The Medway School of Pharmacy is a unique collaboration between the University of Greenwich and the University of Kent. Since opening in 2004 we have become recognised as an established school of pharmacy, by the regulator The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). We are delighted to have achieved our initial objective of having our Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) graduates working as pharmacists in various careers both locally and nationally. The School is located at the heart of the new multi-university campus development at Chatham Maritime in Medway, Kent. This splendid Edwardian redbrick and ivy-clad campus – dating from 1903 – has benefited from over £20 million capital investment since 1996. Extensive new laboratories and research facilities have opened and the campus has developed into a major higher education centre.

The Medway School of Pharmacy mission is “to produce, through innovative teaching and research delivered in a supportive and caring environment, high-quality professional graduates committed to lifelong learning”. Student care and support is therefore an essential part of our School culture and we provide personal tutors to maintain regular contact and offer confidential help with either academic or personal problems. We are therefore extremely pleased and proud that our students voted the School the best institution in the country for overall programme satisfaction (National Student Survey 2009), and we consistently score very highly in this survey

We have designed an innovative patient-focused MPharm programme and believe that the future of pharmacy lies in meeting patients’ needs through working in partnership with patients, other health-care professionals, the NHS and industry. Pharmacists are the only health-care professionals with a unique knowledge of medicines from manufacture to their use in patients, and pharmacy offers a wide range of career options. Our MPharm programme already provides a significant amount of work placements to enhance the clinical learning, competencies and employability skills of our graduates.

The changing role for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals continues to allow the School to also develop and refresh a portfolio of postgraduate courses, including a multidisciplinary Postgraduate Certificate in Independent and Supplementary Prescribing and a Master’s programme in Medicines Management. As a dynamic school we have a commitment to the provision of lifelong learning and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as exemplified by our Skills for MURs course, which has now attracted many thousands of practising pharmacists.

Research is critical to the success of the School and takes place alongside teaching under the guidance of our Director of Research. The School has made a significant investment in facilities and equipment and continues to evolve a strong collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to research. We have already had successful research grants from research councils such as the MRC and BBSRC, as well as from charities and industrial collaborators such as Pfizer. We currently have a vibrant PhD student group with over thirty candidates currently researching with various staff members across our three areas of biological sciences; chemistry and drug delivery; and clinical and professional practice.

The School has an experienced and dedicated team of staff comprising academic scientists, pharmacists and teacher practitioners seconded from the NHS, together with administrative and technical personnel.