Course Catalogue

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This course will provide students with the opportunity to carry out an independent research project in the field of biotechnology. This may be a wet lab project or a dry project.

Full-time, involving regular interaction and meetings with the project supervisor over the summer semester.

As stated in the generic regulations for taught Masters courses, students will be permitted to progress to the project only if they have obtained a grade point average of 12 (equivalent to a C3) or above in the taught courses, with at least 75% of the credits at grade D3 or better and all credits at grade F or above.

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Assessment

The project assessment will consist of the following components:

Supervisor's report (20%)

■ An assessment of the student's overall performance will be provided by the project supervisor for specified criteria, using a written form with marking descriptors.

Student's written report (50%)

■ A written report formatted in appropriate scientific style for the project type.

■ The report will be assessed by the Supervisor and an independent marker and the grade awarded will be an "agreed" mark.

Oral presentation (15%)

■ A short presentation of the project (followed by questions) to an audience consisting of fellow students and project supervisors. The presentation will be assessed by two assessors (neither of whom will be the supervisor).

Viva (15%)

■ Viva of the project report carried out by two independent academic assessors (neither of whom will be the supervisor).

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. 

Supervisor's report cannot be reassessed.

The course aims to allow students to select a topic or problem of personal interest and undertake independent research in the area they have chosen. The project will provide an opportunity for students to critically analyse data, draw conclusions and suggest avenues for future research to expand their findings.

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

■ Critically design, plan and execute an investigation of a problem related to their M. Sc. In Biotechnology.

■ Critically appraise scientific data in the literature and compare and contrast this to their own findings.

■ Take responsibility for the research project and associated resources with a degree of autonomy.

■ Present research findings in the form of a critically written scientific report, and a concise oral presentation.

■ Critically appraise their findings in an viva, by giving a balanced view of their research in context of the current research in the field.

■ Plan and manage time effectively by prioritising tasks and meeting deadlines.

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