The Clinical Pharmacology course will give you the skills to design, analyse, interpret and report clinical research and clinical trials. It focuses on understanding what a drug is doing to the body (pharmacodynamics), what happens to a drug in the body (pharmacokinetics), and how drugs work in terms of treating a particular disease. It is designed for scientists, physicians, clinical scientists and allied health professionals interested in the clinical development process.

Key benefits

• King's is ranked 20th in the world for Pharmacy and Pharmacology (QS World University Rankings by subject 2023)
• Lectures and workshops are delivered by a mixture of academics, clinicians and leading industry experts from the pharmaceutical industry.
• A coordinated study programme with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians curricula, which is compliant with the PharmaTrain initiative of the European Commission and thus allows international transfer of credits
• The course shares several common core modules with both the MSc Medical Affairs and the MSc in Drug Development Science, thus facilitating transfer between these courses.
• A vibrant cohort of participants, studying both full-time and part-time, with the part-time option allowing you to study around your work schedule.
• Modules with blended learning, integrating the latest learning technologies with face-to-face teaching.

Clinical Pharmacology is the study of how drugs influence human physiology and the way the body responds. This understanding forms a vital part of the clinical development of new medicines. In the process of drug development, clinical pharmacologists are particularly important in understanding how the drug influences the natural physiological processes, as well as disease pathology and hence, they have a large role in designing clinical investigations, monitoring patients, exploring pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships and testing medicines in specific patient populations. The theme has been constructed to allow those individuals who have a basic foundation in either pharmacology and/or clinical science to expand their knowledge base beyond their initial field of specialisation and hence, to empower them to make critical decisions during the development of a medicine.

The taught postgraduate level modules provide the ability to enhance both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Clinicians are drawn from King’s College and King’s Health Partners to provide a balanced perspective in this field. The courses emphasise the integrated learning of pharmacological principles and clinical practical competence with medicines development.  The course is made up of compulsory and optional modules. 

The course is made up of nine required modules. The MSc pathway requires modules totalling 180 credits to complete the course, including 60 credits from a dissertation of around 8,000-10,000 words. 

If you are studying the MSc full time, you will complete the course in one year, from September to September. If you are studying for the MSc qualification part-time, your course will take up to six years to complete.