Entry characteristics and academic performance of students in a master of pharmacy degree program in the United Kingdom

Joe Bush*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective. Evaluate the characteristics of a cohort of Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) students upon entry and examine any associations between entry qualifications, type of school attended, socioeconomic deprivation, age and academic performance in the MPharm programme.
Methods. A retrospective cohort analysis of data recorded on Aston University’s central database for each individual exiting the MPharm programme during the five year period 2005-6 – 2009-10 (n=644).
Results. Entrants were disproportionately drawn from socioeconomically deprived areas and independent (private) schools. Achievement prior to admission was related to the type of school attended but not to deprivation. Performance on the programme was not related to type of school or deprivation but was strongly correlated with prior achievements.
Conclusions. Prior achievement is the most important predictor of performance on the MPharm programme but the superior prior achievement of independent school pupils is not seen at the point of graduation. This may have implications for admissions policies.
Original languageEnglish
Article number126
JournalAmerican Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Volume76
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2012

Keywords

  • Graduate program
  • Master of pharmacy degree
  • Performance
  • Pharmacy

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