Course details

Summary

To register and practice as a pharmacist in New Zealand, a four-year University programme leading to a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree followed by 52 weeks of trainee internship at approved pharmaceutical establishments has to be undertaken. The Otago BPharm, the oldest university pharmacy degree in New Zealand, opens opportunities to practice as a pharmacist in various professional settings. It is a broad-based university programme in the physical, biological, social and health sciences.

Pharmacists are health professionals. They are the experts on medicine in the community. They have the skills and knowledge to help patients understand and use their medicines in the most appropriate way. The practice of pharmacy includes the development and manufacture of medicines, the supply and dispensing of medicines to patients, and the giving of information about medicines, drug therapy and disease management to patients, doctors and other health professionals.

Programme Requirements

1st year: Health Sciences First Year Course

Note: Students enrolled in the Health Sciences First Year course will be required to achieve a satisfactory mark in a standard diagnostic English test or another approved measure of achievement.

2nd year

• PHCY 210 Introduction to Pharmacy
• PHCY 211 Fundamental Pharmaceutical Science
• PHCY 220 Integrated Modules A

Note: Candidates for the second and subsequent years of the BPharm programme will normally have passed all papers for the previous year of study.

3rd year

• PHCY 315 Human Disease
• PHCY 340 Essentials of Drug Action
• PHCY 342 Drug Delivery Systems
• PHCY 343 Drug Disposition and Pharmacokinetics
• PHCY 344 Professional Pharmacy Practice A
• PHCY 345 Quality Use of Medicines A
• PHCY 346 Professional Pharmacy Practice B

4th year

• PHCY 470 Elective Study
• PHCY 471 Quality Use of Medicines B
• PHCY 472 Professional Pharmacy Practice C
• PHCY 473 Quality Use of Medicines C

Entry criteria

The minimum requirement for students is the completion of a high school qualification plus satisfactory completion of one year's study at an approved tertiary institution or successful completion New Zealand Foundation Year programme.

We also accept the following International qualifications: International Baccalaureate: IB Diploma with a minimum of 26 points; GCE Advanced Levels: minimum grade of 8.

English Language Requirements:

IELTS score of 6.0 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 80 (writing 20); Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 (TWE 4.5); CIE Cambridge International Examinations Grade E or better in AS English; Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); GCE 'A' Level or 'AS' Level English Language or English Literature - grade C or higher; GCE 'AS' Level General Paper (English) - grade C or higher; APIEL (Advanced Placement International English Language) Examination - grade 3 or higher; IB International Baccalaureate - English at Higher or Standard level in Language A: literature, Language A: language and literature, or at Higher level in Language B; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50.