Skip to main content

UCC Postgraduate courses

Engineering - Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Engineering

Course Fact File
CodeMENPBE
DurationFull-time 12 months; Part-time minimum of 24 months, maximum of 60 months
Teaching ModeFull-time, Part-Time
QualificationsMEngSc
NFQ LevelLevel 9
Closing DateClosed for applications
Non-EU Closing DateClosed for applications
Start Date9 Sept 2024 (Full-time) 13 Sept 2024 (Part-time)

Course Outline

The discipline of Process and Chemical Engineering is designed to provide participants with a formal qualification in areas of particular topical interest to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. These include product containment, powder/ particle technology, design of API and secondary production facilities, current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), design of classified facilities, aseptic processing facility design, utilities and services, data analysis and process validation.

Modules are delivered not only by academics from UCC but lecturers from leading industries including Eli Lilly, Janssen and PM Group and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Dublin, providing hands-on-training and insights into state-of-the-art pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes and practises.

This programme has been designed specifically for graduates in Engineering and Manufacturing Sectors, or those who have do not have an Engineering degree, but work experience, willing to undertake a full-time Engineering programme to re-skill and gain a formal engineering qualification at a Masters Level. By taking this programme, participants will thus have the opportunity to:

  • Gain a formal Level 9 qualification in Engineering
  • Upskill/ Re-skill for the fast-growing pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sectors
  • Experience hands-on training at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) providing valuable insight, skills and knowledge that bridge the gap between academic teaching and industry practice.
  • Learn directly from the industry with guest lecturers from Pharma/Biopharma industries
  • Enhance employability through access to UCC Careers Services team.
  • Get to study in Cork, which houses 9 out of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies.
  • Access a multidisciplinary learning environment and project-based learning combining both individual elements and group work, enhancing learning outcomes and inter-personal skills.

The MEngSc in Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Engineering is full-time in-person programme to be completed in one academic year.

Please note, the maximum time allowed to complete the programme is 45 months or 5 academic years from the date of first registration for the programme.

Course Structure

The programme comprises 60 credits of taught modules, including both mandatory and elective modules.

Students must take 9 mandatory modules worth 5 credits each to the value of 45 credits. The remaining 3 modules can be selected from a list of 4 modules worth 5 credits each to make up the final 15 credits of the total of 60 credits.

 

Semester 1

All modules are mandatory

  • PE6009 Pharmaceutical Engineering (5 credits)
  • PE6011Biopharmaceutical Engineering (5 credits)
  • PE6052 Powder and Particle Technology and Unit Operations (5 credits)
  • PE6012Pharmaceutical Process Equipment, Materials and Mechanical Design (5 credits)
  • PE6016Pharmaceutical Industry: Manufacturing and Optimisation (5 credits)
  • PE6026Project Engineering - From Concept to Completion (5 credits)

Semester 2

Mandatory modules

  • PE6022Aseptic Manufacturing Design (5 credits)
  • PE6055 Process Safety (5 credits)
  • PE6027Advanced Biopharmaceutical Engineering (5 credits)

Elective modules (Select 3 out of 4 modules)

  • PE6004Biopharmaceutical Support Systems (5 credits)
  • PE6018Pharmaceutical Process Validation and Quality (5 credits)
  • PE6019Process Analytical Technology (5 credits)
  • CM6010Introductory Pharmaceutical Chemistry (5 credits)

Semester 3 (Summer)

A key component of the MEngSc in Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Engineering is the research thesis or work-related research project (PE6021), worth 30 credits, carried out primarily in an industry or academic research laboratory between May and August during one academic year.

Students must achieve an average grade of 50% or higher across all taught modules to be eligible to proceed to do the thesis. Students who achieve 40% in each individual taught module but fail to achieve the requisite grade of 50% across the taught modules, will exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Engineering.

Academic Programme Catalogue

See the Academic Programme Catalogue where you can search for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year to year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules.

Course Practicalities

Course Structure

Fundamentally, the modules course is divided into three semesters. Semester 1 and 2 comprise 6 taught modules worth 5 credits each; 30 credits per semester. The research thesis comprises the final 30 credits, making up a total of 90 credits for the entire programme.

Attendance Information

Full-time students will take both full-time and part-time modules.

Full-time modules have in-person lectures every week between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full-time students are expected to attend regular lecturers by being physically presented at a lecture theatre in UCC.

Part-time modules are usually arranged in two in-person sessions per semester: 

  • a start-up lecture session, typically around 4 hours long and occurring over Friday and Saturday at the start of each semester (September in Semester 1 /January in Semester 2)
  • a lecture/tutorial session around 6-8 hours long occurring over consecutive Thursday, Friday and Saturday 4 weeks after the start-up session.


Full-time students will also be required to attend programme tutorials, scheduled every week throughout the semester. All other lectures or tutorials are arranged online by individual lecturers in consultation with the students.

All lecture materials, course notes, videograms and lecture recordings (if available) will be made available online via Canvas, UCC’s online student learning portal, giving students the flexibility to cover the material at their own convenience during the week.

Assessment

All modules will be assessed via continuous assessment and will consist of live end-of-semester assessments or and online Canvas assignments as per UCC Marks and Standards.

Details of the assignments including submission dates will be communicated by the Programme Director and individual lecturers at the start of term in September.

Why Choose This Course

The enormous need for Engineers to work in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical devices industries has been well documented in recent years, most recently by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN). The 2024 report suggests the possibility of creation of over 6000 jobs in this sector by 2027, primarily driven by jobs in manufacturing, followed by jobs in the services sector. This will require significant upskilling of the existing workforce in the Pharma/Biopharma sectors, and development of industry-academia collaborations fostering re-skilling.

Many graduates working in the pharmaceutical industries with a scientific background find themselves working in areas which increasingly overlap with engineers and engineering. Many would like to develop an engineering-based understanding of processes and production in a formal manner. This course offers you the opportunity to do this, developing your skill set and employability across a wider range of roles.

The course also presents the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry with an opportunity to enable greater cohesion and understanding among inter- and multi-disciplinary teams as graduates with science backgrounds receive a formal qualification in engineering.

What are the key learning outcomes?

Upon completion of this programme, candidates will be able to:

  • Apply an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the mathematics, sciences, engineering sciences and technologies to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical engineering
  • Identify, formulate, analyse and solve problems related to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical engineering
  • Design pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities and processes, including unfamiliar, ill-defined scenarios, underpinned by a sustainability informed paradigm, taking account of environmental, health and safety and risk factors, and know how to apply relevant codes of practice, industry standards and emerging practices and technologies.
  • Gather experimental data, apply a range of standard and specialized research tools and techniques and conduct critical evaluation of results
  • Effectively design experiments and gather experimental data, apply a range of standard and specialized research tools and techniques and conduct critical evaluation of results
  • Work effectively as an individual and in teams in planning and carrying through on assignments and projects in a lifelong learning context;
  • Communicate effectively with the engineering community and with society at large.

Who should apply?

The aim of this (NFQ level 9) programme is to provide upskilling/re-skilling opportunities for working professionals in the Engineering and Manufacturing sectors. It is also aimed to fill the need for the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Postgraduate Education of Engineers working in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

To date many Engineering graduates (including Chemical & Process Engineering graduates) do not have formal educational qualifications relating specifically to the pharmaceutical industry. This is because many undergraduate Chemical Engineering courses, which are generally broad in nature, do not cover issues of particular concern to the pharmaceutical industry; issues such as product containment, powder/particle technology, design of API and secondary production facilities, current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), design of classified facilities, aseptic processing facility design, validation, etc. This is the case to an even greater extent the case for graduates of other Engineering disciplines.

Parallelly, many graduates working in the pharmaceutical industries with a scientific background find themselves working in areas which increasingly overlap with engineers and engineering. Many of them would like to develop an engineering-based understanding of processes and production in a formal manner. This programme offers these graduates with significant benefits both to themselves and their companies by developing their skill set and employability across a wider range of roles through the enhanced continuing professional development that this programme offers. This programme also offers the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry with an opportunity to enable greater cohesion and understanding among inter and multi-disciplinary teams as graduates with science backgrounds, but relevant experience in Engineering, receive a formal Level 9 qualification in engineering.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

There are no structured placement or study abroad opportunities provided directly through programme, however, candidates spend a day at the NIBRT Biopharmaceutical Training Facility in Dublin.

MEngSc participants can perform their research project in any location including in an industry or an internationally location deemed suitable by their academic mentor.

Skills and Careers Information

Over the past two decades, Ireland has established itself as a global leader in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and has been tremendously successful in attracting multinational companies to establish manufacturing operations across the country.

The Irish pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry remains highly advanced, employing latest technology, state-of-the-art techniques and equipment and following strict quality control procedures. The pharmaceutical industry in Ireland is a world leader in offering products and services, from research and development for new medicines to the manufacturing and marketing of new medicines for humans and animals.

Ireland is now home to more than 85 biopharmaceutical sites and 9 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies have substantial operations in Ireland. Around 60% of all exports from Ireland is contributed to the Biopharmaceutical industry which is directly employing over 25,000 people. Ireland is now the largest net exporter of pharmaceuticals in the EU accounting for over 50% of all exports from the country.

Cork has established itself as a thriving industrial hub, boasting a resilient and diverse economy with more than 190 multinational firms operating in clusters across the technology, financial services, cybersecurity, pharmaceuticals and life sciences sectors. Cork’s Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences sector continues to grow rapidly, exemplified by the investment of over €10 billion in new facilities over the last decade. Seven of the ten of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies including Janssen, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck/MSD, Novartis, and Thermo Fisher Scientific are based in Cork, more specifically around the Cork Harbour Region. In total there are now over thirty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries operating in Cork with a workforce of over 10,000.

The 2024 EGFSN report on Skills for Biopharma suggests the continued expansion of this sector, primarily driven by jobs in manufacturing, followed by jobs in the services sector.

What sort of jobs would this course prepare me for?

This programme will prepare candidates for wide range of jobs in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sectors including manufacturing roles and roles associated with process and facility design and optimisation and project management. On successful completion of the programme, the candidate should able to work in a highly regulated pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sector taking account of environmental, health and safety and risk factors, and know how to apply relevant codes of practice, industry standards and emerging practices and technologies.

Will I get exposure to the pharmaceutical/ biopharmaceutical industry in this course?

Several modules are delivered by lecturers from leading industries including Eli Lilly, Janssen, and PM Group providing direct, up-to-date and highly relevant industrial insight into the pharma biopharma industries in Ireland and beyond. Candidates will also require participating in an on-site practical training at the state-of-the-art facility at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Dublin.

Are there any career workshops included as part of this course?

No formal career workshops are included as part of this course. However, as UCC students, all candidates will be able to access career-related trainings, workshops  and guidance offered by UCC’s Career Services.

Requirements

Applicants must have a BE (Hons) or BEng (Hons) Degree or equivalent engineering qualification, with a minimum Second-Class Honours Grade II, or a level 8 BSc degree, with a minimum grade Second Class Honours Grade II, where the BSc graduate has a recognised qualification in process or Chemical Engineering (e.g. Diploma in Process and Chemical Engineering at UCC or equivalent).

Under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applicants who do not meet the above academic entry requirements may be considered for admission and will be assessed on a number of factors including:

  • Academic achievement
  • Prior work experience relevant to any Engineering discipline
  • Personal statement

In all cases, the course of study for each candidate must be approved by the course coordinator.

 

For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

  • In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
  • Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.
English Language Requirements

Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

Fees and Costs

Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2025/2026

See our Postgraduate EU and Non-EU (International) Fee Schedule for the latest information.

Deposits 

If your course requires a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second-semester fee payment in January.

Fee payment 

Fees are payable in two equal instalments. First payment is at registration and the balance usually by the end of January.

How can I pay? 

See different options on our How Do I Pay My Fees? page.

Any questions? See the 'Contact Us' section on the Fees Office page.

How To Apply

1. Check dates

Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the yellow fact file boxes at the top of this webpage. The UCC online application portal usually opens around mid October.

2. Gather documents

Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

  • Original qualification documents listed on your application, including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
  • Any supplementary items requested for your course, if required.

3. Apply online

Apply online by clicking the red 'Apply Now' button below. Note most of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.

All Applicants

Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following:

  • You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
  • Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
  • Please upload your CV. 

The closing date for non-EU applications is Closed for applications

Apply Now

For queries regarding course content or timetables please contact

Top