About Us
The School of Pharmacy is situated on the Medical Biology Centre site, in close proximity to the two main Teaching Hospitals (Belfast City Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital) and to the pre-clinical and clinical departments of the School of Medicine.
Historical Background to the School of Pharmacy
The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland was formed in 1920 as a consequence of the Government of Ireland Act of that year.
In 1929, a BSc degree in Pharmaceutics was founded at The Queen's University of Belfast, making it one of the oldest pharmacy degree courses in the United Kingdom.
Teaching in Pharmacy was provided at this time by the Belfast College of Technology. The degree course ran in tandem with the diploma course, then the major entry route into the profession. In common with the rest of the UK, degree level entry into the profession became mandatory in the late 1960's.
In 1969, the BSc Pharmaceutics degree at Queen's was recognised as a qualifying degree for direct registration with the then Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
Following a reorganisation of higher education in Northern Ireland, the course moved in 1971 from the College of Technology to a new Department of Pharmacy in Queen's University. At this time, the first chair in pharmacy was founded.
In 1980, the department moved to a purpose designed building on the University's Medical Biology Centre campus, adjacent to the Belfast City Hospital. In 1988, following a reorganisation within the University, Pharmacy became one of seven schools within the Faculty of Science. The opening of the McClay Research Centre in 2002 doubled the available space in the School. In 2005 the School became one of four schools in the new Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.
The School of Pharmacy occupies approximately 4000 square metres of purpose-built space, located on the campus of Belfast City Hospital (a major teaching hospital), about 5 minutes walk from the central university campus.
The main School of Pharmacy building provides undergraduate teaching facilities, together with a new Pharmacy Practice Research Unit and research laboratories for Clinical Pharmacy and Medicinal Chemistry.
Undergraduate provision in the main building includes teaching laboratories for the three main scientific disciplines in the MPharm course (Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacology) and specialised laboratories for aseptic processing, pharmaceutical analysis, radioisotopes and solid dosage form processing.The building also houses a new, purpose-built ‘practice’ Pharmacy and associated advanced teaching facilities including a video-equipped seminar room and other small group teaching rooms. Most recently, the main building has been extended to include a newly refurbished 130-seater lecture theatre, a Continuing Professional Development Centre (NICPPET) and administrative offices for the School’s Distance Learning Programmes in Clinical and Community Pharmacy.
Linked to the Main Building at ground floor level via a ‘student lobby’ area is the new, state-of-the-art McClay Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Sciences, an eye-catching structure clearly reflecting the ‘high tech’ style of design, wholly in keeping with the advanced research taking place within. Research laboratories rise up through the four floors of the building and open onto an atrium via floor-to-ceiling glass walls, allowing visitors a clear view of the researchers at work. An open lobby area on the ground floor is designed to facilitate scientific meetings and conferences, and the facilities are completed by a new Reception and Administration Centre, plus seminar rooms and staff office space.
The McClay Research Centre provides research laboratories for the School’s programmes in Drug Delivery, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical Materials Science and Biomolecular Science. Specialised areas include suites for advanced microscopy, pharmaceutical thermal analysis and tissue culture. Two research units are also located in the McClay research centre: the Pharmaceutical Formulation Research Unit and the newly established Medical Polymers Research Institute (MPRI), a joint venture with the Schools of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. MPRI will have extensive facilities for polymer processing and characterisation.
