Programme aims

The Single Cycle Degree Programme in Pharmacy is a five year programme whose main goal is to provide the theoretical and practical knowledge to graduates who will have sound scientific foundations enabling them to practice as professional pharmacists and work in healthcare as experts in pharmaceutical drugs and health products (cosmetic products, dietetic products and food supplements, herbal products, medical devices, sanitary goods, etc.).

Aim of the Course is to train a professional Pharmacist with knowledge enabling them a) to perform the role of health educators and participate in institutional campaigns run in collaboration with the public administration in various areas of healthcare; b) when dispensing pharmaceutical drugs, to provide the patient with qualified information, instructions, warnings, advice and assessment before and after the use of such drugs; c) to play a key liaison role between the patient, the doctor and national health service facilities;

In addition, Pharmacy graduates must possess the necessary learning abilities to continue their training at specialisation schools in the Pharmaceutical area by enrolling in Doctoral or 2nd Level Master programmes.

The learning outcomes of the single cycle degree programme comply with the guidelines set by Italian legislation and European Union directive 2005/36/EC. The Pharmacist is authorised to practice professional activities, such as: procurement, storage and dispensing of medicines, quality controls, pharmacovigilance, health promotion, health education, information on medicinal drugs and medical devices, monitoring and analysis of consumption/cost of drugs and medical devices, inspection of the management of narcotic drugs. Additionally, the community pharmacist participates in the monitoring of pharmaceutical expenditure, and the supervision of the proper administrative management of pharmacies.

The learning outcomes include: integrated home care, initial analysis, appropriateness of medicine use, continuity of medicine supply for cases of ongoing treatment, alongside specific in-depth studies on: bioethics, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacogenetics, management of pharmacotherapies in chronic patients (pharmaceutical care), pharmacotherapy, pharmacovigilance, health promotion, information on medicinal drugs and medical devices, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics and biostatistics.

At the end of the degree programme, the student acquires the knowledge necessary for a responsible management of the pharmacological therapy, in order to achieve specific goals, which can improve the life quality of a patient.

To achieve the learning outcomes set out above, the single cycle degree programme in Pharmacy is structured in a way that allows progressive learning by the student, starting out with the study of the basic disciplines during the first two years and completed over the subsequent three years, which focus on specialist disciplines and includes a suitable professional internship. This structure allows a gradual and ongoing progression in the student's acquisition of multidisciplinary knowledge with the aim of training single cycle graduates in Pharmacy for a professional role. The disciplinary areas studied during the first two years are:

1) basic physics-mathematics, statistics-informatics, and chemistry areas;

2) basic biology and physiology areas;

During the subsequent three years, students continue their specialist training with courses grouped under the following learning areas:

3) physiopathology, general pathology and clinical area;

4) pharmacology and toxicology areas;

5) chemistry-pharmaceutics area;

6) technological-legislative and professional training areas.

On completion of the teaching activities, the students acquire at least 8 CFU credits through the independent choice of teaching activities from among those offered within the degree programme or delivered by the University. Among these are included: acquisition of managerial and relational competencies and soft skills for being efficient in the workplace. 

Finally, the single cycle degree programme gives students the opportunity to apply the interdisciplinary knowledge they have gained during the degree programme, through a professional internship carried out in a pharmacy, that is open to the public (community pharmacy), or located within a hospital (hospital pharmacy), with which are activated specific agreements, under the guidance of a pharmacist acting as their contact person. The internship is full-time and lasts for a period of at least six months. At the end of the programme, students must take a final exam involving the discussion of a written dissertation, which can be library-based, practical-professional or of experimental nature, in English language.