Doctor of Philosophy / Master of Philosophy
PhD/MPhil Pharmacology
Tackle real-world challenges in pharmacology and explore how drugs interact with the body to improve health.
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Overview
Programme overview
- Investigate drug actions, mechanisms, and therapeutic applications across various biological systems and diseases.
- Become part of collaborative research groups within the , , and the , investigating drug action, signaling pathways, and therapeutic innovation.
Visit our to start your journey.
Open days
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Contact details
- School/Faculty
- Contact name
- Doctoral Academy Admissions Team
- Telephone
- +44 (0)161 275 5608
- FBMH.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- School/Faculty overview
-
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Programmes in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
We require applicants to hold, or be about to obtain, an Upper Second class Honours degree, or the equivalent qualification聽gained outside the UK, in a related subject area for entry to a PhD programme. A Lower Second class Honours degree may be considered if applicants also hold a Master's degree with a Merit classification.
English language
For applicants whose first language is not English, or if you have not studied recently in the UK, you must provide evidence of how you meet the English Language requirement.
We mainly accept IELTS or TOEFL tests. Please note IELTS and TOEFL are only valid for two years.
We require a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 overall or TOEFL (iBT) 90. Each component of the English test should meet the minimum requirement of IELTS 5.5 in all components, TOEFL (iBT 22). For the聽 writing component , we expect you to have achieved a minimum of 6.0 (IELTS).
If your IELTS or TOEFL expires before the start of your programme, you will need to take another official English test before we can issue you with a CAS for your visa application. This is a requirement of UKVI.
For more information about English language tests see聽 .
Please contact us at fbmh.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk for further information.
English language test validity
Other international entry requirements
Fees and funding
Fees
Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2025 were as follows:
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PhD (full-time)
UK students (per annum): Standard 拢5,006, Low 拢11,500, Medium 拢17,500, High 拢23,500
International, including EU, students (per annum): Standard 拢27,000, Low 拢29,500, Medium 拢35,000, High 拢41,500 -
PhD (part-time)
UK students (per annum): Standard 拢2,503, Low 拢5,750, Medium 拢8,625, High 拢11,750
International, including EU, students (per annum): Standard 拢13,500, Low 拢14,750, Medium 拢17,500, High 拢20,755
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
Scholarships/sponsorships
In the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health we offer a wide range of fully funded studentships and scholarships covering postgraduate research tuition fees, research costs and an annual stipend for living costs.
Application and selection
How to apply
- and to discover a project you鈥檙e passionate about and check you meet eligibility criteria.
- Understand how your project is funded and, if it鈥檚 listed as self-funded, consider our or .
- about your suitability for their project or programme before you apply.
- Visit our page to find out more and ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission.
Visit our to find out more.
Advice to applicants
Before you start your application, you should:
- Discover more about the research area you鈥檙e interested in.
- or you'd like to apply for.
- and speak to them about your suitability for the project.
- Understand how your project is funded and, if you are applying for a self-funded project, consider how you plan on funding your project and discuss this with the listed supervisor.
If you already have your own funding:
- and contact the project supervisor to talk to them about your suitability for the project; OR
- Determine your own research project and title, in this research area and contact them to discuss potentially supervising your research.
Supporting documents
You'll also need to make sure you have the following documents before you start your application:
- Personal statement
- Certificates and transcripts
- CV
- Confirmation of funding (if you are self-funded)
- English language ability
- Names and details of two referees to support your application
Visit our to find out more about the information required for each of these supporting documents.
Any missing information may delay the processing of your application.
Application deadlines
The deadline for applying for postgraduate research in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health depends on when you intend to start your research and how your project is funded.
If you are applying for one of our funded programmes, please refer to the deadlines detailed on the .
If you鈥檙e applying for a project that isn鈥檛 part of one of these programmes, our final application deadlines are:
- January 2026 entry: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
- April 2026 entry: Thursday, 15 January 2026
- September 2026 entry: Tuesday, 15 June 2026
Programme details
Programme description
Our PhD/MPhil Pharmacology programme enables you to undertake a that will improve understanding of Pharmacology.
Our pharmacology research focuses on a range of topics. These include:
- the pharmacology of drug efflux transporters, particularly ABCB1 P-glycoprotein, ABCG2 breast cancer resistance protein and ABCC multidrug resistance-associated transporters;
- developing complex, physiologically-relevant in vitro cell systems to investigate transport, metabolism and delivery of therapeutic drugs;
- understanding the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms that regulate expression and function of drug efflux transporters, particularly in the blood-brain barrier;
- the role of blood-brain barrier drug efflux transporters in drug delivery to the central nervous system and the effects of inflammatory and degenerative conditions, eg Alzheimer's disease, on efflux transporter function;
- the biological role of lipid networks in health and disease, particularly their roles in inflammation, cellular communications and tissue responses;
- employing mass spectrometry-based lipidomic technology, in conjunction with functional, metabolic and signaling approaches to characterise lipid profiles in physiological and pathophysiological conditions;
- investigating the role of lipids in skin homeostasis and in response to inflammation, injury and wound healing;
- studying role of local hormones in diseases and conditions associated with the female reproductive tract (eg dysmenorrhoea, endometriosis and the detection and prevention of preterm labour);
- molecularly identifying and pharmacologically characterising receptors expressed in the female reproductive system;
- understanding the physiological and pharmacological characteristics of the placenta. These studies include the development of placental homing peptide-microRNA inhibitor conjugates for targeted enhancement of placental growth signalling;
Special features
Training and development
All of our postgraduate researchers attend the Doctoral Academy Training Programme delivered by the Researcher Development . The programme provides key transferable skills and equips our postgraduate researchers with the tools to progress beyond their research degree into influential positions within academia, industry and consultancy. The emphasis is on enhancing skills critical to developing early-stage researchers and professionals, whether they relate to effective communication, disseminating research findings and project management skills.
What our students say
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Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
Your postgraduate research degree will open up a range of career opportunities after you graduate. Find out more on the聽 Careers 听辫补驳别.
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