Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering
Programme goals and Learning objectives
Pharmaceutical production processes of the future will (need to) undergo a major transition to be able to manufacture the increasingly complex and more tailor-made/personalized drug products. On the one hand the implementation of novel manufacturing concepts (e.g., switching from batch to continuous manufacturing) is needed and on the other hand a high degree of digitalisation and automation (implementation of “industry 4.0” concepts such as soft sensors and digital twins) is essential. It requires a combination of pharmaceutical and engineering knowledge and skills to develop these pharmaceutical production processes of the future for tomorrow’s drug products and supply needs.
This combined training of pharmaceutical and engineering skills, unique in Flanders and Belgium, is offered by the Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering. As a master in Pharmaceutical Engineering, you will be able to design and develop innovative, flexible, cost-efficient, automated and sustainable processes for the production of future complex and individualized drug products, enabling targeted delivery of the active molecules into the human body.
Read more in the UGent Study guide
Course structure
The Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering is a two-year English-taught programme of 120 credits. It is built around specific learning paths leading to the profile of ‘pharmaceutical engineering’:
- Pharmaceutical process engineering: the engineering of drug products and their associated processes. You learn to develop and design drug manufacturing processes.
- Sustainable and high quality pharmaceutical products: you learn to realize high-quality pharmaceutical products in a sustainable way.
- Data-to-decision: experimental design for data collection, data analysis, mechanistic and data-driven modeling, optimization and process control, applied to unit processes as well as process trains for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
- Research and innovation: problem solving and critical thinking in the context of research tasks and projects to be carried out (e.g. master's dissertation) on topics related to 'pharmaceutical engineering', in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.
During the first year, the students are required to take up a partially different set of compulsory subjects, depending on the discipline of their preliminary bachelor education (see programme table). The fact that students from different bachelor programs will enter this master programme in pharmaceutical engineering, will only further promote its pharmaceutical-engineering interdisciplinary character.
The master’s dissertation starts in year 2 and spans it entirely.
Finally, elective courses are foreseen within the programme giving students the opportunity to further explore their field of interest, encourage them to take responsibility and promote self-management.
Courses
All course details can be found in the UGent Study guide.
Admission Requirements
Degree and competencies
International students holding a non-Flemish degree will have to check the admission requirements and the administrative procedure for admission.
Students who wish to enrol for the Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering can apply for the programme if they hold the following diploma: an academic diploma (at least 180 credits and/or 3 years of study) of Bachelor (or Master) of Science in pharmaceutical sciences, bio-science engineering, chemistry, bio-industrial sciences and bioscience engineering technology (module biotechnology). International students with similar previous education must be able to demonstrate through their transcripts that they received basic science training in the following fields: (i) Mathematics, and/or basic statistics; (ii) Physics; (iii) Organic chemistry; (iv) Biochemistry; (v) Inorganic chemistry; (vi) Analytical chemistry. Some lab experiences is required too.
Admission can only be granted after an individual application procedure. The Study Programme Committee will make the final decision whether to accept the application or not.
Language requirements
The applicant must be proficient in the language of the course or training programme, i.e. English.
Language requirements for this study programme differ from the required standard level for English taught study programmes as specified in the Ghent University Education and Examination Code. For this program, the required language proficiency is:
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TOEFL 580 (paper-based)
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TOEFL 92 (internet-based)
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TOEFL 237 (computer-based)
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IELTS: 6.5
Application procedure
Before completing the online application, we recommend to carefully read the general guidelines (including list of necessary documents you will need to upload).
START ONLINE APPLICATION
Application for 2023-24 opens October 2022
Study costs
- Tuition fee
- Living & accommodation expenses: min € 850/month (estimated)
Questions?
Contact admission@ugent.be