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PROGRAMME HANDBOOK FOR
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(1) WELCOME & OVERVIEW
Welcome to the School of Biological & Chemical Sciences (SBCS), to Bart’s & The London School of Medicine & Dentistry (SMD), and specifically to the Biomedical Sciences BSc degree programme. Biomedical Science is concerned with understanding the causes, diagnosis and treatment of disease. Students study human anatomy, pathology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and pharmacology, with specialist courses on topics such as endocrinology, infectious diseases, haematology, immunology and cancer biology. The curriculum of our degree programme here at Queen Mary is delivered by SBCS with substantial input from colleagues from the SMD institutes. We work together to ensure you are taught by experts in biomedical sciences who want to share their passion for their subject with you. Students graduating from our Biomedical Sciences programme follow diverse career paths. Some students enter medicine, dentistry or health-related professions; others enter the scientific community by working in a research lab or continuing their studies at postgraduate level; some students pursue professional careers outside of science, such as finance or teaching; other students go into business, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; and some students walk a complete different path through life! The knowledge and skills you will gain during your degree have the potential to open many doors. I hope you find this programme handbook useful and that, over the next 3 years, you find your undergraduate degree to be as enjoyable as it is educational. I hope that you will make the most of the opportunities for personal and professional development offered by the wide range of compulsory and elective modules that build on the breadth of expertise offered by academic colleagues in departments within SBCS and research institutes in Bart’s & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry. All of the staff involved in your degree wish you good luck with your studies and look forward to supporting your personal and career aspirations over the course of your degree and, beyond that, when you graduate and become an alumnus of QMUL. In closing, can I reiterate my welcome to QMUL, to SBCS, to SMD, and specifically to the Biomedical Science BSc degree programme.
Dr Jayne Dennis
Director of Teaching & Learning [Biomedical Sciences]
(2) KEY NAMES / CONTACTS
ROLE NAME EMAIL ADDRESS
Director of Teaching & Learning (DTL) [Biomedical Sciences] & Programme Director Dr Jayne Dennis jayne.dennis@qmul.ac.uk Programme Tutors: Dr Dunja Aksentijevic Dr Sadani Cooray Dr Richard Grose Dr Shane Wilkinson d.aksentijevic@qmul.ac.uk s.n.cooray@qmul.ac.uk r.grose@qmul.ac.uk s.r.wilkinson@qmul.ac.uk Academic Advisor During induction week you will be advised who your academic advisor is and how to contact them. Student Support Officer Ms Shaheda Batha s.batha@qmul.ac.uk Head of Undergraduate Science Teaching, SMD Professor Lucinda Hall l.hall@qmul.ac.uk Director of Taught Programmes (DTP), SBCS Dr Chris Bray c.bray@qmul.ac.uk
(3) PROGRAMME AIMS
The Biomedical Science BSc programme will provide you with a broad undergraduate theory and practical training in modern biosciences. The BSc degree aims to:
- Provide a rational, flexibly structured and coherent programme of study which is relevant to the needs of employers, facilitates your professional development and lays the foundations for a successful career which will benefit the economy and society;
- Provide a sound knowledge base in the fields studied and develop key transferable skills in the areas of communication, numeracy, information technology, working with others, problem solving, time and task management; and
- Foster the development of an enquiring, open-minded and creative attitude, tempered with scientific discipline and social awareness, which encourages lifelong learning. The programme will address knowledge and skills requirements for diverse pursuits after graduation:
- Progression to medical and dental degree courses and professions allied to medicine.
- Employment in hospital and biomedical science laboratories.
- Academic and clinical research.
- Employment in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and microbiology based industries.
- Progression into postgraduate study at either Masters level or a PhD.
- Entry into teaching professions in primary and secondary education.
- Employment in a range of professional environments, including accountancy, auditing, finance, human resources and business.
(4) WHAT WILL YOU BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE?
Academic Content On successful completion of your BSc programme, you will have studied:
- Knowledge of a broad-range of topics in biomedical science including: cell biology, gross anatomy, pathology, human physiology, general microbiology, human molecular biology, human & medical genetics, biochemistry, human metabolism, immunology, pharmacology, and endocrinology.
- Knowledge to an advanced level in more specialised areas of biomedical science including: histology & cell pathology, blood & transfusion science, haematology and serology. Additionally, students can elect to study some of the following at an advance level: cancer biology, molecular clinical microbiology, genetics, endocrine physiology and biochemistry.
- Experimental techniques in the biomedical sciences. Disciplinary Skil ls On successful completion of your BSc programme, you will be able to:
- Apply biomedical knowledge and principles, together with problem solving skills, in a wide range of theoretical and practical situations.
- Understand the importance of biomedical sciences to laboratory and clinical diagnostics.
- Conduct practical work efficiently and with due regard for safety.
- Use a wide range of laboratory and analytical equipment.
- Analyse and evaluate/interpret the results of controlled experiments.
- Retrieve, filter and collate biomedical data from a variety of information sources.
- Prepare scientific/technical reports. Attributes On successful completion of your BSc programme, you will be able to:
- Communicate effectively by written and/or verbal means.
- Capacity for independent learning, and to work independently.
- Participate constructively as a member of a group/team, with skills to influence, negotiate and lead.
- Evaluate the relevance, importance and reliability of the ideas of others and of different sources of information.
- Competence in the use of computer-based technology, and in the manipulation and analysis of quantitative data.
- Awareness of the role and impact of science in society, including the global perspective.
- Use information for evidence-based decision-making and creative thinking.
exercises or self-directed independent study. There are various forms of independent study, such as:
- preparation in advance of a lecture/tutorial/practical class, for example by spending 10 minutes looking over lecture slides or the relevant chapter of the textbook,
- consolidation of material introduced by the lecturer/tutor, for example by writing up the notes you made during lectures,
- elaboration and extension, for example reading around the topic after the lecture using textbooks and/or scientific papers suggested by staff or based on your own curiosity, and
- application, i.e. reinforcing your understanding of a topic by utilising principles introduced in a lecture/tutorial/practical class to a new scenario. To succeed in your undergraduate degree at university, you need to choose to commit to your degree. This commitment includes attending all timetabled sessions and making time to complete the independent study. Together, your taught programme and independent study will enable you to develop the knowledge and depth of understanding required to graduate with first or upper second class honours.
(7) HOW WILL YOU BE ASSESSED?
For each module that comprises your degree, your knowledge and understanding will generally be tested through a combination of assessed coursework and unseen written examinations. For the majority of you modules, the coursework:exam weighting will be as follows: Coursework Exam Year 1 25% 75% Year 2 25% 75% Year 3 20% 80% For some modules, a higher proportion of marks will be derived from coursework and a few modules are entirely assessed by coursework with no written exam (e.g. the “Essential Skills” module in first year and final year research projects). Please check the module details on QMPlus to confirm the exact coursework:exam weighting for each module. The exact nature of the coursework varies from module to module and may include work in the form of laboratory experiment write-ups, essays and/or problem sheets. The coursework mark may also include a contribution from computer-based assessments and in- course tests. Some modules in our programme include oral examinations, oral presentations and extended reports/dissertations. Transferable skills are developed in a contextual manner throughout the teaching and learning programme, and are indirectly assessed as part of the normal assessment processes for the programme. For example, the assessment of the projects includes consideration of data-retrieval skills, report-writing skills and presentational skills.
Practical skills are assessed through in-class observation and through written laboratory reports, which often include attention to quantitative accuracy. The assessment of the final year practical research project also addresses the majority of the professional disciplinary skills that students of this programme are expected to acquire. Commencing in the 2019-20 academic year, QMUL will have two main exam periods. The first period, lasting two weeks, will take place in January and will assess modules completed in Semester A. The second exam period, predominantly in May, will last four weeks and will include exams for modules completed in Semester B and year-long modules. The exam timetable will be released to students in approximately week 10 of each semester. Answers to frequently asked questions about semester-based exams are available on the QMUL website: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/exams/semester-based-exams/ The default exam durations and structures differ between years, as follows: Default exam duration Number of sections Section A Section B Section C Year 1 1.5 hours 2 25 Multiple Choice Questions ( 50% of mark ) Short Answer Questions ( choice of 1 from 2 ) ( 50% of mark )
N/A
Year 2 2 hours 3 20 Multiple Choice Questions ( 25 % of mark ) Short Answer Questions ( choice of 1 from 2 ) ( 25 % of mark ) Essay ( choice of 1 from 3 ) ( 50 % of mark ) Year 3 3 hours 3 25 Multiple Choice Questions ( 34% of mark ) Essay ( choice of 1 from 3 ) ( 33% of mark ) Essay ( choice of 1 from 3 ) ( 33% of mark ) Students do not automatically progress into the second year of their degree. To progress beyond Year 1, you must pass at least six 15 - credit modules ( i.e. 90 credits in total). To progress beyond Year 2, you must pass at least 195 credits cumulatively from Year 1 and 2 modules. To graduate with a BSc degree, you must pass at least 315 credits across your 3 year programme. In the Biomedical Sciences programme, the threshold for passing a module is a final module mark over 40%, derived from the exam and/or coursework in the specified ratio. If you fail a module, you have one resit opportunity. The resit is usually an exam which supersedes all previous assessment, including coursework assessments (i.e. only the resit exam mark is counted). Additionally, the resit mark is capped at 40% which means that if you score higher than 40% in the resit exam then your mark will be recorded as 40% only. Resit exams take place in the Late Summer Exam period, which is usually the first two weeks in August.
(a) the numbers of students eligible to select a particular module (either too many or too few) would provide you with a compromised student experience; (b) academic staff with the requisite experience are unavailable to teach a module ( e.g. through ill health, injury or retirement) Likewise, dependent on staff availability and appropriate quality assurance, we may be able to add new modules to subsequent years of your degree programme and improve even further your choice of elective modules. In the following programme outline, compulsory modules are denoted in standard text whereas elective modules are denoted in italicised text. SEMESTER A SEMESTER B Year 1 BMD100 Essential Skills for Biomedical Scientists BMD111 Chromosomes & Gene Functions BMD113 Human Anatomy BMD115 The Human Cell BMD117 The Microbial World & Humans BMD121 Biomedical Physiology I BMD123 Biomolecules of Life BMD181 Tissue Biology Year 2 ( one elective module) BMD201 Biomedical Science Case Approach to Problem Solving ***** SBC5211 Grand Challenges in the Natural Sciences BMD211 Human Molecular Biology BMD219 Techniques in Biomedical Science BMD221 Biomedical Physiology II BIO213 Cell Biology & Developmental Genetics BIO215 Comparative & Integrative Physiology BIO227 Human Genetic Disorders BMD223 Essential Biochemistry for Human Life BMD225 Biomedical Pharmacology BMD231 Clinical Microbiology BMD251 Basic Immunology Year 3 (four electiv e modul es) BMD301 Biomedical Science Case Approach to Problem Solving BIO603 Project Skills in the Life Sciences OR BMD600 Biomedical Science Research Project
BIO32 4 Advanced Human Genetics Disorders BMD 311 Endocrine Physiology & Biochemistry BMD3 23 Infectious Diseases BMD351 Advanced Immunology BMD357 Oral Biology for Biomedical Sciences BMD372 Clinical Pharmacology BMD373 Receptors & Mechanisms of Cell Signalling BMD 321 Cellular Pathology & Blood Science BMD371 Drug Discovery and Design BMD 378 Clinical Trials & Regulatory Affairs BMD 381 Cancer Biology BMD 383 Molecular Basis of Personalised Medicine ***** All marks awarded for BMD201 assignments contribute to the marks for BMD301 in Year 3.
Year 1: All Year 1 modules are compulsory to ensure that all students on the degree
programme have the requisite understanding to prepare them for Years 2 and 3.
Year 2: Seven of the Year 2 modules (a total of 105 credits) are compulsory:
- BMD211 Human Molecular Biology,
- BMD219 Techniques in Biomedical Sciences,
- BMD221 Biomedical Physiology II,
- BMD223 Essential Biochemistry for Human Life,
- BMD225 Biomedical Pharmacology,
- BMD231 Clinical Microbiology, and
- BMD251 Basic Immunology. Furthermore, in Year 2 you are required to study BMD201 (Biomedical Science Case Approach to Problem Solving), but all credit for this module is awarded in Year 3 under the module code BMD301). In Year 2 you have a choice of one elective module from four potential electives. Note that one elective, SBC5211, runs across both semesters while the remaining three electives are studied in Semester A only.
Year 3: There are two compulsory, 15-credit modules:
- BMD301 (Biomedical Science Case Approach to Problem Solving), and
- BMD 321 (Cellular Pathology & Blood Science). In addition, you must select one of the two 30-credit modules: either BMD6 0 0 (Biomedical Science Research Project) or BIO603 (Project Skills in the Life Sciences). In order to study BMD600 you will need to perform well in Year 1 of your degree, typically scoring in excess of 65% (if not 70%) in each of your Year 1 modules. If you do not pass this threshold then you will have to study BIO603; if you do pass this threshold then you may choose between the two project modules.
academic matters and assistance with pastoral concerns, i.e. personal issues which may impact on your ability to study. When you need to meet with your Advisor, you can schedule an appointment via email. (Note that we no longer operate a drop-in system of “office hours” since all advisees may have very different patterns of availability dependent on their choice of elective modules.) If your Advisor is unavailable or cannot help with a specific problem, other sources of support are Programme Tutors and the Student Support Officer. Programme tutors are experienced Academic Advisors; the Student Support Officer is not a member of teaching staff and can offer advice or point you towards a person or service that can help you. The SSO is also the person you need to speak to regarding any extenuating circumstances you may have for your assessments. SBCS students also operate a Peer Assisted Study Support (PASS) programme for peer guidance. PASS is a subject-based mentoring scheme, run for first-year students by higher- year undergraduates. Learning Development offers students practical guidance in developing insights and practices that will contribute to their success whilst at Queen Mary. Learning Development works with students on an individual basis and in groups. They can help you with interpreting feedback on your assignments, general study advice, developing written skills, referencing sources in essays and much more. They also have a range of resources available on their website.
(1 2 ) SPECIFIC SUPPORT FOR DISABLED STUDENTS
Queen Mary has a central Disability and Dyslexia Service (DDS) that offers support for all students with disabilities, specific learning differences and mental health issues. The DDS supports all Queen Mary students: full-time, part-time, undergraduate, postgraduate, UK and international at all campuses and all sites. Students can access advice, guidance and support in the following areas:
- Finding out if you have a specific learning difference like dyslexia,
- Applying for funding through the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA),
- Arranging DSA assessments of need,
- Special arrangements in examinations,
- Accessing loaned equipment (e.g. digital recorders),
- Specialist one-to-one "study skills" tuition,
- Providing educational support workers (e.g. note-takers, readers, library assistants)
- Ensuring access to course materials in alternative formats (e.g. Braille), and
- Mentoring support for students with mental health issues and conditions on the autistic spectrum.
(1 3 ) ADVICE AND COUNSELLING SERVICE
Queen Mary has an Advice and Counselling Service (ACS), based in Geography Square, that offers free support for all students at all stages of their degree studies. The full range of services offered by the ACS is detailed on their website (www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk). On this website, you will find a series of self-help and guidance booklets covering such diverse issues as adapting to life as a student at university through making a claim for extenuating circumstances to requesting an interruption of studies or withdrawing.
(1 4 ) CHANGE OF PROGRAMME
You may request a single Change of Programme during your degree. Should you wish to be considered for a Change of Programme (CoP), either within SMD/SBCS or out of the Schools, you will need to complete a CoP form, available from the SBCS reception. Before signing and submitting your form you should meet with your Academic Advisor or a Programme Tutor to discuss the pros and cons of switching programmes. Please note that there are deadlines during the academic year by which a CoP should be submitted, depending on the implications for entry to examinations and studying the necessary modules in each semester: your academic advisor and/or the Student Support Office can advise you on these deadlines. Once completed you should return the completed and signed form to the SBCS reception to be considered and, if possible, approved by Dr Bray as the SBCS DTP. As soon as a decision has been reached, you will be emailed and advised of the outcome of your application by the SBCS SSO. Approval will be contingent on (a) there being places available on the programme onto which you would like to transfer, and (b) meeting the admissions criteria for the new programme. Under QMUL’s International Exchange Programme, students on most BSc and MSci programmes have the opportunity to ‘study abroad’ at one of QMUL’s partner universities for a full year between Years 2 and 3 of their BSc degree. If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, you would have to request a CoP onto Biomedical Science with a Year Abroad. While the year overseas would not count towards your degree classification, any Year Abroad should include relevant modules and you would need to meet the pass standards of the overseas university in order to graduate with the title “Biomedical Science with a Year Abroad”. As you will appreciate, positions on such international exchanges are subject to a successful application, which includes meeting specific mark criteria, and are awarded on a competitive basis. (If you wish to apply to transfer on to a Year Abroad programme, in the first instance, you should discuss the pros and cons with your Academic Advisor or Programme Tutor, as appropriate.) SBCS offers several degrees “with a Year Abroad” because we appreciate the opportunities that this can provide for personal and professional growth, and for the acquisition of transferable skills that will enrich your CV and bolster your prospects for a graduate career.
within medical teams to support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. Physician Associates work in General Practice or a hospital department using generalist clinical skills but also with opportunities to specialise. Further information is available on the QMUL website.
