The demands of the MPharm are well-known, so combining it with a pro-basketball career is an order taller than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But eighteen-year-old Alix McIntosh says she “always wanted to play basketball and go to university”.  

Now she is one of two students receiving the first scholarship from pro-basketball club Caledonia Gladiators, alongside teammate Kerry McGhee while completing their university studies to become a pharmacist. 

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She chose to study pharmacy after being interested in science and medicinal chemistry at school, as well as seeing her dad work as a pharmacist.  

“I was quite interested in the science, but you’re not in a lab all day,” she says. “You’re going to meet and deal with people.” 

But she also loved basketball. Growing up on the west coast of Scotland, she started playing in primary school at the same time as her brother.

She then joined her local team Ayr Storm, graduated to the Scottish national development teams, and she now plays for Great Britain under 18s. But combining pharmacy studies and professional basketball creates a hectic schedule. 

With a two hour practice every morning, except on the day after a game, McIntosh travels to the university for an afternoon of study, lectures and workshops, before going back to play basketball in the evening, or hit the gym. Inevitably some lectures clash with dribbling and dunking, but she crams in her pharmaceutical studies wherever possible. 

“I have to make it work," she says. “We have to make the most of every spare minute. Games are on the weekend and that’s helpful. We’ll get buses down to London, Sheffield, or Manchester and I’ll study on the buses.” 

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Often used as a shooting guard, McIntosh has been involved in European fixtures with the EuroCup Women competition that saw her travel to France midweek. She says it was “a bit trickier” to manage her time during these games. 

“You have to work hard on the court, and if I’m missing lectures I have to work hard to catch up. It’s helped with my time management, making two full time things work on one schedule.” 

Looking ahead, she wants to complete her MPharm but “take basketball as far as I can and come back to pharmacy”. 

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She’s inspired by her Scottish teammates Hannah Robb, Erin McGarrachan and Robyn Lewis at Caledonia Gladiators. "Basketball is not massive here, so it’s cool they play professional and show that you can do it”.  

Caledonia Gladiators head coach Chantelle Handy said: “Alix is a fantastic role model for young people across the country” and she is working “incredibly hard on and off the court” to succeed in both pharmacy and basketball. 

University of Strathclyde’s director of sport Neil Brown said he was “proud to see how well she is doing for the club and competing on the European stage”.