Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

Each student is required to carry out a substantial research project, normally aligned to their choice of Specialist Course, overseen by an experienced Project Supervisor. These projects are designed to provide students with valuable experience of real research in an academic / clinical environment.

Projects will take up approximately one day per week up until Christmas, at least three days per week between Christmas and Easter, and then the majority of time up until the April/May revision and exam period.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

Actively enrolled in an MBChB or BDS and normally have successfully completed at least the first 3 years. Exceptionally, some external students from specific partner institutions may join the course after completion of two years of MBChB or BDS (or equivalent); however award of the intercalated degree will be withheld until they have subsequently completed the required number of additional credits (or equivalent) at their home institution.

Recommended Entry Requirements

Will normally be placed within the top 50% of the year and have demonstrated good academic progress.

None

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Core Course

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Specialist Course

BSc (Med Sci), BSc (Dent Sci) Clinical Medicine Statistics

Assessment

75% written project paper, abstract, poster and research portfolio (handed in April/May).

25% oral presentation in April/May.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to provide students with experience of working through the various stages of a clinical / biomedical research project. The course aims to allow students to develop a range of skills via literature searching and critical appraisal, hypothesis design, time planning, acquisition of laboratory / non-laboratory research techniques, data analysis, team working, report writing and presentation.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

Evaluate and summarise the literature in a specific field relevant to their project;

Synthesise appropriate aims and hypotheses relevant to their project;

Demonstrate organisational skills via planning and carrying out a programme of research work to address the aims of their project;

Demonstrate competency in a defined group of practical skills / laboratory methods appropriate to their project;

Utilise appropriate (statistical) approaches to analyse their data

Critically appraise the results of their research project in the context of existing literature and integrate them into a written report of their investigation.

Further utilise their communication skills to present their findings in poster, abstract and oral reports.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.