University of the Western Cape, School of Pharmacy
Pharmacists of the future
Reinvent Yourself:
Discover the Rewards of a UWC Pharmacy Degree
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Why Study Pharmacy?
Pharmacy is a fantastic profession that is in great demand and in very short supply in South Africa. It is a very challenging but also a very satisfying profession and also allows for a lot of variety as there are many different directions you can take from hospital pharmacy, retail, developing new drugs to even working for medical aids.
With pharmacy you have the opportunity to help so many people and greatly improve their lives. You will become the custodians of medicine and not merely a shopkeeper.
If you are committed to helping others, enjoy a challenge and are looking for a career that you will never be bored with then pharmacy is the profession for you.
SLiP and Courses
The Service Learning in Pharmacy program is a division of the pharmacy practice module that is aimed at providing you with hands on training and community experience. It links academic study with practical work experience in the communities and allows you to interact with many different health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, etc.
This experience is introduced from 1st year and you will visit schools, clinics and hospitals. UWC School of Pharmacy is the only pharmacy school to offer this experience from 1st year as we believe it deeply enriches our students to become the best possible pharmacists.
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In third year we students get the opportunity to attend a leadership course which is sponsored by Mediclinic. This equips students for the real world and also in this year you will receive training on the management of HIV/AIDS as it is a big problem that our country faces. These are not part of your set curriculum but rather it is there to enrich your learning experience and they set our graduates aside from all others as not every pharmacy school provides this training.
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Why study at UWC School of pharmacy?
Our vision: To be the Premier Provider of Pharmacy Education in Africa with a Global Footprint in the Pharmaceutical Sciences
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Our mission: To produce pharmacy graduates and pharmaceutical scientists equipped to respond to the pharmaceutical and healthcare needs of society by:
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Designing curricula and research programs that are contextually appropriate and internationally competitive, providing excellent education and training in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sciences, conducting nationally relevant and globally recognized research, and instilling professionalism, social responsiveness, critical thinking, scholarly pursuit of knowledge and lifelong learning.
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As if you needed anymore reason here are some more
New State of the art facilities
In the last 5 years UWC has invested over R750 million in physical infrastructures for the Natural Sciences department from this 2 new buildings were built, namely the New Life Science and New Chemistry Building. The former consists two floors for teaching, learning anatomy and specialized labs and additional four floors that are research and development labs and also houses a deli, computer lab, seminar room and tutorial rooms. The later cost R226 million to build and consists of 8600m2 of research, learning and teaching space and is truly a world class facility. As a pharmacy student you will be taught in both of these buildings.
Clinical Pharmacy
The School of Pharmacy offers you the finest clinical pharmacy training which is incorporated into your curriculum. This training is aimed at helping you understand the various diseases and how to recognise them as well as how to treat them. It will improve your problem solving through structured medical cases. The course is presented by lecturers with much practical experience and is co-ordinated by Dr. Renier Coetzee who obtained his Pharm D degree and also was the founder of the exchange programme between UWC School of Pharmacy and the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.