Plant Science

Programme Outline

The aims of the course are:

• to give students the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to pursue a career in plant science research
• to allow students to practice research skills in the laboratory through research projects
• to give students detailed knowledge about recent advances in plant science

Intended Learning Outcomes

The course provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas. By the end of the course students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

• describe advanced techniques used in plant science research
• undertake original research on defined topics in plant science

Skills and Other Attributes

Subject-specific/practical skills

• apply the principles of good experimental design and analysis to their own research projects
• plan and execute a significant piece of research
• select and perform relevant statistical analyses on data obtained from their own research

Intellectual skills

• identify, summarise and evaluate prior research findings in a specific area
• place their own findings in the context of existing knowledge
• identify areas where further research is necessary

Transferable/key skills

• summarise and present prior research findings in oral form in seminars and workshops
• present research findings in oral and written form using appropriate computer programmes (e.g. Powerpoint, Word, Reference Manager, Excel)
• plan and manage time effectively

Learning and Teaching Approaches

• Advanced theoretical knowledge will be taught through lectures, tutorials and research seminars, supported by directed study and discussion of textbooks and journal articles
• Practical Skills will be taught through individual, closely supervised, research projects. This learning will be supported through laboratory manuals and protocols, as well as individual tuition during research projects.
• Intellectual skills will be developed through research seminars and workshops, where students will present and discuss critically the findings of research papers

Assessment Methods

• Knowledge of the application of molecular biological and genetic approaches in contemporary plant science will be assessed through an essay. This will also assess the students’ ability to identify, summarise and evaluate prior research findings.
• Ability to gather and organise information on a Plant Science topic and to give an effective oral presentation of that information will be assessed
• Ability to gather and organise information on a topic in plant biotechnology and to produce a poster presentation of that information will be assessed
• Ability to critically appraise a scientific paper will be assessed in a written essay
• Ability to design and undertake independent research will be assessed by a supervisor’s report; ability to present and discuss the findings of the research will be assessed by a written report and viva by a second assessor.  The project write-up will also allow assessment of the student’s ability to analyse data using appropriate statistical methods.
• Oral communication skills will be assessed in student presentations and discussions of project work and scientific papers in lab meetings. This assessment is formative and in the form of feedback given to the presenting students.

Attendance

The Masters course takes 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time, starting in late September 2012. The Diploma in Plant Science takes 8 months.