NOTE: This entry is subject to change. If you have specific queries, please contact the Pharmaceutical Medicine office (pharm.med@unsw.edu.au) for further information.

Pharmaceutical medicine is the medical scientific discipline concerned with the discovery, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring and medical aspects of developing medicines for therapeutic treatment. The programs provide scientific and other professional staff working within the pharmaceutical industry, government, academia and relevant professions with high-level education in the scientific, legal, ethical, regulatory and social issues relevant to the discovery, evaluation, registration and promotion of medicines. Students will develop an understanding of business principles, be able to communicate effectively and act in an ethical manner with respect to all aspects of the development of therapeutic products.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the program, students should have acquired all of the following learning outcomes:

1. Advanced disciplinary knowledge and practice
Graduates will be able to demonstrate an advanced understanding of pharmaceutical medicine and the development process for new therapeutic products and apply their knowledge to new developments and approaches within this area.

2. Enquiry-based learning
Graduates will have the ability to ask the appropriate questions, find relevant information using their digital and information literacy skills and develop the required plans and documents to facilitate their contributions to the development and maintenance of therapeutic products.

3. Cognitive skills and critical thinking
Graduates will be able to understand, critically appraise and apply information and literature in the discipline of pharmaceutical medicine to inform development of new therapeutic products or strategies for success of new and existing products.

4. Communication, adaptive and interactional skills
Graduates will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate complex, relevant subject matter relating to pharmaceutical medicine to diverse audiences. They will have the appropriate skills of flexibility and adaptability in working collaboratively with others in teams to achieve specified outcomes in a time-bound environment. Graduates will show leadership and initiative in areas of their focus within pharmaceutical medicine.

5. Global Outlook
Graduates will have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the global arena in which therapeutic products are developed, regulated, priced and marketed.

6. Ethics
Graduates will reflect on and critique the role of ethics in the therapeutics industry and develop a personal ethical framework for working within the discipline of pharmaceutical medicine.

Education and Assessment
Assessment will be based on the ability to apply key principles to problem solving. The design of assessment tasks will be based on a thorough comprehension of the current developments in the therapeutics industry as well as on scenariobased learning exercises that require an understanding of the issues involved.

A total of 8 courses are to be taken from the following core and elective courses:

Core
1. PHAR9101 Introduction to the Therapeutics Industry
2. PHAR9121 Pharmacovigilance
3. PHAR9122 Medical Affairs
4. Regulatory Affairs stream: EITHER PHAR9104 Regulatory Affairs OR PHAR9113 International Regulatory Affairs
5. Clinical Trials stream: EITHER PHAR9120 Clinical Trials OR PHAR9116 Clinical Trial Management
6. Health Technology Assessment stream: EITHER PHAR9114 Health Technology Assessment in Australia OR PHAR9115 Advanced Health Technology Assessment
7 and 8. 2 elective courses from remaining PHAR9xxx courses or elective courses - see below

PHAR9xxx elective courses
1. PHAR9111 Pharmaceutics
2. PHAR9117 Cancer Therapeutics
3. PHAR9118 Therapeutics
4. PHAR9124 Pharmaceutical Medicine Internship

Up to one (1) elective from outside the School of Medical Sciences may be taken in the final year of study as approved by the relevant Program Authorities and Course Convenors.

The program is flexible and allows students to choose related courses to contribute to a particular area of focus, or choose a wider range of courses that reflect diverse interests.

Areas of focus include Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Trials or Health Technology Assessment.

Students have the option of taking an industry placement course (PHAR9124 Pharmaceutical Medicine Internship) towards the end of their Masters program which needs to be discussed with the Program Authority at least 6 months prior to commencement.


Entry Requirements
The entry criteria are as follows:

- a 3 year undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline plus relevant industry experience (see below for definition)
or
- a 4 year undergraduate degree or higher qualifications in a cognate discipline.

Cognate discipline is an undergraduate degree in one of the following disciplines:
- biomedical/biological sciences
- pharmacy
- nursing
- veterinary science
- chemistry/medicinal chemistry
- medicine
- other (case-by-case basis)

Relevant experience is defined as:
- one year full-time equivalent experience in a medical department position at Associate level or above in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry (such as Medical Information Associate, Regulatory Affairs Associate, Pharmacovigilance Associate, Clinical Trials Associate, etc), a contract organisation (eg, clinical research, regulatory, economic evaluation, medical) or a clinical trials unit
or
- one year full-time equivalent position within a relevant government department (such as State or Federal Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Administration, Office of the Gene Technology Regulator or other relevant regulatory authority).

Evidence requirements will be a CV plus an employer-provided statement of service in relation to professional experience.

Recognition of Prior Learning
Consideration of recognition of prior learning will be used for entry to the program based on relevant professional experience or credit transfer to reduce the volume of learning by a maximum of 12 UoC. Students who have completed similar programs from other universities will be reviewed on a case by case basis and in accordance with UNSW policies and procedures including the UNSW "Recognition of Prior Learning Policy" and the "Postgraduate Coursework Credit Transfer and Articulation Guidelines".

Course Selection
Proposed pathways for different areas of focus are shown below.

Area of Focus – Regulatory Affairs
For students completing the degree part-time in 2 years the recommended progression would be:
S1, Y1: PHAR9101, PHAR9122
S2, Y1: PHAR9104, PHAR9120
S1, Y2: PHAR9113, PHAR9114
S2, Y2: PHAR9121, PHAR9111/PHAR9117/PHAR9124/OTHER

Area of Focus – Clinical trials research
For students completing the degree part-time in 2 years the recommended progression would be:
S1, Y1: PHAR9101, PHAR9122
S2, Y1: PHAR9104, PHAR9120
S1, Y2: PHAR9116, PHAR9114
S2, Y2: PHAR9121, PHAR9111/PHAR9117/PHAR9124/OTHER

Area of Focus – Pharmacoeconomics
For students completing the degree part-time in 2 years the recommended progression would be:
S1, Y1: PHAR9101, PHAR9122
S2, Y1: PHAR9104, PHAR9120
S1, Y2: PHAR9114, PHAR9118/OTHER
S2, Y2: PHAR9115, PHAR9111/PHAR9117/PHAR9124/OTHER

Students enrolled in the Master of Pharmaceutical Medicine may exit early at the Graduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine (program 5371; 36 units of credit for completion) or the Graduate Certificate in Pharmaceutical Medicine (program 7370; 24 units of credit for completion) if they meet the requirements of these degrees. The Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate in Pharmaceutical Medicine are not available for direct entry for new students. Please refer to the Program Structure above and contact the Pharmaceutical Medicine office (pharm.med@unsw.edu.au) for further information.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.