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The PGCert Pharmacy Practice is a workplace-based programme, aligned to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) Post-registration Foundation Pharmacist Curriculum (2021).
Tailored for early-career pharmacists working in any patient-facing role, the programme will equip you with the knowledge, clinical skills and confidence to make effective decisions and deliver excellent patient care.
This collaborative programme between local NHS pharmacy services and the University provides the opportunity to gain experience and feedback that will inform your personal development plan. Its primary aim is to enable pharmacists to become confident and adaptable practitioners with wider capabilities including enhanced consultation, clinical examination, and digital literacy skills.
In doing so, the programme contributes to the professional vision of pharmacists as medicines experts across all sectors, delivering safer, more effective and cost-efficient care to improve health outcomes.
You may be sponsored by your employer or may choose to self-fund. If you are being sponsored you should ensure funding is in place prior to submitting an application as places cannot be held in the event of funding not being secured.
The modules in the PGCert form part of the PGDip Pharmacy Practice programme. There is flexibility within the programme. You may choose to exit the programme with the PGCert and/or take a break prior to starting the PGDip.
After completion of the PGCert, there is also the opportunity to incorporate the Independent Prescribing qualification into your diploma.
Provisional timetable of study and application deadlines
This programme starts in January 2026. A provisional timetable is available. The timetable for the next academic year will be published provisionally during the spring term 2026.
Applications open: 6 October 2025
Application deadline: 7 November 2025
Application information
- If you have any questions, please email pace@reading.ac.uk.
- The required documents to be submitted with your application are found in the 'Entry requirements' tab, along with information about how to apply online. Failure to upload the correct documents may lead to your application being rejected.
- If you are interested in applying after the deadline, please contact pace@reading.ac.uk – sometimes we can operate a waiting list if applicants withdraw at the last minute.
Over 12 months, you will benefit from an engaging, blended learning experience that combines face-to-face teaching with interactive online activities.
Through workshops, directed and self-directed learning, and workplace-based assessment, you will build a professional portfolio that demonstrates your ability to deliver holistic, person-centred care. As a workplace-based learning programme, placements are part of your employment prior to enrolment and you will require the support of an Educational Supervisor in your workplace.
The PGCert consists of three compulsory modules. Across the modules, clinical topics will include cardiology, respiratory, gastroenterology, endocrinology, infections, surgery and neurology.
Your portfolio will include patient case studies, presentations, and reflective accounts that demonstrate your ability to apply clinical knowledge in practice, communicate with a range of patients and work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team.