University awarded £450,000 OfS funding for new Pharmacy facilities

The Office for Students (OfS) has awarded more than £450,000 to the University of Suffolk to develop facilities for the new Pharmacy course launching in September 2026.

The OfS capital funding grant of £457,600 will support the development of the University’s clinical and laboratory teaching facilities including a simulated pharmacy dispensary, specialist labs and upgrades to the biomedical science spaces.

The funding came as part of the OfS’ £88.5 million allocation of capital funding to universities and colleges across England, announced this morning, for priority sectors for growth.

The grant will cover key elements of the capital programme, including equipment and IT and AV infrastructure. These developments will also support future postgraduate provision and expand teaching capacity on health and life science courses.

Work on the new facilities began in September, with the new clinical skills suite and mock dispensary in the University’s Health and Wellbeing Building due to be completed in December. Work on the labs in the James Hehir Building will continue next year, with all facilities ready for the first cohort of students for the new Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) course joining in September 2026.

Professor Rachel Allen, Provost at the University of Suffolk, said: “Securing the Office for Students grant to develop our new Pharmacy facilities is great news, and demonstrates the significant impact this will have on our future students and our ambitions to address the skills shortage in this area.

“Work is progressing well and we cannot wait for our first cohort of new students joining in September to make the most of this brilliant new resource.”

The four-year programme comes as part of Suffolk’s civic university pledges to be a driver of economic growth and community development, helping to address the regional and national shortages of pharmacists.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published in 2023 outlined a need to increase the number of pharmacists nationally by 31-55 per cent, and ambitions to increase training places for pharmacists by nearly 50 per cent by 2031-32.

The course will equip students with the skills and experience to become future-ready pharmacists, demonstrating skills in digital pharmacy, clinical reasoning, health inequalities and patient-centred care.

Dr Georgina Marsh, Head of Pharmacy at the University of Suffolk, said: “The new Master of Pharmacy course at the University of Suffolk will play a pivotal role in training the region’s future pharmacy professionals, and investment in a clinical skills suite, mock dispensary and specialist laboratories will ensure students can learn in an environment that reflects real-world practice. 

“We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding, which will enable us to develop modern pharmacy facilities ahead of the MPharm programme launching in September 2026, helping us deliver an outstanding learning experience and prepare future pharmacists to meet the needs of our local communities.”

The new MPharm course marks the latest step in the University’s efforts to train the health and social care professionals of the future. Last month, the University’s first cohort of Physiotherapy students graduated, while the first students on the Dental Hygiene and Therapy course started in February 2024.

Applications for the new MPharm course are open now, visit the course page here to find out more.