Pharmaceutical Science plays a vital role in improving human health through translating advances in medical research into medicines. A pharmaceutical scientist is trained to select new targets for drug therapy which arise from basic research, and has the scientific and technical knowledge to translate new targets into reliable, accessible and effective treatments for patients.

The Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science has two major areas of study; formulation science and medicinal chemistry:

• Formulation science explores inventing, making and testing new products in fields such as pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics.
• Medicinal chemistry aims to produce graduates with an in-depth understanding of the principles and techniques behind drug discovery and development.

Course progression requirements

The full provisions governing the course structure and progress of students through the course are set out in the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science regulations, which can be found on the faculty's website at http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au.

On completion of the course, students will have a thorough grounding in pharmaceutical science with majors in either formulation science or medicinal chemistry. Graduates will have had practical experience either in an industrial setting or in research related to drug development.

Students undertake a common first year and from second year select the medicinal chemistry or formulation science major. Note: There is a quota on each major and entry into the preferred major is not guaranteed. Selection will be based on performance in all first year units and will be dependent on demand for the major and student results. In second year students take four core units and four units specific to their major. In third year students take two core units, five units specific to their major and an elective unit.

First year

First semester

• PSC1021 Organic chemistry I
• PSC1041 Mathematics for pharmaceutical scientists
• PSC1071 Physical chemistry I
• PSC1081 Physiology I

Second semester

• PSC1022 Organic chemistry II
• PSC1042 Introduction to pharmaceutical sciences
• PSC1072 Physical chemistry II
• PSC1082 Physiology II

Formulation science major

Second year

First semester

• VPS2011 Pharmaceutical biochemistry
• VPS2021 Analytical methods
• VPS2041 Colloid chemistry
• VPS2071 Formulation chemistry I

Second semester

• VPS2062 Pharmacology
• VPS2072 Formulation chemistry II
• VPS2092 Molecular cell biology
• VPS2102 Product development I

Third year

First semester

• VPS3101 Product development II
• VPS3071 Formulation chemistry III
• VPS3081 Biopharmaceutics
• VPS3091 Molecular basis of drug action

Second semester

• VPS3052 Industrial project
• VPS3072 Formulation chemistry IV
• VPS3012 Product development III

Elective - choose one of:

• VPS3032 Current aspects of pharmaceutical biology
• VPS3042 Disease states and pharmalogical intervention
• VPS3012 Drug discovery and development

Medicinal chemistry major

Second year

First semester

• VPS2011 Pharmaceutical biochemistry
• VPS2021 Analytical methods
• VPS2121 Synthetic chemistry I
• VPS2141 Computational chemistry I

Second semester

• VPS2062 Pharmacology
• VPS2082 Introduction to spectroscopy
• VPS2092 Molecular cell biology
• VPS2122 Synthetic chemistry II

Third year

First semester

• VPS3011 Synthetic medicinal chemistry
• VPS3031 Spectroscopy
• VPS3081 Biopharmaceutics
• VPS3091 Molecular basis of drug action

Second semester

• VPS3022 Chemical technologies for the pharmaceutical sciences
• VPS3082 Research project
• VPS3102 Drug discovery and development

Elective. Choose one of:

• VPS3032 Current aspects of pharmaceutical biology
• VPS3042 Disease states and pharmalogical intervention
• VPS3102 Product development III
• VPS3092 Computational chemistry in drug design

An optional honours year is available to outstanding graduates.

Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science

Pharmacists are health professionals with the skills and knowledge to manage a patient's understanding and utilisation of medications, in order to optimise medicines-related health outcomes.

The degree has four streams of study:

• enabling sciences
• applied pharmaceutical sciences
• clinical and therapeutic sciences
• pharmacy practice sciences.

During fourth year, students undertake work placements in hospitals and community pharmacies through the professional experience placement program. The program provides an understanding of the processes involved in, for example, providing primary health care, drug information, and clinical pharmacy services in different practice environments.

To be registered as a pharmacist, students must complete an additional one year pharmacy internship program under the supervision of the Pharmacy Board. Monash University offers an internship program (previously known as pre-registration), either as a stand-alone course or as part of the Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.

Special requirements

Police checks are required for the professional experience placements in clinical and community settings in the Bachelor of Pharmacy. All students will be required to obtain and pay for a police check prior to undertaking the clinical and community placements in their course. For further information or for clarification, contact the placement program coordinator, email pep@pharm.monash.edu.au.

Course progression requirements

The full provisions governing the course structure and progress of students through the course are set out in the Bachelor of Pharmacy regulations, which can be found on the faculty's website at http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au.

The course aims to produce graduates with:

• an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the enabling sciences, applied pharmaceutical sciences, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice and the ability to integrate and apply the knowledge to the practice of pharmacy
• the relevant skills for the practice of pharmacy, defined by the current competencies and requirements of future practices
• the relevant generic skills, such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, learning for life, numeracy and information literacy and leadership
• the relevant professional and social values, attitudes, and behaviours, necessary for practice.

Graduates should be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained to promote and contribute to the quality use of medicines and to the health of the community.

The Bachelor of Pharmacy students take eight core units in the first three years of the course. In the fourth year students take seven core units (including the Professional Experience Placement program) and an elective unit.

First year

First semester

• PAC1111 Introduction to physiology
• PAC1121 Organic chemistry
• PAC1211 Physicochemical basis of pharmacy
• PAC1311 Pharmacy, health & society I

Second semester

• PAC1132 Systems physiology
• PAC1142 Chemistry of biomolecules
• PAC1222 Drug delivery I
• PAC1322 Pharmacy, health & society II

Second year

First semester

• PAC2151 Biochemistry and molecular biology
• PAC2161 Cell function, communication and pathology
• PAC2171 Basis of drug action I
• PAC2331 Pharmacists as communicators

Second semester

• PAC2182 Basis of drug action II
• PAC2232 Drug delivery and disposition
• PAC2342 Pharmacy in a public health context
• PAC2412 Integrated therapeutics: Introduction and cardiovascular

Third year

First semester

• PAC3191 Microbiology and immunology
• PAC3241 Drug delivery, disposition and dynamics
• PAC3351 Context for practice I
• PAC3421 Integrated therapeutics respiratory

Second semester

• PAC3252 Drug delivery II
• PAC3362 Context for practice II
• PAC3432 Integrated therapeutics: Infectious diseases
• PAC3442 Integrated therapeutics: Endocrinology and renal

Fourth year

First semester

• PAC4261 Drug delivery and development
• PAC4371 Professional experience placement program
• PAC4451 Integrated therapeutics: Dermatology and pain
• elective (options to be advised)

Second semester

• PAC4382 Context for practice III
• PAC4462 Integrated therapeutics: Neurology and oncology
• PAC4472 Integrated therapeutics: Psychiatry
• PAC4482 Integrated therapeutics: Advanced practice

Bachelor of Pharmacy (with honours)

Students will qualify for the in-course Bachelor of Pharmacy (with honours) at the conclusion of the four-year pharmacy course, awarded in one of the grades of H1, H2A or H2B, where the aggregate of the marks they obtain in all units attempted reaches minimum levels of achievement determined by the faculty board.

Pharmacy Board of Victoria

To practice as a pharmacist in Victoria it is necessary to register with the Pharmacy Board of Victoria. To qualify for registration with the Pharmacy Board of Victoria, a period of internship (pre-registration) practical training must be undertaken after completing the undergraduate course. For detailed information, refer to the entry under 'Pharmacy pre-registration training' later in this section of this handbook.

Royal Australian Chemical Institute

Bachelor of Pharmacy graduates from the Victorian College of Pharmacy are eligible to become members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) after a period of practical experience. RACI members are able to practise in many areas of industry as professional chemists and receive the salaries determined by the RACI.

Bachelor of Pharmacy

Bachelor of Pharmacy with honours

* Where more than one award is listed, or in the case of double degrees, where more than one award is listed for one or both components of the double degree, the actual award/s conferred may depend on units/majors/streams/specialisations studied, the level of academic merit achieved (eg in the case of 'with honours' programs), or other factors relevant to the individual student's program of study.

The Bachelor of Pharmacy/Bachelor of Commerce double-degree program recognises that pharmacy has a business as well as a professional component. The course is especially relevant to those graduates considering managing or owning a pharmacy or those who find themselves in a management role in a hospital pharmacy or the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmacists are health professionals with the skills and knowledge to manage a patient's understanding and utilisation of medication, in order to optimise medicines related to health outcomes.

The Bachelor of Pharmacy degree has four streams of study: enabling sciences, applied pharmaceutical sciences, clinical and integrated sciences and pharmacy practice sciences.

During fourth year, students undertake work placements in hospitals and community pharmacies through the Professional Experiences Placement program. The program provides an understanding of the processes involved in, for example, providing primary health care, drug information, and clinical pharmacy services in different practice environments.

To be registered as a pharmacist, students must complete an additional one year pharmacy internship program under the supervision of the Pharmacy Board. Monash University offers a pharmacy internship program (previously known as pre-registration, either as a stand-alone course or as part of the Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.

Special requirements

Police checks are required for the professional experience placements in clinical and community settings in the Bachelor of Pharmacy. All students will be required to obtain and pay for a police check prior to undertaking the clinical and community placements in their course. For further information or for clarification, contact the placement program coordinator, email pep@pharm.monash.edu.au.

The degree provides students with the knowledge and skills to own or manage a pharmacy or to work in the wider healthcare sector, government or the pharmaceutical industry. It aims to produce graduates with:

• an indepth understanding and knowledge of the enabling sciences, applied pharmaceutical sciences, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice and be able to integrate and apply the knowledge to the practice of pharmacy
• the relevant skills for the practice of pharmacy, defined by the current competencies and requirements of future practices
• the relevant generic skills, such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, learning for life, numeracy and information literacy and leadership
• the relevant professional and social values, attitudes, and behaviours, necessary for practice.

Graduates should be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained to promote and contribute to the quality use of medicines and to the health of the community.

All units studied as part of the Bachelor of Pharmacy component of this double degree must be from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Students must also complete a major specialisation in one of the following disciplines taught by the Faculty of Business and Economics:

• accounting
• Asian development and transition
• competition regulation and public policy
• finance
• human resource management
• information strategy and decision making
• international commerce
• labour and employment.

Also available are generic majors in accounting and finance, business law and taxation, economics, econometrics and business statistics, management and marketing.

All units studied as part of the Bachelor of Commerce component must be from the Faculty of Business and Economics on the Clayton campus. For details of the units required for major specialisations, refer to the Bachelor of Commerce (Clayton) entry in the Faculty of Business and Economics section of this handbook.

The degree requirements are:

(a.) students must complete 32 units (192 points) from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharamaceutical Sciences and must satisfy the requirements for the Bachelor of Pharmacy

(b.) students must complete 16 units (96 points) from the Faculty of Business and Economics as follows:

(i) six compulsory common core units (36 points):

• AFC1000 Principles of accounting and finance
• BTC1100 Business law
• ECC1000 Principles of microeconomics
• ETC1000 Business and economic statistics
• MGC1010 Introduction to management
• MKC1200 Principles of marketing

(ii) at least two of the following (12 points):

• AFC1030 Introductory financial accounting, or AFC2140 Corporate Finance
• ECC1100 Principles of macroeconomics
• ETC1010 Data modelling and computing
• MGC1020 Organisations: Contexts and strategies

(iii) a major of eight units (48 points)

• the major must come from the approved list of majors
• at least two units (12 points) must be completed at each of second and third-year levels

(iv.) additional units from the faculty in the Bachelor of Commerce at the Clayton campus to reach the required minimum of 16 units.

Additional degree requirements:

• a maximum of eight first-year level units (48 points)
• a minimum of four third-year level units (24 points), from the faculty at the Clayton campus
• first-year students normally may not take a second-year unit until at least four first-year units have been completed successfully.

Bachelor of Pharmacy

To qualify for registration with the Pharmacy Board of Victoria, a period of internship (pre-registration practical training) is required as an educational bridge linking the undergraduate course and the graduate's work as a registered pharmacist. For detailed information, refer to the entry under 'Pharmacy Internship Program' in the handbook.

Bachelor of Pharmacy graduates from the Victorian College of Pharmacy are eligible to become members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) after a period of practical experience. RACI members are able to practice in many areas of industry as professional chemists and receive the salaries determined by the RACI.

Bachelor of Commerce

For details on Professional recognition, refer to the Bachelor of Commerce entry in the Faculty of Business and Economics section of this handbook.

Bachelor of Commerce

Bachelor of Pharmacy

This honours year is designed to prepare students for entry to a higher degree by research. The honours research projects in this course are offered in the principal areas of pharmaceutics, formulation science and product development. Available honours projects depend upon the availability of resources for supervision, laboratory space and materials.

The prerequisite for entry to the honours year is a bachelors degree in pharmaceutical science, formulation science or other related field with an average overall credit grade or higher in the final year of the course, or equivalent qualifications and experience deemed by the faculty research training committee to be suitable preparation for the candidate's proposed field of study.

The objectives of this course are to:

• develop students skills in research including research planning in conjunction with their project supervisor, experimental techniques, data analysis and scientific writing
• provide students with a research-oriented degree suitable for entry into the pharmaceutical science and formulation science industries
• provide future higher degree candidates with advanced knowledge in pharmaceutical science and formulation science and research methodology
• encourage students to become technically competent to use analytical instrumentation, conduct experimental procedures and methodologies
• provide the opportunity for students to undertake data manipulation and analysis and understand the interpretation of data
• provide a forum for students to communicate the outcomes of the research project orally and in writing.

The honours degree consists of 20 per cent coursework and 80 per cent supervised research undertaken in one of the faculty's departments.

Students enrol in one of the following units (each unit contains a combination of research and coursework activities, based on one specific formulation science research area):

• VCF4131 Chemistry
• VCF4141 Pharmacology
• VCF4121 Pharmaceutics

With permission of the faculty's research training committee, it may be possible to undertake a portion of the research at an external location (eg a hospital, industrial laboratory etc). If a substantial portion of the research work is to be carried out in an external institution, a suitably qualified person within that institution must act as an associate supervisor. The faculty supervisor is responsible for the overall research program at an academic level.

Honours degree of Bachelor of Formulation Science

This honours degree is an extension of the current Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry degree and provides an excellent research training base for those entering the industry or higher degree programs. The course consists of compulsory coursework, including induction and information technology non-assessable introductory programs, and assessable coursework components relevant to medicinal chemistry. The course also provides supervised research based in any area of medicinal chemistry.

The prerequisite for entry to the honours year is a bachelors degree in medicinal chemistry or other related field with an average overall credit grade or higher in the final year of the course, or equivalent qualifications and experience deemed by the faculty board to be suitable preparation for the candidate's proposed field of study.

The objectives of the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry are as follows:

• to develop students' skills in research, including research planning, experimental techniques, data analysis and scientific writing
• to provide students with a research-orientated degree suitable for entry into pharmaceutical, drug discovery and biotechnology industries
• to provide future higher degree candidates with advanced knowledge in medicinal chemistry and research methodology
• to encourage students to pursue higher degree studies in medicinal chemistry.

Upon successful completion, the student will:

• develop an in-depth knowledge of some aspects of the basic science concepts supporting medicinal chemistry
• be able to undertake a review of the literature and be able to present a critical evaluation of the literature
• have an understanding of the process in planning a research project and will be able to develop a research plan in discussion with the project supervisor
• be technically competent to use analytical instrumentation, conduct experimental procedures and methodologies
• be able to undertake data manipulation and analysis and understand the interpretation of data
• be able to communicate the outcomes of the project, orally and in writing.

The honours degree consists of 25 per cent (12 credit points) coursework and 75 per cent (36 credit points) supervised research undertaken in either the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Students must complete the following units:

• BMC4100 Medicinal chemistry honours research project
• BMC4200 Medicinal chemistry honours coursework

The coursework components will consist of an induction period (one week) followed by several weeks of assessable coursework. The non-assessable induction program will provide candidates with the details of the course and its assessment, research requirements and legal responsibilities. In addition, the induction process will provide advice on research methodology, information retrieval, and the oral and written communication of research results. There will also be an information technology component that will introduce the candidate to programs that will assist with their research writing.

The coursework will be taught jointly at the Clayton and Parkville campuses. Students will undertake coursework study equivalent to a minimum 40 hours of contact (lecture and tutorials) and self-directed learning. The research component will consist of a thesis and seminars/oral presentations.

Honours degree of Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry

This honours year program is designed to prepare students for entry to a higher degree by research. The honours research projects are offered in the principal areas of medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical biology, pharmaceutics and pharmacy practice. Available honours projects depend upon the availability of resources for supervision, laboratory space and materials.

The prerequisite for entry to the honours year is a bachelors degree in pharmacy, pharmaceutical science or other related field with an average overall credit grade or higher in the final year of the course, or equivalent qualifications and experience deemed by the faculty research training committee to be suitable preparation for the candidate's proposed field of study.

The objectives of this course are to:

• develop students skills in research including research planning in conjunction with their project supervisor, experimental techniques, data analysis and scientific writing
• provide students with a research-oriented degree suitable for entry into pharmaceutical science industries
• provide future higher degree candidates with advanced knowledge in pharmaceutical science and research methodology
• encourage students to become technically competent to use analytical instrumentation, conduct experimental procedures and methodologies
• provide the opportunity for students to undertake data manipulation and analysis and understand the interpretation of data
• provide a forum for students to communicate the outcomes of the research project orally and in writing.

The honours degree consists of 20 per cent coursework and 80 per cent supervised research undertaken in one of the faculty's departments.

Students enrol in one of the following units. Each unit contains a combination of research and coursework activities, based on one specific pharmaceutical science research area:

• VCP6121 Pharmaceutics
• VCP6131 Chemistry
• VCP6141 Pharmacology
• VCP6151 Pharmacy Practice

The course consists of:

(a.) compulsory coursework including an induction program and topics applicable to the research interests of the student

(b.) supervised research.

The latter component can be based in any area that falls within the interests of the faculty's departments (pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical biology and pharmacology, pharmacy practice).

With permission of the research training committee, it may also be possible to undertake a portion of the research in an external institution (eg a hospital or industry laboratory). If a substantial portion of the research work is to be carried out in an external institution, a suitably qualified person within that institution should act as an associate supervisor. The internal (faculty) supervisor is responsible for the overall research program at an academic level.

The Honours Degree of Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science