Study Options After Several Bachelors Programmes
I am a B. Pharm student. Other than M. Pharm and MBA, which are the different options open to me after graduation? - D Kaur.
Pharmacy is the study of different medicinal preparations, their usage and effects in the prevention and cure of diseases. With this background, you can take up further studies in any area of life sciences where such knowledge can be put to use. One field that is closely related to pharmacy is biotechnology, an interdisciplinary science applied to living cells, with the possibility of producing substances and compounds essential to the well being of human beings.
Students with a background in any life science, including pharmacy, can get into biotechnology. You may wish to specialise in medical biotechnology which deals with the healthcare and pharmacy sectors, leading to discoveries in this field of drugs, vaccines, diagnostics etc. Medical biotechnologists design new biotech products, develop vaccines and diagnostic tools, and work in the production of biotech products, marketing of biotech products, and so on.
Biotechnology applications in the field of medicine have resulted in new antibiotics, vaccines for malaria, and improved ways of producing insulin. Diagnostic tests for serious genetic diseases such as hereditary cancers, diabetes and Huntington's chorea have been developed through biotechnology, as well as ways of detecting and treating AIDS.
Prominent institutions that offer MSc programmes in biotechnology include:
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi
- Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar (UP)
JNU holds a combined entrance test for MSc programmes conducted by various institutes.
Other related fields after pharmacy are food technology, environment sciences, hospital administration or even pharmaceutical management.
