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Education Bachelor's degree programmes Pharmacy
Header image Pharmacy

Pharmacy

Many diseases can be treated effectively with medicines. Our BSc programme is the first step towards becoming an all-round pharmaceutical expert and a career in the pharmacy or drug research lab.

Please note that the language of instruction will be Dutch starting in the academic year 2025-2026

Our Bachelor's degree programme in Pharmacy combines chemistry with biology and medicine. Simply put, you will learn what medicines are, how they work, and how they are developed and administered, and what their impact is on a population's health and economics. You will learn about human (patho)physiology, and the pharmacist's role in the quest for new compounds to prevent, halt or cure disease. Based on a strong research tradition, our multidisciplinary programme provides a solid scientific foundation for students.

If you are interested in healthcare, the programme includes courses about the indispensable contribution of the pharmacist to patient care. If drug research is more your thing, the programme will open the door to the molecular world of pharmacy and how you can explore it. Students can choose from elective courses to individualize their programmes to their own specific interests.

Our English-taught BSc degree programme offers you the academic basis to help you on your way to becoming a versatile healthcare professional, as a pharmacist or a pharmaceutical scientist. You will gain the tools to contribute to improved healthcare through medicines and therapies tailored to the individual patient, also referred to as Personalised Medicine .


Facts & Figures
Degree
BSc in Pharmacy
Course type
Bachelor
Duration
36 months (180 ECTS)
Croho code
56157
Language of instruction
Dutch
Start
September
Faculty
Science and Engineering
Studie in Cijfers
Why study this programme in Groningen?
  • Pharmacy research and education in Groningen is rooted in the natural sciences and has strong ties to the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). Our programme thus provides a unique, bench-to-bedside learning experience.
  • In Groningen, you will be educated by skilled instructors, practicing pharmacists, and internationally renowned researchers.
Programme
CoursesCourse Catalog >
Genetics
Global Health, Pharmacotherapy and Communication
Human Physiology
Mathematics and Statistics
Molecular Biology of the Cell 1&2
Molecules and Reactivity
Pathology
Pharmaceutical Analysis A
Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy 1
Physiology and Pharmacology
Professionalism in Pharmacy 1
Receptor Pharmacology
The Cell: a Practical Approach

Curriculum

Programme structure

We offer a comprehensive selection of courses to introduce students to the pharmaceutical sciences in the broadest sense. All aspects are covered, including:

  • Rational drug design
  • Mechanisms of drug action
  • Analysis, delivery and engineering of drugs
  • Drugs in practice
  • Real-world assessments of drug use, effects, side effects, safety and costs

In addition to lectures, we offer extensive hands-on training in lab courses, as well as supervised tutorials. We implement the latest e-tools in our courses. Face-to-face interaction with students is our priority!
As a student in our BSc programme, you will be familiarized with future career opportunities by active participation in ongoing research programs and visits to both community and hospital pharmacies. Opportunities to take a look behind the scenes in pharmaceutical industry will be offered as well.

Please be advised that students of the Faculty of Science and Engineering are expected to adhere to our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, ensuring seamless integration of personal electronic devices for academic purposes. For more detailed information on our BYOD policy, please visit our webpage.


Study abroad

  • Study abroad is optional
  • Maximum of 30 EC

Study abroad is optional in the major Medical Pharmaceutical Sciences; it is unaccommodated in the major Pharmacy.

Entry requirements

Admissible Dutch diploma profiles

  • VWO Natuur & Techniek
  • VWO Natuur & Gezondheid

    natuurkunde

  • VWO Economie & Maatschappij

    natuurkunde + scheikunde

  • VWO Cultuur & Maatschappij

    (wiskunde A of wiskunde B) + natuurkunde + scheikunde

Admission requirements

Before you apply!

When you cannot fulfil the vwo requirement, due to deficient profile or if you want to be admitted on the basis of a successfully passed first year of HBO or colloquium doctum, you need to submit an additional admission request via the Admission Board Bachelor programmes. Please go to this website for more information.

Application deadlines

Type of studentDeadlineStart course
Dutch students01 May 202501 September 2025
EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025
non-EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025

Admission requirements

Specific requirementsMore information
previous education

Secondary education equivalent to Dutch pre-university education (vwo) is required.

As the programme is Dutch-taught, you will need a Dutch language proficiency test, NTII. More information: https://www.staatsexamensnt2.nl/

additional subject

Sufficient background knowledge in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry is required.

The Admissions Board will determine whether your background knowledge in these subjects is sufficient to start the Bachelor's degree programme of your choice.

Biology is not mandatory, but highly recommended.

language test

As the programme is Dutch-taught, you will need a Dutch language proficiency test, NTII. More information: https://www.staatsexamensnt2.nl/

Application deadlines

Type of studentDeadlineStart course
Dutch students01 May 202501 September 2025
EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025
non-EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025
Tuition fees
NationalityYearFeeProgramme form
EU/EEA2024-2025€ 2530full-time
non-EU/EEA2024-2025€ 19300full-time

Practical information for:

After your studies

Job prospects

Our programme gives you ample freedom of choice when it comes to your opportunities after the Bachelor's.

You can pursue a Master's degree in our healthcare-oriented, Dutch-taught Pharmacy Master's programme, and be trained as a pharmacist or pharmaceutical scientist. Research-oriented programmes are offered by the Master's degree programmes Medical Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine and Innovative Treatment. These programmes will prepare you for a career in the pharmaceutical sciences or biomedical research, in academia or industry. With a thorough knowledge about pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences, you will be widely employable.

Pharmacist

As a pharmacist, you will strive for the best possible health- and patient care for each individual by helping fellow healthcare professionals select the therapies best matching a patient's requirements. Community pharmacists work closely with general practitioners and have personal contact with patients. Hospital pharmacists focus on specialized medicinal drugs, work together with other medical specialists and often conduct practice-oriented research.

Researcher

Which genetic and/or environmental factors are the underlying cause(s) of a disease? How can we develop more effective medicines? Why do some patients respond to new drugs, whereas others do not? Scientists in pharmaceutical research seek answers to these and other questions. After completion of one of the aforementioned Master's programmes, you will be ready to pursue a career in pharmaceutical research.

Consultant or policy officer

Health insurers and the government are among those interested in our graduates for positions as policy officers, inspectors or consultants.

After the Bachelor's degree programme, you can also follow the Master's degree programme Science Education & Communication.

Job examples

  • Community pharmacist, pharmacist in a hospital or industry
  • Policy advisor for insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies or the government
  • Researcher
  • Qualified person in pharmaceutical industry
  • Lecturer
Research

GRIP, the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy.

In Pharmacy, our academic educational programme is strongly linked to our research programme. We consider it important that our students are exposed to the latest research developments throughout the course of their studies. In the Pharmacy BSc, each student has the opportunity to conduct research to broaden his/her academic development.

At GRIP, our researchers strive to discover and refine medicines and devise ever more effective therapies. GRIP’s research ambition is to contribute to the pharmaceutical sciences as a whole, from basic areas, such as chemical analysis and synthesis, to pharmaceutical practice and patient-oriented research. Our efforts will help promote the new, patient-centric healthcare trend, personalized medicine, which seeks to improve patient care through individualized treatment.

In lectures, lab courses and your own research project, you will be instructed by, and closely work together with, the scientific staff of our research institute, GRIP. These researchers are true specialists, and belong to the global experts in their respective fields.

Interested in reading more about GRIP? You can find more information about our research at http://www.rug.nl/research/grip/research/




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Contact

  • Academic Advisor Pharmacy
  • studyscience@rug.nl Study Science (For students who are have general questions)
    Email: studyscience rug.nl
  • Ask Our Students! (Ask our students about the Bachelor's programme and student life:)
    Email: pharmacystudents rug.nl
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Study associations

Pharmaciae Sacrum

G.F.S.V. 'Pharmaciae Sacrum' is the study association for students of Pharmacy in Groningen.
Pharmaciae Sacrum, Latin for 'holy pharmacy', was founded on 12 December 1881, making it the oldest study association in Groningen and the second oldest in the Netherlands. G.F.S.V. 'Pharmaciae Sacrum' organizes various events, including lectures, sports days, excursions and drinks parties. It also publishes a newsletter called Foliolum.
https://www.psgroningen.nl/
Read more
(Binding) study advice
  • A minimum of 45 EC in the first 12 months (binding)

You will be offered study advice after first year of study. You can expect a positive result if you have earned more than 45 ECTS credit points (out of a total of 60 ECTS). If you have earned fewer than 45 ECTS and are issued a negative result, you will not be allowed to continue with your degree programme.

You will receive preliminary study advice in December to make sure that you know where you stand. Please contact your study advisor as soon as possible if you have any questions about the BSA system.

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