1 Overview of the Program 

Pharmaceutical Science is a multidiscipline field that aims at drug discovery and development, with the integration of fundamental principles of chemistry, biology, and medicine. Studies in Pharmaceutical Science provide the theories and technique support for drug discovery and development, drug safety, drug efficacy and quality control. The subject focuses on identification and validation of drug targets, drug design, drug screening, drug synthesis, dosage form design and formulation, pharmaceutical analysis and quality control, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, molecular pharmacology and toxicology, and clinical trials, etc. 

The International Master Program in Pharmaceutical Science aims to recruit the excellent international undergraduates to the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) and the associated institutes of Chinese Academy of Sciences, to cultivate high-level pharmaceutical talents and to promote the international cooperation and high level education for pharmaceutical research between China and other countries. Students in this program learn about the current status and future tendency of drug research, master the theories, methods and skills of pharmaceutical science, with the capability of independent drug discovery and technology development. 

2 Application Guidance 

2.1 Majors and Research Areas 

(1) Medicinal Chemistry 

Drug discovery focused on the major diseases; Research and development of biological medicines, carbohydrate drugs and natural products; Research on the synthesis and large-scale production of drugs. 

(2) Pharmacology 

Discovery of drugs and validation of drug targets focused on the major diseases; High-throughput drug screening; Research on the mechanism of drug action; Research and development of biological medicines; Research on pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine. 

(3) Pharmaceutics 

Advanced drug delivery techniques and systems, e.g., tumor-targeted drug delivery systems, drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology and the sustained/controlled release dosage forms.  

(4) Pharmaceutical Analysis 

Development and validation of bioanalytical methods based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; Research on solid-state chemistry of drugs. 

（5）Drug Design 

New theory, method and software development of drug design; Discovering novel target and drug candidate through computational simulation and experimental studies.  

2.2 Qualification of Applicants 

(1)    Non-Chinese citizens; 

(2)    healthy and willing to abide by the Chinese laws and decrees; 

(3)    holding a bachelor’s degree in in Pharmaceutical Science, chemistry, biology, medicine or related field with satisfactory performance; 

(4)    with good academic performance and research ability; 

(5)    Language skills requirements for those who take English as a second language:  

● major undergraduate courses are taught in English (marked in transcripts)  

Or  

● TOEFL-over 90/IELTS-over 6.5. 

2.3 Documents for Application 

(1)     ADMISSION APPLICATION FORM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Applicants shall fill in and submit the application information via the Online Application System for International Students at UCAS (http://adis.ucas.ac.cn), and then print the admission application form (Net Version) produced by the system.  The supervisor’s comment page should be filled in by the applicant’s supervisor and institute/school. The applicant cannot apply to more than one supervisor and institute/school. 

For those who a. have already got financial support, please attach the certificate of financial support with the admission form; b. are applying scholarship programs to UCAS, please attach separate scholarship application form(s); c. apply to study by self-support, please attach the affidavit of support from the guarantors and a bank statement (original document or notarized copy). 

(2)    Photocopy of passport (at least 2 years validity) personal information page. 

(3)    Original notarized photocopy of Bachelor’s degree certificate. (Those who have not graduated yet shall offer a proof of education and expected graduation time in their current academic institution) 

(4)    Original transcripts or original notarized photocopy of undergraduate study transcripts. 

(5)    Two academic recommendation letters from scholars or professors who work in the relevant research field with the applicant (must be on the letterhead paper, with the referee’s signature and date, and be sealed). The referee should not be the expected supervisor. 

(6)    CV and research proposal 

(7)    Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of maximum 5 representative published academic papers. Do not submit the photocopies of unpublished papers. 

(8)    Bank Receipt of Application Processing Fee: RMB 600 or USD, EUR equivalent. 

For applicants outside mainland China, payments shall be made in US dollars or Euros in the form of a personal check or money order or travelers check attached to the application form, payable to UCAS. For applicants currently in mainland China, payments shall be made in Chinese currency by remitting money directly to the following bank account (Please specify that the remittance is for the application fee): 

Beneficiary: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 

Account number: 11001059200053002790 

Bank: Construction Bank of China 

Beijing Municipal Dongfang Guangchang Branch  

SWIFT CODE：PCBCCNBJBJX 

Or 

Applicants may also submit the admission fee to UCAS Financial Department.  

2.4 Application time and Process 

(1) Application Time: December 1, 2016-May 30, 2017 

(2) Application Process: Applicants who are eligible and meet all the eligibility criteria above may send the application documents to one of the following institutes (one cannot apply more than one institute). The faculty reviews the applicant’s application documents, determines if the applicant’s background is acceptable and then makes final decision according to the availability of supervisors and the institute.  

● Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences 

Coordinator: Yongzheng Wu 

Tel: +86-21-50805910 

Email: yzwu@simm.ac.cn 

Add: 555 Zu Chong Zhi Road, Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech Park, Pudong, Shanghai 201203, China 

Website: http://english.simm.cas.cn/ 

2.5 Visa Application and Admission Registration 

UCAS will send Admission Notices and Visa Application forms to the admitted students. The admitted students should bring their personal passport, Admission Notice, Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201), and original Form of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners as well as other original documents of physical examination to the Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China, and apply for a student visa (X1/X2 visa). Please keep the original Admission Notice and Visa Application Form (JW202/ JW201) which are needed for registration and residence permit application. Please do not entry China visa-free or with other types of visas other than X visa. After entry to China, students should register at the place indicated on the Admission Notice within the required registration period. 

2.6 Professional Courses Offered in English  

The program in Pharmaceutical Science provides a comprehensive and specialized training plan. It contains two types of courses: specialized teaching in single field and interdisciplinary teaching. Introductory courses are set as basic courses for students to have interdisciplinary knowledge. Under supervision, students choose the major courses to meet the academic requirements and career aims. 

The major courses include: Molecular Biology and Genomics, Immunology and Biophysics, Functional Nanostructure: Synthesis, Characterizations and Device Applications, Physical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Development Frontier, Modern Pharmaceutics, Genetic Interpretation System, Protein Polypeptide Drugs’ Modification and Delivery, Molecular Pharmacology, Biotechnology and New Drug Research, Drug Discovery, Adverse Drug Reactions, Laboratory Practice, etc. 

Students should also take part in Chinese Elementary Course, China Panorama and the related academic activities. 

2. 7 Campus Life 

UCAS is the door which opens to the world of opportunities for the new researchers who are interested in pharmaceutical science, by providing the education and research of global standards with a system excellence in practices, theories, research, funding resources and standards. More than 16 institutes of UCAS conduct research in pharmaceutical science       `. All the experimental and characterization labs are fully furnished and well equipped. A team of qualified engineers and professors is there for coaching young researches. 

UCAS International College (http://ic-en.ucas.ac.cn/) offers a number of linguistic courses for International students to make them familiar with Chinese language. A wide range of training and subjective courses are being organized in order to provide the best academic environment and to broaden the knowledge of young talents. Moreover, well reputed universities from all over the world have collaborations with the institutes which results in the symbiotic learning.    

The campus activities are rich and colorful. Annual games of the faculty members and students not only provide a source of joy but also create sports man ship in them. Film Club is one of the famous recreational activities for all the researchers. Orientation party， New Year Party, International Culture Day and Graduation ceremony are also enriched with colors of happiness. Besides study, students spend considerable amount of time to improve themselves in various other aspects.  

UCAS is a home of pharmaceutical science. It is a fusion of knowledge, abilities, communications and emotion. Nothing else is more beautiful than its campus life. One can dream to seize the opportunity to improve himself/herself in every aspect of life and make life meaningful and colorful by dealing with it fully.   

2.8 Thesis and Degree Offered 

Students are required to conduct an independent research project supervised by a faculty member with an interest in the particular topic of their own research. A written master thesis research proposal and a formal presentation are required in the second term. A mid-exam proposal and a formal presentation are required in the fourth term. Students are required to submit a thesis in English with an executive summary in Chinese and the final oral thesis defense is required. 

This program commonly last for 3 years. Students must complete the course of study to meet the credits requirement, publish academic papers and pass thesis defense. Degree offered: Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Science. 

2.9 Fees and Costs: 

(1) RMB 600 or USD, EUR equivalent (Non-refundable); 

(2) Tuition: 

RMB 30,000/year;  

(3) Accidental Injury and Hospitalization Insurance:  

RMB 800/year, RMB 400/half year; 

(4) Accommodation (shared rooms): RMB 900/month for one student  

(5) Outpatient service fee is paid according to the insurance scheme from insurance company.  

Board expenses, travel expenses and other costs of experiments, meetings or trainings beyond the program curriculum is at the student’s own expense.  

3 Scholarships to apply 

The applicants may apply for Chinese Government Scholarship, or UCAS Scholarship for International Students.  

● Chinese Government Scholarship 

The Chinese Government Scholarship covers many programs, including Bilateral Program, EU Program, AUN Program, PIF Program, etc., to sponsor international students and scholars to study and research in Chinese universities. The scholarship offers a fee waiver of registration, tuition, health insurance, on-campus dormitory accommodation, etc. Please refer to the website of the China Scholarship Council (http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/) for detailed introduction, qualifications of applicants and admission process.  

UCAS is one of the Chinese Government Scholarship universities. Eligible applicants may apply to the China Scholarship Council by recommendation of the related national official departments and Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China. The scholarship usually starts in November and finishes the following April. Due to the different deadlines of countries, please check relevant information in time. The International Students Office of UCAS will offer pre-admission notice if needed.  

Applicants may apply for this scholarship via UCAS recommendation. But this is only for a small number of excellent international students who are not currently studying in China. Please refer to the UCAS website (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/) for more information. 

● UCAS Scholarship for International Students 

The UCAS Scholarship for International Students offers full scholarship for international students to pursue master degree at UCAS. It provides tuition fee waiver, health insurance, living allowance and on-campus dormitory accommodation.  

Please refer to the UCAS website (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/) for more information. 

4 Very Important Note 

(1) The applicant cannot apply to more than one institute/college and supervisor; 

(2) Please choose the discipline and research field cautiously and submit your application after careful discussion with the expected supervisor. Once admitted, UCAS will not accept any application for the change of discipline or supervisor due to the previous lack of consideration; 

(3) All the above supporting documentation should be in English or Chinese, otherwise notarial translations in English or Chinese are required; 

(4) Lacking of application documents or unsatisfactory documents will not be accepted and none of the documents will be returned; 

(5) Please DO NOT send any of your supporting documentation directly to the International Students Office of UCAS; 

(6) Please be noticed the deadlines for scholarship programs and admission application are different. The former is usually earlier than the later one;  

(7) One can apply for more than one scholarship programs but once awarded by one of the programs, he/she will lose the qualification for other programs in turn according to the evaluation time; 

(8) Chinese Government Scholarship does not require application fee; UCAS Scholarship for International Students Programs requires application fee. Application fee is non-refundable;  

(9) Once admitted, students must register on the assigned date on the admission notice. Otherwise, students should apply to UCAS for early or late registration.  

5 Contact Information 

Coordinator: Ms. Hu Menglin 

International Students Office 

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences 

Add: Room 219, Building 6, No. 80 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China 

Email: humenglin@ucas.ac.cn 

Tel/Fax: +86-10-82672900