M.Pharm. (Master of Pharmacy) : Admission, Courses, Fees, Colleges, Eligibility & Career

Masters in Pharmacy (M. Pharm.) degree is a postgraduate degree in terms of medicines. It is a two-year course in which one learns about or does research in the medicinal field. The topics which are taught under this master's degree are chemical elements in medicines or compounds that can be used for medicinal purposes. This course holds wide opportunities to make your career on the right path. There are so many career options one can opt for after finishing this master's degree such as Research Associate, Research Assistant, Scientist, etc. 

During this course the candidate gets in-depth knowledge on the preparation of medicines, how to treat patients with needed medicine(s), and proper use of medicines along with their side effects and dosage, etc. 

Eligibility Criteria: 

• The required eligibility criteria to get enrolled in an M. Pharm degree are listed below: 
• One should have done B. Pharma with a minimum degree of 50%. 
• In the case of reserved candidates, they should have a B. Pharm degree of a minimum of 45%. 
• Candidates should appear in any of the enrolled tests which are conducted by different state educational boards or universities and score qualifying marks. As each entrance exam has its specific criteria to give admission. 

The top colleges always give admission by qualifying entrance exams only. So, if you are targeting top colleges then it is a must to give entrance exams at different levels. Some of the common entrance exams are MET, GPAT, and many more. 

Entrance Exams For M. Pharm. : 

GUJCET: 

This exam was conducted by Gujarat educational board every year to enroll students for various courses including M.Pharm. 

LINK: https://gujcet.gseb.org/ 

GPAT: 

GPAT stands for Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test at a national level every year. This exam is conducted by National Testing Agency i.e. NTA. 

LINK: https://gpat.nta.nic.in/WebInfo/Page/Page?PageId=1&LangId=P 

NIPER Exam: 

NIPER stands for National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Joint Entrance Exam. It is a type of computer-based exam held every year for admissions in postgraduate courses in M. Pharm, MTech (Pharm), MBA (Pharm), and Ph.D. in pharmacy. NIPER itself is the conducting body for the exam. 

LINK: http://www.niperhyd.ac.in/NIPERJEE.html 

AP PGECET Pharmacy: 

This exam is conducted every year by the Andhra Pradesh education board. Through this entrance exam students are eligible to get admission courses like M.E./M. Tech, M. Pharma, and Pharm. D courses. 

LINK: https://www.appgecet.co.in/ 

BITS HD Pharmacy: 

Birla Institute of Technical Science will conduct this entrance exam to give admission in courses like ME and M. Pharm. 

LINK: https://www.bitsadmission.com/hdmain.aspx 

MET: 

It stands for Manipal entrance test. This entrance exam is conducted every year by Manipal University for offering admission in various courses including M. Pharm. 

LINK: https://manipal.edu/mu/admission/indian-students/online-entrance-exam-overview.html 

Specialization of M. Pharm Degree: 

M. Pharm in Pharmaceutics: 

It is a kind of post-graduation degree in which students learn about medicine design and manufacture. In this degree, one learns about all aspects of turning a new chemical entity (NCE) into a drug. Through this degree, one learns about the effective use of drugs in a safer way for patients. 

M. Pharm in Industrial Pharmacy: 

It is a two-year master's program that is divided into four semesters. In this course, one studies scientific knowledge of regulatory aspects of the pharmaceutical industry with various guidelines, and quality systems. Along with that students are also taught about the manufacturing of various pharmaceutical dosage forms along with patent knowledge, material management, and various analytical techniques required to evaluate dosage forms. 

M. Pharm in Pharmaceutical Chemistry: 

It is a non-dispensing branch of pharmacy study that emphasizes the subject's research components over service and patient care. Pharmaceutical Analytical Techniques, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, and the confluence of Chemistry and Quality Assurance are among the disciplines covered in this specialization. 

M. Pharm in Pharmaceutical Analysis: 

In this specialization, the students learn about the concepts and processes of drug development, elucidation of structure, and qualitative, and quantitative analysis of a drug, and its contaminants. One who has completed M. Pharm. in this specialization gets a job in the pharma industry, hospitals, clinics, labs, medical universities, etc. 

M. Pharm in Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance: 

Under this specialization, students are taught about how to assure the quality of food, medicine, cosmetic products, or services and set a benchmark in their effectiveness and reliability. 

M. Pharm in Regulatory Affairs: 

Students are taught about the sciences of various pharmacy fields like industry, marketing, practice, community, drug discovery, etc. under this specialization. 

M. Pharm in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: 

This specialization is for learnings about technologies that are required in pharma companies. Some of the career options that candidates can opt for after the completion of this degree are Lab Technician, Export and Import Specialist, Business Development Executive, Research Associate, Quality Control Programs Executive, and Marketing Executive Trainee among others. 

M. Pharm in Pharmacy Practice: 

Candidates learn about the fundamental concepts, procedures for preparing and dispensing drugs in the hospital and for retailers under the guidance of a registered pharmacist. 

M. Pharm in Pharmacology: 

Candidates study the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals affecting normal or abnormal biochemical function. Along with that they also study pharmaceuticals- substances having medicinal properties along with the action of drugs and many more. 

M. Pharm in Pharmacognosy:  

Under this specialization, students gain deep knowledge about medicines that are derived from natural resources. They study the cultivation and collection of medicinal plants, drug discovery from herbal medicine, toxicology, quality control, and research in the manufacture of drugs. 

Job Scope: 

Pharmacologist: By conducting research and lab testing, a pharmacy practitioner with a pharmacology specialization develops new and improved therapeutic medications (to ascertain the behavior and reaction of the drugs). Some pharmacologists also assist in the development of new technology for drug development. They make sure that all research investigations, testing, and drug development follow the Pharmacy Council's rules. Their study includes medications, as well as their uses, doses, and negative effects. They also ensure that new drugs are produced under safety requirements and have no or minor negative effects. 

Research Associate: They are in charge of keeping track of research studies, analyzing the results, and documenting the findings. They must also ensure that research is conducted under the pharmaceutical association's guidelines and validate the study results. After obtaining experience, pharmaceutical research associates are responsible for training and supervising pharmacy interns, college students, or junior associates. 

Drug Regulator: According to the Pharmacy Council, all drugs are tested and certified for safety, quality, and regulations before being made available in healthcare institutions. As a result, drug regulators must keep a close eye on drug development, supply, and inspection to ensure that all medicines meet the required criteria. According to World Health Organization laws, all patients must have access to effective, safe, high-quality, and reasonably priced medicines, therefore drug regulators ensure that drug development businesses follow these guidelines. They monitor drug quality degradation, pricing, and verify that drug labeling and proper instructions are followed during development. 

Key Highlights of Masters in Pharmacy Course: 

Top M. Pharm. Colleges List: 

• Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Entrance based), Hyderabad 
• NIPER, Mohali 
• SIMS Faculty of Pharmacy, Guntur 
• Singhania University, Jhunjhunu 
• Amity University of Pharmacy, Noida 
• Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune 
• Nirma University, Ahmedabad 
• National College of Pharmacy, Kozhikode 
• KB Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Gandhinagar 
• Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Delhi 
• JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty 
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Institute of Pharmacy, Nadia 
• Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee 

You can learn more about Healthcare courses and find the college/institute that suits you the best by visiting courses.docthub.com