The Independent Prescribing unit takes place over six months and includes a series of compulsory workshops, please note that attendance at these workshops is mandatory (GPhC accreditation requirement) and non-attendance/partial attendance will result in failure of the course. Applicants are expected to ensure they are available for all days before submitting their application. Workshop dates for each cohort are given below.

• You must provide the details of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to this role, and that DPP should be aware that they will need to provide details themselves to the University
• You must have two references (If you have a CPPE confirmation of funding this will count as an academic reference)
• Copy of Undergraduate Degree Certificate and Essential Information Form.

Hybrid cohorts will be delivered using blended learning including some face-to-face workshops on the Bath campus, and the virtual cohort workshops will be delivered online. The OSCE assessment will be delivered face-to-face on campus and must be attended in person for both the hybrid and the virtual cohorts.

Your university registration will commence prior to the first workshops, to allow you to orientate yourself to our online resources.

Course features

• Blended delivery: you will attend workshops with your fellow learners as well as having your learning in practice supported by our multi-professional team and the resources available via our online learning environment.

• Excellent academic and pastoral support from our dedicated teaching team.

• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) accredited: successful completion will allow you to apply for annotation as Independent Prescriber on the General Pharmaceutical Council register.

• Award of 30 academic credits (CATS credits), which can be used to contribute to a range of academic awards with us including Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MSc.

• Nominate your own clinical area of focus for the unit (you should have some existing expertise relevant to your selected topic).

• After completing the prescribing unit you can further develop your skills by taking our follow-on Advanced Clinical Assessment unit.

The workshop dates are planned as below, but in exceptional circumstances may need to change. We would always aim to give you as much notice as possible for any changes.

October 2025 intakes

Applications are now open for the October 2025 cohorts. Please read the following information carefully before starting an application:

• The unit contains seven teaching workshop days, three clinical study days, and a face-to-face OSCE day (see below for dates). All are mandatory, and should be agreed with your employer before applying.
• Although the teaching of the virtual cohort is online, students will be required to travel to campus to complete the summative OSCE. No virtual alternative will be offered for this assessment.

Workshop dates: October 2025 start (Remote)

• Workshop days 1 & 2 (Induction): 9 & 10 October 2025 (Remote)
• Workshop day 3: 6 November 2025 (Remote)
• Workshop day 4: 11 December 2025 (Remote)
• Workshop day 5: 8 January 2026 (Remote)
• Workshop day 6: 26 February 2026 (Remote)
• Workshop day 7: 12 March 2026 (Remote)
• Workshop day 8 (Assessment): 26 March 2026 (face to face)

In addition students are required to book time off for 3 clinical study days on the following

• 20 November 2025
• 21 January 2026
• 19 February 2026

There is no scheduled teaching on these days but students are expected to use this time to complete practice based tasks and assessments. Programme staff will be available for consultation if required.

Deadline for applications: 13 July 2025

Workshop dates: October 2025 start (Hybrid)

• Workshop days 1 & 2 (Induction): 6 & 8 October 2025 (Remote)
• Workshop day 3: 3 November 2025 (Remote)
• Workshop day 4: 8 December 2025 (ace to face)
• Workshop day 5: 5 January 2026 (Remote)
• Workshop day 6: 23 February 2026 (face to face)
• Workshop day 7: 9 March 2026 (face to face)
• Workshop day 8 (Assessment): 25 March 2026 (face to face)

In addition students are required to book time off for 3 clinical study days on the following

• 19 November 2025
• 19 January 2026
• 18 February 2026

There is no scheduled teaching on these days but students are expected to use this time to complete practice based tasks and assessments. Programme staff will be available for consultation if required.

Deadline for applications: 13 July 2025

Application process

There is an additional essential information form that is required, as well as the online application. The form must be submitted for you to be considered for a place.

We will review all applications in line with the selection criteria detailed below. We reserve the right to close applications early without notice based on demand. In the case of places being over-subscribed we may need to interview applicants and would let you know about arrangements for this as soon as possible.

We will prioritise as follows:

• In order of date and time the application is made
• Existing award students (see below)
• In order of the application being completed in full with the DPP form completed by the DPP, and all required forms and references uploaded to the application portal
• NHSE funded applicants if available
• Training environment (DPP commitment to support in practice, description of specialism, plan for completion of mandatory clinical practice hours and identified clinical need/future role
• Previous experience of postgraduate study

Apply to Bath for the October 2025 (remote cohort) cohort

Apply to Bath for the October 2025 (hybrid cohort) cohort

Fees and funding

Go to our fees pages for more information on fees and how to pay them.

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) requirements

• Have current registration with the GPhC Pharmacy Regulator or PSNI as a pharmacist
• Disclose any current or pending formal investigations into your practice or any pending issues that may affect your future ability to practice. The application form provides space to notify the Director of Studies that you have an issue to discuss.
• Have an identified area of prescribing practice and a clinical setting in which to develop these skills.
• Have identified an appropriate clinician to act as your Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP). Download our guide with more information about the role of a DPP.

English language requirements

Given that CPD IP applicants are registered with the GPhC we will assess your English level based on having undergone a GPhC language assessment as part of your registration. If you chose to do further study and pursue an award route you may be required to meet the standard University English language level requirements.

Values Based Recruitment

If you are working in or plan to work in the NHS, we follow the NHS Values Based Recruitment Guidance. We strongly believe in the NHS values and will be looking for them in our applicants.