The Medway School of Pharmacy is a school of pharmacy in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

. Established in 2004, the school is the result of a collaboration between the

University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...

and the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. Its campus is part of a shared facility on

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

in Medway,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

Medway School of Pharmacy was established as a collaboration between the British universities of Kent and Greenwich, in response to a "shortage of qualified pharmacists" in the south east of England. The School admitted its first students after it received approval from the RPSGB. In September 2004: its first graduates completed Foundation degrees in June 2007 and in July 2008, the first cohort of MPharm students graduated from the school. The campus was originally the home of the former

Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham The Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, also known as HMS ''Pembroke'', was a UK naval barracks that was built between the Victorian Steam Yard and Brompton Barracks from 1897 to 1902. It was built on the site of a prison built in 1853 to house ov ...

(also known as

HMS Pembroke Nine ships and a number of shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Pembroke''. Ships * was a 28-gun fifth rate launched in 1655 and lost in a collision off Portland in 1667. * was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1690, captu ...

). In 1994, the University of Greenwich established a campus on the upper level, investing heavily over the next decade to improve and expand its facilities. In 2003, architects RMJM started work to create a shared campus which combines the historic nature of the site with contemporary architecture. In particular, the Grade II listed Drill Hall is now a learning resource center, incorporating a library with teaching space and ICT facilities. Medway may be a location name, but it is actually an administrative area comprising the various towns as they are known locally, namely Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Strood and takes its name from the strategically placed river set halfway between London and the Channel ports.

Organisation

The School's academic staff are grouped by subject, covering: * Clinical and Professional Practice * Chemistry and Drug Delivery * Biological Sciences The school offers the Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) undergraduate master's degree, a four-year programme which enables application for entry into pre-registration training leading to registration as a pharmacist. The school also runs short courses, undergraduate foundation and BSc degrees and postgraduate degrees. The school is offering a new BSc (Hons) Pharmacology and Physiology Programme, including integrated foundation year to launch in September 2015. Appointed in August 2007, the Head of School is Professor Iain Cumming. RESEARCH Medway School of Pharmacy has over twenty academic research staff arranged in the three primary research groups that are listed above^. Research Excellence Framework (REF) The school has over twenty academic research staff and a large number of research students. "According to Times Higher Education (January 2015), this school's Research Intensity ranking was in the top 10% of submissions to Unit of Assessment 3, Allied health professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy".

Medway Pharmacy Students' Association

Established in January 2008, Medway Pharmacy Students' Association represents pharmacy students at Medway School of Pharmacy. ''GK UNIONS'' GK Unions stands for the Greenwich & Kent Students' Unions Together (previously Universities at Medway Students Association, UMSA). It is the representative body and service provider for all students studying at the Chatham Maritime campus. Students are automatically a member of the association if they are a registered student of the University of Greenwich or University of Kent.

Campus

The School is based on the

Universities at Medway The Universities at Medway is a tri-partite collaboration of the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University on a single campus in Chatham, Medway in South East England. Site The historic HMS Pembrok ...

campus, on the site of the former HMS Pembroke naval barracks at

. It benefits from the shared facilities at the campus. It is currently the ''biggest'' higher education initiative in the UK.

Accommodation

Prior to Fall 2013, there was 6 student housing blocks which offered single en-suite or studio flats. Starting in the 2014–2015 academic session, students pursuing a degree at the Medway School of Pharmacy have the choice of living either in halls of residence provided by the University of Greenwich or those provided by the University of Kent. University of Greenwich at Medway Halls of Residence Located on the Medway Campus itself, the accommodation consists of flats with shared kitchen/dining facilities for 4-6 students. University of Kent at Medway Halls of Residence This accommodation, which is owned and managed by Liberty Living, is arranged in clusters of flats for 5-8 students.

References

{{Authority control University of Greenwich University of Kent 2004 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 2004 Pharmacy schools in the United Kingdom