MPharm interviews at the University of Reading

For our MPharm Pharmacy and MPharm Pharmacy with Preparatory Year courses, candidates are assessed for entry using an online interview, in addition to the academic entry requirements. This process is an opportunity for us to check that candidates have the personal and professional values required for a future student of pharmacy.

We also operate a gathered field approach, which means that candidates are considered alongside other candidates applying for the same course. This enables us to make decisions based on the overall strength of the candidate pool. As a result, interview outcomes will usually only be confirmed once all interviews have taken place, which is likely to be by the end of March. However, some candidates may be notified of the outcome of their interview earlier where appropriate.

Application and interview invitation

Once you have submitted your application via UCAS, it will be reviewed by our Admissions Team, who will consider your overall academic performance alongside your personal statement and reference.

If your application meets our initial selection criteria, you will receive an email inviting you to book a date and time for your online interview. Your interview will take place via Microsoft Teams, with a member of academic staff from the University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy.

Joining your online interview using Microsoft Teams

At least 48 hours before your interview, you will receive an email with instructions on how to join your interview via Microsoft Teams. If you have not received this email by then, please check your junk or spam folder. If it has still not arrived, please email mpharmadmissions@reading.ac.uk.

We strongly recommend using the latest version of the Microsoft Teams app for Windows or Mac where possible, as candidates may occasionally experience technical difficulties when using the web browser version. If it is not possible for you to use the app, please use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to join via a web browser. If you are a Mac user, please avoid using Safari.

If you are based in a country where Microsoft Teams cannot be accessed, please email mpharmadmissions@reading.ac.uk.

Interview format

The interview is expected to last for approximately 20 minutes and will include five parts.

Part 1: Showing a form of photo ID to the camera to confirm your identity

Please have a form of photo ID ready to show to the camera at the start of your interview. This could be a passport, driving licence photocard (full or provisional), or an alternative form of photo ID issued by a trusted authority.

Part 2: Establishing your motivation to study pharmacy and what steps you have taken to ensure this is a fully informed decision

You will be asked to discuss:

your motivations for applying to study pharmacy
how and why you have decided to apply to study pharmacy
the steps you have taken to ensure you understand the role of a pharmacist.

Please note that work experience is not required for entry onto our courses, but we would expect you to have undertaken research to ensure you understand the role of a pharmacist and what a career in pharmacy could mean for you.

Part 3: Demonstrating personal values

You will be asked to describe a situation in which you have demonstrated the values and professionalism expected of a future healthcare professional. You will also be asked to give examples of how you have demonstrated two of the following four skills:

professional behaviour
leadership
communicating effectively with a group, or groups, with a different background to yourself
working in partnership with others.

Your examples can come from any aspect of your life, whether personal, academic or professional. We recognise that these skills can be developed and demonstrated in many different ways, some of which may not be immediately obvious. For example, you might:

lead an online gaming group
help to run a school club or sports team
have experience of the workplace.

It is not the examples themselves that are important, but what you have learnt from your experiences and how they have influenced the way you would work in the future.

Part 4: Situational judgement

You will be presented with hypothetical scenarios designed to further assess your personal and professional values, as well your decision-making skills. The interviewer will describe a scenario and ask you to explain how you would respond in that situation.

For example:

You are a pharmacy student with a Saturday job in a community pharmacy. One of your flatmates has been asking you all week to ‘borrow’ a pregnancy test strip for them from the pharmacy as it is unlikely to be missed and is much cheaper than a commercial pregnancy test, which they can’t afford. You refuse but on Saturday you notice your flatmate in the pharmacy, in an aisle near the pregnancy test packets. When you look closer, it appears that your flatmate has placed one of the packets in the pocket of their hoodie. You worry that your flatmate is going to steal the pregnancy test. If your flatmate gets caught, they will be in serious trouble.

In this scenario, we would require a potential future pharmacy student to show honesty and integrity. Acceptable ways of dealing with the situation could include approaching your flatmate to establish the facts of the situation and/or speaking with pharmacy staff to raise your concerns.

Unacceptable approaches to this scenario include ignoring the problem, taking the stance of it being the flatmate’s problem if they get caught, or agreeing to your flatmate’s request to take a test strip from the pharmacy if they return the test from their pocket. All of these options show a lack of integrity and personal responsibility in a professional environment.

Part 5: Opportunity for you to ask questions

You will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the course or what it is like to study pharmacy at the University of Reading.

Further information about the interview

For safeguarding and quality assurance purposes, all interviews will be recorded and retained until 31 August 2027 or for 90 days, whichever is shorter. These will be held securely and can only be accessed by departmental and school staff undertaking interviews for MPharm Pharmacy or MPharm Pharmacy with Preparatory Year. The recording will not be shared for any purposes other than safeguarding and quality assurance unless required by law. Please note that candidates are not permitted to make their own recordings of their interview.
A member of the departmental Admissions Team may review the recording of the interview to ensure that recommendations made by staff are consistent across all candidates. Typically, any decision resulting in an unsuccessful outcome will be reviewed by a member of the Admissions Team.
You can ask your interviewer to repeat or clarify a question if needed. You can also ask for a question to be displayed on screen as text. These requests will not affect your performance score, and you will not be penalised for making them.
To help reduce unconscious bias during the interview process, your interviewer will not have access to your application. They may therefore ask you about information you have already included in your personal statement.
You may have a chaperone present in the room during your interview, such as a parent or guardian, teacher, or another family member. However, your chaperone must not discuss answers to questions with you or otherwise participate in or interfere with the interview. They must also not have applied to study pharmacy at the University of Reading in the current academic year.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools is not permitted during the interview. All responses must be your own, based on your personal knowledge and experiences. Using AI to generate, formulate or communicate answers during your interview may result in the interview being discontinued and your application rejected.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in our admissions and interview processes. If you would like to request any specific requirements or adjustments around accessibility for your interview, please email mpharmadmissions@reading.ac.uk.

Please rest assured that requesting reasonable adjustments or having specific requirements will not affect the outcome of the interview, or our decision on whether you are offered a place on the course.

When you can expect to receive the outcome of your interview

We operate a gathered field approach, which means that candidates are considered alongside other candidates applying for the same course. As a result, interview outcomes will usually only be confirmed once all interviews have taken place. This is likely to be by the end of March. However, some candidates may be notified of the outcome of their interview earlier where appropriate.

Questions

If you have any questions about your interview, please email mpharmadmissions@reading.ac.uk.

MPharm interview