Hello,

I'm looking into doing a possible Masters with a longer term objective of entering the pharmaceutical industry. I've a combined masters/bachelors in Pharmacy (MPharm) with a lowly 2:2 grading :( Since I was suffering from a health condition throughout my degree I think I'm capable of better when I really apply myself hence me wanting to return to academia.

Obviously the problem I face is securing funding, I've been told it would be very difficult to secure funding for a PhD with my qualifications, but I'm thinking that if I pay to do a Masters, and hopefully get a first or 2:1, then I'll be able to apply for funding to do a PhD. Does this sound right??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :-)

======= Date Modified 26 Jun 2012 13:16:40 =======
Hi Soladore,

It is true that a lot of PhDs ask for 2:1 or above, however the fact that you have an MPharm rather than just a bachelors degree might make a difference, perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me will be along to advise on that!

Do you want to do another Masters and then a PhD? That is an absolute minimum of another four years work, so you would have to be pretty committed to that path to make it worth it in my opinion, particularly as you would be funding the Masters yourself, which won't be cheap! You would also have to ensure that you get a 2:1 or a first, otherwise it would be a waste of both time and money.

Who was it that told you it would be very difficult to secure funding? I ask because if it was a professor then fair enough, but if it was just a fellow student then they could be wrong!If I were you, I would have a look around now for any PhDs you are interested in, and apply for them. That way you'll know if your current qualifications are enough. If you don't manage to secure a place, then that would be the time to start looking into Masters courses. Also, make sure if you do go down the Masters route that the course is really relevant to the type of PhD you want to make it really worth your while. Otherwise, even if you have a first, it won't necessarily increase your chances when it comes to getting a PhD afterwards.

Hope this helps!

Thankyou, yes it helps very much. Ill start looking into PhDs and applying to some :-)

Hi,

I have two pharmacist friends and so I get to hear their moans and groans regularly. They say that there's now too many pharmacists being trained and so not enough pre-registration places or hospital or community jobs any more. If they are correct then I imagine, quite a few people will be thinking like you and so it might indeed be rather competitive to get a funded PhD place. I think if you're looking long term at industry, you want to be careful in thinking through what MSc might be the best next step, if you do go that way. It might be worth looking at trends in the industry and trying to ascertain what are the growth areas and choosing accordingly.