Pharmacology is that branch of medicine that deals with the study of drug action. There are many job opportunities for post graduated in this field. Areas such as pharmaceutical research and development, production and manufacturing, analysis and testing, marketing, hospital pharmacy, Community pharmacy, etc. are in huge demand.

Following are some of the options for further studies in pharmacology.

MS Pharm

There institutes like the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Punjab which offer MS courses. Pharmacy graduates can choose from areas like medicinal chemistry, natural products, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmaceutics, pharmacology and toxicology etc. Minimum of first class during graduation is a must. Certain relaxations are there for students belonging to SC/ST, etc. Admission is based on the candidate’s GATE score, group discussion and personal interview.

MS Pharmacology is also available in universities abroad. Some universities are University of Florida, Western University, University of Mississippi, University of South California, etc. The GRE scores are taken at these universities.

M Pharm

Candidates have options like pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacognosy and phytochemistry, pharmaceutical biotechnology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical marketing; pharmacy administration, pharmacology, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical chemistry to choose from. Candidates with 50% marks in B Pharm are eligible for admission. Selection is through the M Pharm entrance exam conducted by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations.

The Goa College of Pharmacy offers M.Pharm in quality assurance and pharmacology. Candidates with 55% marks in B Pharm are eligible for admission. Here also the candidate needs to appear for the GATE.

Some other colleges that offer M Pharm courses are Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy Bangalore, Sri Rama Krishna Institute of Paramedical Sciences Coimbatore, Birla Institute of Technology Ranchi, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Nagpur University, etc.

MBA

An MBA from a premium institute is always an attractive option. Candidates could think of taking the CAT or any other MBA entrance exam and get into a good b school.

There are institutes that conduct MBA Pharma. Some of them are NIPER and School of Business Management, NMIMS, Mumbai.

MBA biotechnology is another option for pharmacy graduates. Some of the colleges that offer this program are Department of Management Sciences University of Pune (PUMBA), Amity, Suryadatta Institute of Business Management and Technology (SIBMT), etc.

M Tech

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is one of the institutes that offer M Tech in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Another option is M Tech in biotechnology and bioinformatics. There are many colleges all over the country that offer such courses. Here again, like any other M Tech course, the GATE score is considered for admission.

Career Opportunities

There have been drastic developments in the field of pharmaceuticals. The job opportunities also have increased with the expansion of the industry. There are large of pharmaceutical companies demanding students from this department. A student can opt for a career in areas like pharmaceutical industry, university research and teaching; medical sales and marketing etc. on can also enter in to the non-pharmacology related careers like management, accountancy, the civil service and finance.