The number of applications for the MPharm has doubled in six years to 36,670, it was announced last month (December 10).
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), which handles the applications process for students and universities, showed applications for the pharmacy degree were at 18,325 in 2019, before a 100.1% increase to 2025.
Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) admissions group chair Vivek Dhir said there has been “growing interest from abroad” in the MPharm, which has helped an increase in applications to pharmacy schools.
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“There has been a recent drive internationally to modernise the pharmacy profession and many countries see the clinical training received on the MPharm as an asset, making the UK an attractive place to upskill the new generation of their workforce,” he said.
He added that pharmacy’s “clear involvement” in the aspirations of the NHS 10-year plan makes it “a profession that is garnering interest and momentum”.
New pharmacy schools
UCAS data also shows significant increases in offers sent out by universities and those who were accepted onto the MPharm.
In 2019, there were 12,485 offers sent out compared to 20,100 in 2025.
And the number of applicants accepted onto the MPharm stood at 3,575 in 2019 compared to 5,240 in 2025, with a 14.7% increase from 2024 alone.
Read more: November registration exam pass rate released
Dhir said the “steady growth” in students enrolling has “coincided with the opening of new schools of pharmacy” and growing existing schools for “greater capacity to deliver training”.
In October, the University of Liverpool announced it was opening a new school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences this year to “meet this growing demand” for pharmacists.
Read more: University offers pharmacy degree in Uzbekistan
And in September, the University of Suffolk announced it will offer a new pharmacy degree from September to help address the industry’s “skills shortage”.
It comes after Teesside University announced its partnership with a Malaysian university to allow students studying its new MPharm degree to complete a “clinical training” exchange abroad.
