A Master of Pharmacy (abbreviated MPharm, or MPharm (Hons) if an undergraduate degree with honours) is an academic degree in the field of pharmacy, which may be undergraduate or postgraduate depending on the country concerned. In many countries, it has superseded a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) as the prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. It may also refer to a postgraduate coursework or research degree in the field of pharmacy.
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In Poland, magister farmacji (abbreviated to mgr farmacji) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded following five and a half years of academic study in pharmacy. Completing a dissertation in this area is a prerequisite.
In the United Kingdom, MPharm or MPharm(Hons) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded following four years academic study in pharmacy. The degree is awarded by all of the schools of pharmacy in the UK and superseded the BSc (Pharmacy) and BPharm degrees when the length of the undergraduate pharmacy course was increased from three to four years in 1997—partly due to EU harmonisation of pharmacy training and partly to extend the scope of the undergraduate degree. At King's College London, the initial 3 years of the degree are taught at undergraduate level and the final year is taught at postgraduate level in order to attain a Masters degree.
The MPharm is the only qualification in the UK which leads to professional registration as a pharmacist. MPharm programs are accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in England, Scotland and Wales, and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in Northern Ireland. Aspiring pharmacists in the UK qualify by first completing this degree, then undertaking a year of pre-registration training. On successful completion of this training they become registered pharmacists. In Great Britain it used to be the case, until September 2010, that with registration they became members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, able to use the postnominal letters MRPharmS (Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain). However, the RPSGB split off its regulatory role in September 2010 and the new regulatory body, the GPhC, does not grant postnominals to its registrants. MRPharmS is still granted by the RPS to its member but no longer has an automatic link to current registration as a pharmacist. In Northern Ireland regulation has not been removed from the PSNI and therefore registration as a pharmacist and membership of the PSNI are still simultaneous, granting use of the postnominals MPSNI (Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland).
Master of Pharmacy (MPharma) in India is offered as post graduate (graduate) course after completion of BPharma degree. The MPharma course is normally of two years duration.In some universities it is one year research and one year theory examiniation, while some offers M Pharm by research completely leading to doctorate degree. The course focuses on specialisation in the field of pharmacy. The MPharma courses are offered by pharmacy colleges affiliated to uniee leading to entry into the pharmacy profession. In 2004, the University of Newcastle introduced a two-year postgraduate MPharm coursework program, to provide an alternative means to gain qualification for registration to practice as a pharmacist for graduates with a bachelor's degree in any science or medical science that includes the required prerequisites. The MPharm degree is not an advanced follow-up degree for pharmacists. Following the commencement of the MPharm program at the University of Newcastle, other universities across Australia also began offering MPharm coursework programs. At present, either the BPharm or MPharm degree is accepted for registration as a practicing pharmacist.
See list of pharmacy schools: Australia for a listing of institutions offering the MPharm degree.
With the success and popularity of the MPharm coursework degrees, research MPharm degrees have now been redesignated Master of Pharmacy (Clinical) (abbreviated MPharm (Clinical)) or Master of Clinical Pharmacy (abbreviated MClinPharm). This degree offers advanced training to graduates of a Bachelor of Pharmacy, and does not by itself meet the requirements for registration as a pharmacist. These are the following colleges imparting M Pharma in India in various specilaities like Pharmacology , Pharamceutics , Pharmacognosy , Pharmaceutical Biotechnology etc.:
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