Universities are likely to take on a greater number of pharmacy students next year, experts have warned, bucking UCAS figures that show an 8 per cent drop in overall university applications for 2013.

The British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA) said the opening of three new pharmacy schools in 2013 would mean pharmacy was unlikely to follow the national decline caused by the introduction of higher tuition fees.

Aston University pharmacy practice lecturer Joseph Bush agreed that Aston had "certainly not had any particular drop this year", instead accepting more students in 2012 than in previous years. 

"There's a lot of concern about the challenges of [having] more graduates and the effect that has on the jobs market" Joseph Bush, Aston University	More on pharmacy students C+D readers back calls to limit student numbers Xrayser: Students are our lifeblood – don't limit them Registration exam pass rate hits record low
	And BPSA president Vikesh Kakad said total course fees reaching up to £36,000 had not put pharmacy students off. Mr Kakad feared that new pharmacy schools opening in Birmingham, Durham and Lincoln next year would contribute to a trend of common jobs in community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy "slightly diminishing".

"You don't need to be a magician to know where it's heading," he added.

However, Mr Bush said fears over job prospects could put a stop to the rise in applications to pharmacy degrees. "Potential applicants are starting to ask about the job situation," he told C+D. "There's a lot of concern about the challenges of [having] more graduates and the effect that has on the jobs market."

UCAS does not publish figures specifically on pharmacy degrees, but the demand for pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy courses grew from 6.6 applicants per place in 2010 to 7.2 in 2011.

But the number of students accepted onto the courses did fall slightly from 4,179 up to August 2011, to 4,161 up to August this year.

Last month, C+D readers supported a cap on pharmacy student numbers because of the tough jobs market, after an academic claimed restrictions would be "detrimental on a wider scale".