Dr. Akram Ahmad, PhDMasters in Pharmacy in Australia: Admission, Fees, Top Universities, Scholarships, Job Prospects and Permanent Residency Visa in Australia
The Master of Pharmacy is an accredited two-year graduate-entry degree leading to eligibility for registration as a pharmacist. Innovative and practice-based in approach, the course builds on students’ strong scientific foundation to provide specialist, comprehensive knowledge relevant to contemporary pharmacy practice.
WHY STUDY MASTER OF PHARMACY IN AUSTRALIA?
- Australia has some high-ranked universities that provide world-class education. These prestigious universities offer a comprehensive program for a Master’s in Pharmacy in Australia.
- According to the most recent data released by the Pharmaceutical Board of Australia, registration data for the period of the 1st January 2020 to 31st March 2020 shows that at this date, there were 32,777 registered pharmacists in Australia.
- Jobs for Pharmacists are expected to grow from 25,500 in 2018 to 27,400 in 2023, according to Job Outlook of Australia.
- It is predicted that there will be around 2,600 pharmacist jobs per year in Australia for the next five years.
- 68% of the pharmacists are working on a full-time basis in Australia.
- The percentage of female pharmacists in Australia is much higher than male pharmacists i.e. 62%.
Duration: 2 years
UNIVERSITIES OFFERING THIS PROGRAM:
- Curtin University, Bentley campus
- Griffith University, Gold Coast
- The University of Western Australia, Crawley Campus
- University of Canberra, Canberra
- University of Sydney, Sydney
- University of Technology Sydney, Sydney
- University of Queensland
- University of Monash
- University of Tasmania
SPECIALIZATIONS FOR MASTER OF PHARMACY IN AUSTRALIA:
NO SPECIALIZATION.
This programme was designed to prepare students for registration as pharmacists in Australia and New Zealand.
ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION:
Applicants eligible for admission into the Master of Pharmacy are subject to meeting the following criteria:
- Minimum 15 years of education with a 10+2+3 breakup
- A 3-4 years bachelor’s degree in pharmacy field or other related fields.
- Proof of English proficiency.
- Completed an eligible science or health science Bachelor degree within the past 10 years.
- Achieved an overall GPA greater than or equal to 5.0 (on a 7.0 point scale) or 60% in the last 18 months of undergraduate study.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:
As part of your application you will need to provide scanned coloured original or certified of original documents.
- Academic transcript
- Completion certificate
- CV/resume
- Australian Student visa
- Passport/birth certificate
- Evidence of satisfying the English Language Requirements for this course.
- Letters of work experience (where applicable)
ADMISSION PROCESS:
To apply for a Master’s degree in pharmacy, a bachelor’s degree in this field is required. Also, many universities require you to be registered as a practicing pharmacist or having some experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Another important factor is that you must have a clean criminal record. Being pharmacists, we work with potentially dangerous and addictive drugs. So, you can understand the university’s concerns regarding criminal records.
WHEN TO APPLY?:
Most of the universities in Australia offer admission intakes twice a year from January to June, and from June to November. The university recommends international students to apply well in advance of the specified deadlines so that they have enough time for the Australian visa process and secure admission to the program in the desired semester.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Before applying for Master of Pharmacy in Australia, you should make sure to have following requisites:
- Application form
- Statement of purpose
- GPA scores
- TOEFL, IELTS or other similar English proficiency test scores
- Official transcripts and bachelor’s degree
- Updated CV
- Criminal record/police clearance
VISA REQUIREMENTS:
An international student must obtain Australian Student Visa to study and work in Australia for a period longer than six months. You can complete the visa application with the payment of the necessary fee of 413 AUD. The overall student visa acceptance rate is 90%-95% for all the levels of study.
Typically, students must submit the following for the visa:
- Scanned copy of Birth Certificate.
- Copy of passport bio-data page (some students may be asked to physically provide their passport)
- Certificate of Enrolment or Letter of Offer
- Evidence of sufficient funds
- Evidence of health insurance cover
- English proficiency test results
- Criminal record check results
- Four recent passport-sized photographs
- Australian student visa application form
Most visa applications take four weeks to get processed. If one studies in Australia for a particular course which is longer than ten months and gets finished at the end of the Australian academic year (usually mid-December), your visa will often be valid till 15th March the following year.
If your course is longer than ten months and gets finished from January to October, then your visa will usually be valid for two months following the completion of your course.
FEES and SCHOLARSHIP:
It costs an average of 31900 AUD – 52440 AUD to study a master’s program in Pharmacy in Australia.
The cost of living can vary depending on the lifestyle of international students.
There are plenty of scholarships available for the international students studying in Australia. Some of these scholarships include full-tuition and fees. These scholarships amount ranges between 1,000 – 120,000 AUD.
CAREER OUTCOMES:
The average annual Pharmacist salary in Australia is around AUD 94,940 (INR 50,64,961). Hobart, Tasmania, Sydney, Queensland, Perth are some of the highest paying cities in Australia for Pharmacy.
With the demand for pharmacists growing worldwide day-by-day, the career opportunities with a master’s degree are vast and financially rewarding.
Some of the top companies for employing pharmacists in Australia with their salaries are as follows: The Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Terry White, Amcal, My Chemist, Pharmacy 777, Terry White Pharmacy.
POST STUDY WORK VISA IN AUSTRALIA (SUBCLASS 485):
The post study work visa allows international students to stay, work or look for a job in Australia after they graduate. Depending on their region of study, the stay durations are from 2 to 3 years. So, under this visa, you can complete your registration with the Australian Pharmacy Board, secure a paid internship, and then apply for permanent residency.
Note: To the best of our ability, we give all information in a correct manner, although errors are possible. We cannot guarantee that this information is accurate, complete or current.
Dr. Akram Ahmad, PhD
Academically.ai is the brainchild of Dr. Akram Ahmad. He has done his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine and Health, the University of Sydney, Australia. He is a self-motivated clinical pharmacist and committed lecturer with over 9 years of teaching and research experience in various subjects of medicine at the leading Universities in Australia, Malaysia, and India.
Dr. Akram is the recipient of prestigious “Best Promising Researcher Award” from the UCSI University (Malaysia). He has also published over 110 papers, book chapters, conference papers including in high-impact journals. In addition to that, he is a reviewer and editorial board member in
several journals of medicine and pharmacy.