working in public and private sector health service organisations. The curriculum reflects a heightened concern in the country with how well services are being delivered. The emphasis on this course is on basic management theory and leadership concepts, organisational development) and institutional reform practices, as well as the implementation of quality assurance/management systems. The perspective this course takes is making those concepts work in a way that achieves customer/client focus throughout the organisation, and especially in its sub-operations.

Pharmacoeconomics

This module focuses on the economics of pharmacological products in healthcare systems. It covers key pharmacoeconomic analytical methods in specific situations, the planning and implementing of pharmacoeconomic research studies, compiling pharmacoeconomic reports and critically evaluating published pharmacoeconomic studies, identifying international trends, applying pharmacoeconomic principles and economic analysis to the evaluation of products with broad policy issues affecting the industry.

For further information contact:

Dr Stephanie Leigh

Tel: +27 11 717 2268
Email: stephanie.leigh@wits.ac.za 

Entry Requirements:

Our MSc degree via Coursework and Research Report is a part time degree (not a correspondence course). You will need to be able to attend evening lectures at the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences campus. The attendance of lectures are compulsory and we have the right to call for an explanation of how you intend to get to lectures before we accept you into the program. If you intend to apply for the program you will also need to ensure that you have been accepted by an available Supervisor for the Research Report component of the program before you register. A certified full academic transcripts are required to be submitted together with your application.

Duration: 2 Years

Flexibility: Most of our Lecturers are external industry experts. Although we keep to timetables and examination dates, there may be instances when times have to be changed. So, please don't plan any trips or vacations too far in advance. Before you start the course make sure that your employer is aware that lecture or test times may change and that you will need their full support in this regard.

Curriculum for MSc Med in Clinical Pharmacy:

Students are required to complete 5 obligatory modules. These are:

Year 1:

• PACY 7011 Clinical Laboratory Tests
• PACY 7012 Applied Pharmacokinetics

Years 1 and 2:

• PACY 7008 Health Management and Managed Care
• PACY 7022 Research Methodology (includes statistics)
• PACY 7021 Clinical Trials

Students complete 5 or 6 modules per year dependent on modules offered in the year of registration. The 6 additional modules are chosen from a selection of the 8 modules listed below:

Year 1 modules:

• PACY 7013 Infectious Diseases
• PACY 7014 Cardiovascular Diseases

Year 2 modules:

• PACY 7015 respiratory diseases
• PACY 7016 Gastrointestinal Diseases
• PACY 7017 endocrine diseases
• PACY 7018 Psychopharmacology
• PACY 7019 Renal Pharmacotherapeutics
• PACY 7020 Oncology Pharmacotherapeutics (includes a practical session)

Year 1 and 2 courses are not dependent on the year of registration but rather dependent on the curriculum year. For e.g. 2023 covers year 2 courses and thus 2024 will be year 1 courses.

The Research Report:

The Research Report should be initiated at the beginning of the two-year program. Research Reports are assessed through a School Research Committee and approval given to proceed. Three such meetings are held each year. Specific direction is given through a project supervisor although the scope and flexibility of the research title is vast.

All students applying for higher degrees must submit a full CV and motivation letter as to why they believe they should be accepted into the program. Applicants who submit a firm motivation by a Supervisor for the Research Report will be given preference.

For further information contact:

Dr. Neelaveni Padayachee

Tel: +2711 717-2269

Email: neelaveni.padayachee@wits.ac.za

The Pharmacology Division offers a module in the full-time Master of Dentistry in the speciality of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, which is aimed at re-enforcing core undergraduate pharmacology principles in the postgraduate student. Emphasis is placed on understanding the pharmacological principles relating to the various drug classes as well as prescription rules and regulations.

Application forms.

Available via the Department of Oral Medicine.

Entry Requirements:

All applicants must have a Masters degree or equivalent. Before you register you have to have a Supervisor who is willing to supervise you during your studies. Research work for a PhD needs to be new and novel. You may register for a PhD on a par time basis, but this means you have to be a highly motivated researcher, and you need provide evidence that you are able and that you have the resources to conduct your studies on a par time basis. History has shown that very few candidates have successfully completed their PhD s on a par time basis. Most of the government subsidies we receive for postgraduate students are only paid out on successful completion of the degree, so we are only looking for students we believe will be able to complete their degrees in an acceptable time. We offer a full-time or part-time PhD. degree based solely on cutting-edge research. This can be done in various fields of Pharmacy and Pharmacology including Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Clinical or Experimental Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacy Practice.