Hayley Francies - BSc (Hons) Pharmacology

What made you decide to come to University of Portsmouth to study?

I decided to study at Portsmouth as from looking at many university prospectuses the pharmacology course at Portsmouth incorporated all the subjects I was interested in. After coming for an interview at the University and having the opportunity to tour the city and the University I felt that Portsmouth had everything I could ask for (good nightlife, great location) and the facilities offered by the University, particularly the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, could not be faulted.

How have you found your academic course and the staff, facilities and resources in your department and learning and support facilities generally in the University?

The pharmacology course at Portsmouth is in my opinion one of the best. The first year manages to incorporate all the basic subjects you need in order to specialise in pharmacology and introduces you to basic laboratory skills. The majority of laboratories at Portsmouth are all fairly new and therefore contain modern equipment. I also took a year out and worked in a laboratory-based job at Pfizer and can confidently say that the skills I had learned from the pharmacology course at Portsmouth allowed me to work efficiently and confidently in the pharmaceutical industry.

How have you found the student experience beyond your academic programme?

Portsmouth is a great city because of its location on the south coast and the best time of year to be here is in the summer months when you can take advantage of the sea and the common. With new clubs opening the night life in Portsmouth keeps getting better and better. The societies and clubs offered by the University are also another great way to extend your friendship and social base and Portsmouth offers a very broad range of activities and sports so I have no doubt that there is something here for everyone.