Department of Pharmacy, University of Malta

The Department of Pharmacy is where Malta's pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists are taught. It forms part of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta, and its home is the Biomedical Sciences Building on the university's main campus at Msida. It is listed on VisitMalta.co.uk in our directory of pharmacies in Malta because of its role in the profession, but it is a teaching and research department rather than a shop that dispenses medicines.

If you are looking for a pharmacy counter, health check or prescription service, browse the directory instead. This page is for prospective students, parents, researchers and anyone curious about how pharmacy is taught on the island.

Studying pharmacy in Malta

The department's website is organised around study, research and student resources. Study options are shown by level and by mode, with both full-time and part-time routes. Among the courses promoted is a pair of undergraduate degrees, the BSc in Pharmaceutical Science and the BSc in Pharmaceutical Technology, which have had a dedicated information webinar for applicants.

Other sections cover the department's research, its publications, its staff list and a laboratory quality system. A news area reports events such as freshers' week, and also honours for staff: Professor Anthony Serracino Inglott was awarded an ESCP fellowship at the 54th ESCP Autumn Symposium in Portugal.

Medical teaching in Malta: a short history

Formal medical teaching in Malta goes back to 1676, when a lecturer in anatomy and surgery was appointed at the Sacra Infermeria, the Knights' hospital in Valletta. That appointment is widely seen as the start of the island's medical school. Our Knights of Malta guide explains the order behind it. The same lecturer set up the first medical library on the island and a medicinal herb garden in one of the ditches of Fort Saint Elmo.

The university itself was constituted by decree in 1769, and a medical college joined it in 1771. After the Second World War a new medical school opened near St Luke's Hospital in 1968, at the time when the Msida campus was inaugurated. The Department of Pharmacy carries that tradition forward today within the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, alongside a university that also stresses sustainability and equity in its campus and teaching.

The University of Malta behind it

The department sits inside a university with a long record. The institution traces its origins to the Collegium Melitense, set up in 1592, and the medical school dates back to teaching at the Order's hospital in the seventeenth century. Today the university has fourteen faculties, interdisciplinary institutes and centres, three schools and a junior college, with campuses at Msida, Valletta, Marsaxlokk and Gozo.

Teaching is in English, and more than 3,500 students graduate each year. For a UK student weighing up an overseas degree, that makes the language barrier low, and the structures follow the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area. Fees and entry rules for each course are published by the university, so check them before you apply.

Moving to Malta to study

Students arriving from the UK should plan accommodation, travel and visas early. Our UK guide to relocating to Malta explains the practical steps, immigration consultants such as ACC Malta Immigration Advisors are listed in our directory, and our where to stay in Malta page compares areas. Msida sits between Valletta and Sliema, so our Valletta guide and hotels in Sliema page are both relevant.

Your first visit might be an open day or a short stay. See our flights to Malta from the UK page for routes, our Malta weather guide for what to pack, and our about Malta page for an overview of the country. To ask the department a question, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message on.