Introduction

The bachelor's degree in Pharmacy qualifies students to practice as professional pharmacists and as healthcare professionals responsible for activities related to the production, conservation and dispensation of medicines and to collaborate on analytical, drug therapy and public health surveillance processes.

The bachelor's degree in Pharmacy is a five-year bachelor's degree course leading to the official qualification required to practice this healthcare profession. It provides the training to be able to contribute to improving quality of life and well-being through professional practice in hospital pharmacy, scientific research, community pharmacy, health inspection, drug development or nutritional advice. 

Graduates are specialists in drugs, medicines and medical devices, but also have broad training in other areas and are equipped to collaborate with professionals in very diverse fields, carrying out tasks of great interest to society, such as those related to healthcare management, teaching and research. It is a bachelor's degree with a high graduate employment rate and a wide variety of career opportunities.

Graduates, for example, can work in pharmacies, in the pharmaceutical industry, and in related areas such as pharmaceutical marketing, carry out innovative research, pursue careers in public or private healthcare, or work as teachers.

Basic information

TypeBachelor's degrees
Faculty or schoolFaculty of Pharmacy and Food Science
Branch of knowledge
  • Health Sciences
  • Sciences
Mode of delivery

face to face

 

Credits300
Number of places available

340 (excluding double degrees)

Length of course5 academic years
Language(s) of instructionCatalan 79,4%, Spanish 20,4%, English 0,3%
Admission grade

11.192  (July 2023, start of process, via official entrance examinations/vocational training)

 

Approximate price per credit18,46 €
Compulsory placementsYes
CoordinatorMONTSERRAT FOLCH SANCHEZ
Course detailsIndicators
Professional practiceYes
Profesión regulada--

pharmacist

SpecializationsYes

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The University of Barcelona's bachelor's degree in Pharmacy covers the various areas of pharmaceutical activity, and is designed to meet the following general learning objectives:

1. To develop expert knowledge of all aspects of drugs and medicines.

2. To gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the different areas of professional activity.

3. To acquire a balance of contents that address basic sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical and clinical sciences, socioeconomic and behavioural sciences, experimentation, communication techniques and supervised placements, as recommended by the WHO.

4. To acquire a strong foundation for subsequent access to specialist training, scientific research, technological development or teaching.

5. To work with a choice of specific content areas leading to different careers.

6. To develop the capacity for self-directed learning and become less dependent on passive learning, thus gaining the motivation to pursue lifelong learning.

7. To acquire the specific training for employment in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry or healthcare management.

8. To learn to design experiments founded in the scientific method, and to interpret scientific studies in the field of health sciences.

9. To develop the ability to work in teams with other professionals in the different areas of healthcare. 10. To acquire a critical approach to problems and decision-making.

Competences

Basic and General Competences

  • Capacity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, and to apply this knowledge in the professional area in question.
  • Ability to gather and interpret relevant data, in order to evaluate specific social, scientific and ethical issues.
  • Ability to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialists and non-specialists.
  • Capacity to produce effective spoken and written communication.
  • Capacity to identify limitations and awareness of the need to constantly update professional skills.

 

Generic competences

  • Commitment to ethical behaviour in professional practice.
  • Capacity for learning and responsibility.
  • Teamwork skills.
  • Creative and entrepreneurial skills.
  • Awareness of the importance of sustainability.
  • Communication skills.

 

Specific competences

  • Capacity to identify, design, obtain, produce, analyse and control new drugs and medicines and other products and materials with potential applications in healthcare and veterinary care.
  • Ability to supply and dispense medicines and other healthcare products.
  • Capacity to apply the scientific method, work within the relevant legislative framework, use appropriate sources of information and reference, and apply protocols.
  • Capacity to provide therapeutic advice on drug therapy and dietary therapy and in the general areas of food and nutrition.
  • Capacity to evaluate the therapeutic and toxic effects of pharmacologically active substances.
  • Ability to promote the rational use of medicines and healthcare products, and gain basic knowledge of clinical management, health economics and efficient resource management.
  • Capacity to identify and assess therapeutic effects and problems related to drugs and medicines, and to participate in pharmacovigilance activities.
  • The knowledge and skills to participate in activities to promote health and prevent disease.
  • Ability to assess the toxic effects of different substances and to design and apply the corresponding tests and analyses.
  • Capacity to design, apply and evaluate clinical methods and analytical techniques.
  • Ability to design and carry out hygiene and health analyses related to food and the environment.
  • Ability to develop clinical and social pharmacy activities, following the cycle of pharmaceutical care .

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

  • General understanding of biology.
  • Strong level of general chemistry training, with basic notions of inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry.
  • Basic training in mathematics and physics.
  • Strong reading comprehension skills in English.
  • Good user-level IT skills.
  • Interest in health sciences.
  • Interest in laboratory safety

Access requirements and conditions

Admission for students with studies completed outside Spain.

Applicants holding higher educational qualifications from a university outside Spain should consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications to find out about specific admission requirements.
 

Pre-enrolment

Students that have studied abroad and who wish to study at the University of Barcelona may be admitted to EHEA bachelor's degree courses. Procedures for gaining admission will depend on the qualifications held by each applicant.

For further information about admission, consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications.
 

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online via the Món UB portal. To find out the date and time you have been assigned, check the specific information for your course. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned.

Academic information

 

Welcome

Support and guidance

Pre-enrolment information and events

 

Course curriculum

Subjects and course plans

Distribution of credits

Type ECTS
Basic training 63
Compulsory 165
Optional 42
Compulsory placements 24
Compulsory final project 6
TOTAL 300

List of subjects

Subject Language Type Credits
Analysis and Control of Medicines and Health Products 1st semester Optional 3
Applicability of Biopharmacy and Pharmacokinetics 1st semester Optional 3
Aprenentatge Servei, Compromís i Transformació Social 1st semester Optional 6
Chronobiology in Pharmacy 1st semester Optional 3
Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology 2nd semester Optional 3
Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology 1st semester Optional 6
Clinical Trials and Pharmacovigilance 1st semester Optional 3
Dermopharmacy 1st semester Optional 3
Directed Project 1st semester
2nd semester
Optional 6
Drug Addiction 1st semester Optional 3
Drug Design 1st semester Optional 3
Food and Nutrition Consultancy 1st semester Optional 3
Galenic Pharmacy III and Quality Management 2nd semester Optional 6
Genetic Engineering 1st semester Optional 3
Genètica Clínica i Teràpia de Precisió 1st semester Optional 3
Health Promotion 1st semester Optional 3
Hematology 1st semester Optional 3
Human Biochemistry 1st semester Optional 3
In-Company Placement Annual 1st semester
2nd semester
Optional 12
Management and Planning 1st semester Optional 6
Medicinal Plants, Ethnobotany and Bioprospecting 1st semester Optional 3
Molecular Pharmacology 1st semester Optional 3
Molecular Principles of Cancer 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Industry 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Research 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmaceutical Care 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmaceutical Compounding 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmaceutical Industry and the Environment 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Marketing 1st semester Optional 3
Pharmacology and Toxicology in Research and Development 1st semester Optional 6
Pharmacy and Bioethics 1st semester Optional 3
Physicochemical Characteristics of Biomembranes 1st semester Optional 3
Phytotherapy 2nd semester Optional 3
Plant Biofactories for Pharmaceutical Products 1st semester Optional 3
Service-Learning in Antimicrobial Resistance 1st semester
2nd semester
Optional 3
Structural Analysis of Drugs 1st semester Optional 3
Technology of the Pharmaceutical Industry 1st semester Optional 3
Vaccines in the Age of Globalization 1st semester Optional 3
Virology and Human Health 1st semester Optional 3

Pathways and specializations

Pathway in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Research
Pathway in Care in Pharmacy and Clinical Analysis
Check the planning of the different pathways of the degree

Previous years

Placements

Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment.They are therefore included in the academic record.  There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 500 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.
 

Institutional information

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

Pharmaceutical training enables graduates to work in pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry, hospital specialities (pharmacy, clinical biochemistry and clinical microbiology), analytical laboratories, healthcare management in public and private institutions, and research and education.

Access to the labour market

Data from the university system in Catalonia