Students accepted onto pharmacy programmes increases by almost 15%

The number of students accepted onto undergraduate pharmacy programmes in the UK this year has increased by 14.7% since 2024.

This aligns with an ambition set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, to increase training places for pharmacists by nearly 50% by 2031/32. The plan, published in June 2023, said this would begin with initial growth in 2026/27 when places would increase by 15%.

The data, published today by UCAS, shows that the number of students accepted onto pharmacy degree programmes has increased from 4,570 in 2024 to 5,240 in 2025. The number of accepted students is also up by 46.6% since 2019.

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The highest number of accepted students were from London (1055) and the lowest number were from the South West of England (155).

And despite the increase in the total number of students admitted to pharmacy degree programmes this year, there was a slight decrease in those coming from Wales (-2.8%) and Northern Ireland (-2.5%).

Director of member and LPC support at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), James Wood, said: ‘The increase in interest in pharmacy degrees is great to see. We hope that this bodes well for the [upcoming] NHS workforce plan and its commitments towards expanding pharmacy training and increasing places at universities.’

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Yet the Health and Social Care Committee recently heard from Amandeep Doll, director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), that while NHS England data suggests there are adequate numbers of pharmacists overall, there is no complete picture of where they are working or what skills they have.

She said the proposed shift to neighbourhood-based care under the 10-year plan for the NHS risks being undermined by a lack of comprehensive workforce data on where pharmacists are deployed and what skills they have.

RPS president, Professor Claire Anderson, said the rise in pharmacy student applications was 'encouraging' and that it would support the future workforce. However, this 'must be matched with sustained investment in high-quality education and training, and opportunity for experiential learning across all sectors', she said.

'We also need appropriate infrastructure and equitable access to resources for universities, employers and the pharmacists providing supervision and professional development. As all newly qualified pharmacists are set to become independent prescribers, sustained investment in education and training will be essential to ensure they have the clinical skills and support they need.'

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And CPE’s new report, ‘A Prescription for Success’, stressed that by 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers and the 10 year Workforce Plan – promised in the 10 year health plan – ‘must include’ community pharmacy.

A six-week call for evidence to inform the development of this workforce plan ended on 7 November. It was initially due to publish this summer, but it has been delayed.