You are viewing the program for

Master's Degree (120 credits) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Specialized Track

Master en sciences pharmaceutiques

Overview

Since 2020, the University of Namur has been offering a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in partnership with UCLouvain. 

After more than 50 years of teaching and research in the pharmaceutical field, UNamur is expanding its academic offerings and, since September 2020, has been offering a comprehensive pharmacy degree program. 

The Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences, offered jointly with UCLouvain, combines the strengths and expertise of both universities to train you as specialists in drug therapies and health products. 

Master en sciences pharmaceutiques

Your goals

  • responsibly dispense medications and health products, develop individualized care plans, and ensure optimal monitoring of patients’ medication use;
  • inform and advise patients to promote the safe, correct, and rational use of medications and other health products, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy lifestyle (for the benefit of public health);
  • prepare extemporaneous and compounded medications and understand the design and development process in the pharmaceutical industry;
  • ensure the quality, safety, and traceability of medicinal products throughout the stages of production, transport, transfer, and storage;
  • monitor scientific and regulatory developments regarding the safe use of medications (pharmacovigilance) and update patients’ pharmaceutical records (drug interactions, intolerances, allergies, adverse effects, contraindications, etc.);
  • adapt your communication to your audience, build a relationship of trust with patients, and collaborate effectively with other healthcare professionals;
  • adhere to ethical principles (professional integrity, ethics, rigor, precision, and respect for confidentiality) and the regulations governing the pharmacy profession;
  • communicate with other stakeholders in the scientific and medical fields (e.g., contact physicians to establish a treatment plan in the event of a detected drug interaction, a missing product, or a product withdrawn from the market…).

The benefits of this master's program

  • Innovative and career-focused tracks

    The unique tracks in “Drug Development” and “Public Health and Healthcare Innovations” train you either in the development of new therapeutic (bio)molecules or in the integration of biomedical innovations—such as personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, data science, and artificial intelligence—into a public health approach aimed at improving the efficiency, equity, and sustainability of healthcare systems.

  • Specialized facilities at a university on a human scale

    In the heart of Namur, you’ll have access to facilities specifically designed for future pharmacists: a galenic laboratory, a teaching pharmacy, a lab, a lecture hall, a study area…

  • A dual degree

    You’ll benefit from instruction by expert professors from UNamur and UCLouvain and graduate with degrees from both universities. An added asset for your resume and your education!

The program

The two-year Master’s program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, held primarily on the UNamur campus, trains future pharmaceutical specialists to address current and future public health challenges.

This interdisciplinary program combines theoretical courses, practical and supervised work, as well as seminars, role-playing exercises, and simulations. It provides a rigorous scientific foundation for solving concrete problems encountered in the various professional fields of pharmacy—whether in a pharmacy, a research laboratory, or the pharmaceutical industry.

Ultimately, the program aims to promote professional excellence, critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility among pharmacists, in the service of patients and public health.

Depending on the direction you choose for your program, you select a major and a concentration.

The in-depth specialization prepares you for a career in research, notably through the development of a research project in pharmaceutical sciences in a private or university laboratory, in Belgium or abroad. 

You will complete a practical thesis related to your research topic in the laboratory. 

The options 

  • “Drug Development: Non-Clinical and Clinical”—offered at UNamur and taught in English—to explore all stages of developing a new therapeutic molecule and build your scientific and regulatory knowledge for a future career in the industry;
  • “Public Health and Healthcare Innovations”—offered at UNamur—aims to develop key competencies in public health, healthcare systems analysis, and the integration of biomedical innovations (personalized medicine, data science, artificial intelligence) into pharmaceutical practice. Particular attention is given to the role of the pharmacist in improving the efficiency, equity, and quality of care, both in community pharmacies and within other healthcare sectors;
  • “Dispensing”—organized partly at UNamur and UCLouvain on the Woluwé campus—to deepen your dispensing knowledge regarding specific populations (pregnant women, pediatrics, geriatrics), alternative medicine, addiction treatment, and dermatology.

A teaching pharmacy will immerse you in practical scenarios to help you develop a professional attitude, expand your knowledge, and improve your communication with patients: videos, role-playing, analysis of pharmacists at work... 

Your training concludes with a pharmacy internship of the legally required duration of 6 months. 

You will be offered first aid training to learn how to respond effectively in emergency situations, as well as theoretical and practical training on vaccination in the pharmacy setting. 

Master's degrees in pharmaceutical sciences

The University of Namur also offers a 120-credit Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialized track.

You are viewing the program for

Master's Degree (120 credits) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with a Specialized Track

Master en sciences pharmaceutiques

Overview

Since 2020, the University of Namur has been offering a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in partnership with UCLouvain. 

After more than 50 years of teaching and research in the pharmaceutical field, UNamur is expanding its academic offerings and, since September 2020, has been offering a comprehensive pharmacy degree program. 

The Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences, offered jointly with UCLouvain, combines the strengths and expertise of both universities to train you as specialists in drug therapies and health products. 

Master en sciences pharmaceutiques

Your goals

  • responsibly dispense medications and health products, develop individualized care plans, and ensure optimal monitoring of patients’ medication use;
  • inform and advise patients to promote the safe, correct, and rational use of medications and other health products, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy lifestyle (for the benefit of public health);
  • prepare extemporaneous and compounded medications and understand the design and development process in the pharmaceutical industry;
  • ensure the quality, safety, and traceability of medicinal products throughout the stages of production, transport, transfer, and storage;
  • monitor scientific and regulatory developments regarding the safe use of medications (pharmacovigilance) and update patients’ pharmaceutical records (drug interactions, intolerances, allergies, adverse effects, contraindications, etc.);
  • adapt your communication to your audience, build a relationship of trust with patients, and collaborate effectively with other healthcare professionals;
  • adhere to ethical principles (professional integrity, ethics, rigor, precision, and respect for confidentiality) and the regulations governing the profession of pharmacy;
  • communicate with other stakeholders in the scientific and medical fields (e.g., contact physicians to establish a treatment plan in the event of a detected drug interaction, a missing product, or a product withdrawn from the market…).

The benefits of this master's program

  • Innovative and career-focused tracks

    The unique tracks in “Drug Development” and “Public Health and Healthcare Innovations” train you either in the development of new therapeutic (bio)molecules or in the integration of biomedical innovations—such as personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, data science, and artificial intelligence—into a public health approach aimed at improving the efficiency, equity, and sustainability of healthcare systems.

  • Specialized facilities at a university on a human scale

    In the heart of Namur, you’ll have access to facilities specifically designed for future pharmacists: a galenic laboratory, a teaching pharmacy, a lab, a lecture hall, a study area…

  • A dual degree

    You’ll benefit from instruction by expert professors from UNamur and UCLouvain and graduate with degrees from both universities. An added asset for your resume and your education!

The program

The two-year Master’s program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, held primarily on the UNamur campus, trains future pharmaceutical specialists to address current and future public health challenges.

This interdisciplinary program combines theoretical courses, practical and supervised work, as well as seminars, role-playing exercises, and simulations. It provides a rigorous scientific foundation for solving concrete problems encountered in the various professional fields of pharmacy—whether in a pharmacy, a research laboratory, or the pharmaceutical industry.

Ultimately, the program aims to promote professional excellence, critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility among pharmacists, in the service of patients and public health.

Depending on the direction you choose for your program, you will select a specialization and an elective.

The specialized track introduces you to career opportunities in community pharmacies and beyond (pharmacoeconomics, clinical biology, the pharmaceutical industry, etc.).  

You will write a bibliographic thesis on a topic related to the pharmaceutical field that interests you. 

The options 

  • “Drug Development: Non-Clinical and Clinical”—offered at UNamur and taught in English—to explore all stages of developing a new therapeutic molecule and build your scientific and regulatory knowledge for a future career in the industry;
  • “Public Health and Healthcare Innovations”—offered at UNamur—aims to develop key competencies in public health, healthcare systems analysis, and the integration of biomedical innovations (personalized medicine, data science, artificial intelligence) into pharmaceutical practice. Particular attention is given to the role of the pharmacist in improving the efficiency, equity, and quality of care, both in community pharmacies and within other healthcare sectors;
  • “Dispensing”—organized partly at UNamur and UCLouvain on the Woluwé campus—to deepen your pharmacy knowledge regarding specific populations (pregnant women, pediatrics, geriatrics), alternative medicine, addiction treatment, and dermatology.

A teaching pharmacy will immerse you in practical scenarios to help you develop a professional attitude, knowledge, and communication skills with patients: videos, role-playing, analysis of pharmacists at work... 

Your training concludes with a pharmacy internship of the legally required duration of 6 months. 

You will be offered first aid training to learn how to respond effectively in emergency situations, as well as theoretical and practical training on vaccination in the pharmacy setting. 

Master's degrees in pharmaceutical sciences

The University of Namur also offers a 120-credit Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialized track.

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Pharmacy Careers

Pharmacy Careers

The dispensary is the historic and traditional domain of pharmacists. For a long time, all of a pharmacist’s duties were concentrated there. As medication preparers, following the doctor’s prescription, they would prepare “compounded medications,” tablets, pills, syrups from substances of biological or mineral origin, most of which were themselves prepared and analyzed in the dispensary. They then dispensed these medications to patients, assuming full responsibility for them.

Scientific and social developments, particularly the emergence of pharmaceutical specialties, have shifted the balance of these roles. Adapting to this new situation means that, faced with an increasingly complex and diverse therapeutic arsenal, the primary role of pharmacists today is to have a thorough understanding of the medications they dispense and their effects. More than ever, they are the last line of defense between the medication and the patients, whom they must be able to guide and advise on its use.

Approximately 70% of graduates pursue careers as community pharmacists. Consulted twice as often as doctors and enjoying a high level of trust among the public, community pharmacists are frontline public health professionals. Their role as advisors in dispensing medications, providing pharmaceutical follow-up, and supporting patients is essential. 

Fulfilling this mission requires solid knowledge of pharmacology and medical conditions, as well as strong listening, communication, and teaching skills.

Pharmacists can also play an important role in a wide variety of other fields that are difficult to categorize. For example, pharmacists apply their expertise in toxicology, hygiene and environmental protection, food analysis, cosmetology, dietetics, and herbal medicine, as well as in the fields of research and higher education. 

In the pharmaceutical industry, industrial pharmacists play a key role in research and development (drug development, formulation, analysis, etc.), contribute to clinical trials, are involved in regulatory affairs concerning, among other things, drug registration, and are responsible for drug production, quality control (QC), and quality assurance (QA). Finally, certain key positions must be held by industrial pharmacists.

In a hospital setting, hospital pharmacists manage and oversee the pharmacy department. They are responsible for the manufacturing, control, analysis, sterilization, and dispensing of medications, as well as the management of the hospital pharmacy. As specialists in medications and medical equipment (prosthetics, surgical equipment, etc.), they are in constant contact with healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, etc.).

In hospitals, clinical pharmacists are part of the healthcare team. They also interact with patients, and their goal is to optimize medication use (rational selection, adverse effects, cost, etc.).

Clinical laboratory scientists manage private or hospital-affiliated clinical laboratory (or medical testing) facilities. They are responsible for the quality of the tests as well as their interpretation. Through the information they provide, they contribute, in collaboration with physicians, to establishing a diagnosis of the disease. Clinical biology comprises three main fields: medical chemistry (analysis of chemical and biochemical components, toxicology, etc.), hematology (analysis of blood cells and proteins, immunology, etc.), and microbiology (analysis of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.).

Radiopharmacists, for their part, are responsible for the production and control of radioisotopes for diagnostic (medical imaging) and therapeutic (radiotherapy) use.

A number of government agencies and organizations rely on the expertise of pharmacists. These include public authorities (e.g., the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, which oversees the Pharmacy Inspectorate), the military (Health Service), public agencies (INAMI, mutual insurance companies), professional organizations (Belgian Pharmaceutical Association, Medicines Control Service, etc.), and humanitarian organizations (Pharmacists Without Borders).

Pharmacy Careers

Pharmacy Careers

The dispensary is the historic and traditional domain of pharmacists. For a long time, all of a pharmacist’s duties were concentrated there. As medication preparers, following the doctor’s prescription, they would prepare “compounded medications,” tablets, pills, syrups from substances of biological or mineral origin, most of which were themselves prepared and analyzed in the dispensary. They then dispensed these medications to patients, assuming full responsibility for them.

Scientific and social developments, particularly the emergence of pharmaceutical specialties, have shifted the balance of these roles. Adapting to this new situation means that, faced with an increasingly complex and diverse therapeutic arsenal, the primary role of pharmacists today is to have a thorough understanding of the medications they dispense and their effects. More than ever, they are the last line of defense between the medication and the patients, whom they must be able to guide and advise on its use.

Approximately 70% of graduates pursue careers as community pharmacists. Consulted twice as often as doctors and enjoying a high level of trust among the public, community pharmacists are frontline public health professionals. Their role as advisors in dispensing medications, providing pharmaceutical follow-up, and supporting patients is essential. 

Fulfilling this mission requires solid knowledge of pharmacology and medical conditions, as well as strong listening, communication, and teaching skills.

Pharmacists can also play an important role in a wide variety of other fields that are difficult to categorize. For example, pharmacists apply their expertise in toxicology, hygiene and environmental protection, food analysis, cosmetology, dietetics, and herbal medicine, as well as in the fields of research and higher education. 

In the pharmaceutical industry, industrial pharmacists play a key role in research and development (drug development, formulation, analysis, etc.), contribute to clinical trials, are involved in regulatory affairs concerning, among other things, drug registration, and are responsible for drug production, quality control (QC), and quality assurance (QA). Finally, certain key positions must be held by industrial pharmacists.

In a hospital setting, hospital pharmacists manage and oversee the pharmacy department. They are responsible for the manufacturing, control, analysis, sterilization, and dispensing of medications, as well as the management of the hospital pharmacy. As specialists in medications and medical equipment (prosthetics, surgical equipment, etc.), they are in constant contact with healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, etc.).

In hospitals, clinical pharmacists are part of the healthcare team. They also interact with patients, and their goal is to optimize medication use (rational selection, adverse effects, cost, etc.).

Clinical laboratory scientists manage private or hospital-affiliated clinical laboratory (or medical testing) facilities. They are responsible for the quality of the tests as well as their interpretation. Through the information they provide, they contribute, in collaboration with physicians, to establishing a diagnosis of the disease. Clinical biology comprises three main fields: medical chemistry (analysis of chemical and biochemical components, toxicology, etc.), hematology (analysis of blood cells and proteins, immunology, etc.), and microbiology (analysis of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.).

Radiopharmacists, for their part, are responsible for the production and control of radioisotopes for diagnostic (medical imaging) and therapeutic (radiotherapy) use.

A number of government agencies and organizations rely on the expertise of pharmacists. These include public authorities (e.g., the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, which oversees the Pharmacy Inspectorate), the military (Health Service), public agencies (INAMI, mutual insurance companies), professional organizations (Belgian Pharmaceutical Association, Medicines Control Service, etc.), and humanitarian organizations (Pharmacists Without Borders).