University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2017/18 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Life Sciences > School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine > Cellular and Molecular Medicine (BSc) > Specification
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Programme code | 7PANM023U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Keith Brown
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Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
School/department | School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | Biomedical science (2023) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 3 years (full time) |
The aim of this programme is to produce graduates of high calibre who will know their subject in depth and have well-developed critical skills, and who will be well placed to meet the recruitment needs of employers. They will have selected four level H topics from across the breadth of those offered by the Department, including one from each of the following areas cancer biology, immunology, virology and microbiology. It is further intended that graduates will have a range of transferable skills appropriate to the changing needs of the employment market in the future. Students will learn how to assimilate knowledge, to manage their time effectively, and to communicate scientific material in both oral and written modes by presentation of a dissertation, oral reports, and essay-type examination answers. They will learn good scientific method and laboratory skills, and how to analyse and interpret scientific data correctly: this will be achieved principally through their project work that is laboratory or literature based.
Students taking the programme with Study in Industry will be exposed, during the third year, to the industrial environment and to advanced technology, enabling both them and their potential future employers to assess their suitability for an industrial career. They will have had experience of and will have learned how to operate in the industrial workplace, and they will present a written account that demonstrates their ability to work and to communicate in an industrial environment.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Plenary lectures are the principal mode of imparting information. These are complemented by laboratory classes in which students learn experimental skills and how to handle materials safely. In Years 1 and 2 most laboratory classes are didactic: students gain experience of techniques of relevance to the advanced work in their third year. In Year 3 (Year 4 of programmes with study in industry) students undertake a research project on which they write a dissertation. Students also learn through tutorials, small group student-centred teaching allowing ready interaction between the teacher and the individual student. Students are encouraged to undertake independent reading throughout, mainly basic texts in the early stages and research papers later on. The Year in Industry provides for intensive learning in the industrial environment under the guidance of both an industrial and an academic (department-based) supervisor; such students undertake a project on which they write a dissertation. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Students are formatively assessed by tests within individual units, marked work in laboratory classes, and the preparation of handouts, essays and problem-solving exercises in tutorials. They are assessed summatively by unit assessments and conventional end-of-year examinations. The final year research project and (where applicable) the Year in Industry dissertations are both assessed by two examiners. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Intellectual skills are developed through the teaching and learning programme outlined above. 1 is acquired principally through discussion in tutorials and interaction with teachers in these and in laboratory classes; 2 & 3 in laboratory classes; 4 in essay writing; 5 & 6 particularly in level H project work and in spoken presentations. These are centred at level H on cellular and molecular medicine although in the earlier years we offer a more broadly-based curriculum. |
Methods of Assessment | |
All our assessment methods seek to test the acquisition of these skills wherever possible. End-of-year examinations address 1 in particular; 2 & 3 are addressed in laboratory class assessments and a dedicated paper in level H is specifically concerned with 2. A mature display of skills 4, 5 and 6 is important for the award of class 1 and 2.1 Honours. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Some of these skills are acquired as a result of critical appraisal by staff and learning/teaching strategies are hence closely tied to assessment (below). More specifically, there is essay-writing guidance (1) and students have to organise themselves and their time in laboratory work and in meeting deadlines (3,4,5); oral presentations increase confidence in 2. Laboratory work and tutorial guidance instils 7 and university services supply 6 & 8. 9 & 10 are central to project work for students on industrial placement and, for all students, at level H. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Assessed essays, end-of-year examinations, laboratory records and project write-ups (1); practice in essay writing is given from Year 1 and develops in the later years, with the additional constraint of time in 3-hour examinations. Final examinations interviews and oral presentations test (2); essays, laboratory records and projects test (3,4,5,6,7) - most laboratory work calls for collaboration with one or more fellow-students and, in the later years, with technical staff. Level H projects and industrial placements crucially test (9,10). Essays can involve experience of word processing, IT data retrieval and image scanning (8). |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
By the end of their studies at level C, students are expected to be able to use information acquired from textbooks and in lectures, practical classes and tutorials to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the fundamental principles of some of the core aspects of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a level of competence in the relevant skills. It is expected that students should be able to relate this basic knowledge to a more detailed or advanced understanding of the subject later in the programme. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
At level I students are expected to be able to demonstrate that they have expanded the range and depth of their knowledge of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in selected areas. They should also have developed a higher and broader level of competence in the relevant skills and practical techniques. They are expected to be developing a capacity for self-directed learning. They should have reached a comparable level of competence in their other (usually biochemical) optional units. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
At level H students are expected to expand the breadth and depth of their knowledge of Cellular and Molecular Medicine through their study of four specialist Topics in Cancer Biology, Immunology, Virology and Microbiology, and through their practical or literary research projects. At this level students are expected to be able to demonstrate their capacity for self-directed study using the skills acquired and developed at levels C and I, applying knowledge gained through formal teaching to new and as yet unexplored systems. They should also be able to keep abreast of new and forthcoming developments in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and in related areas of biomedical science. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. The programmes offered in the Faculty are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive from staff. But at the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing, whether in the library or at home. It is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Student workloads in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences are calculated on the assumption that you will work at least an average of 40 hours per week over the academic year. This workload includes all types of activity related to the delivery and assessment of taught units.
A major component of this workload in the early years of your programme is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes lectures, laboratories, tutorials and practical classes. Outside classes you will need to undertake two types of academic activity. One type is that directed by your unit (such as eBiolabs pre- and post-lab quizzes, practical class reports and project work). The other type requires you to pursue self-motivated independent learning in order to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks and the scientific literature, and revising for examinations. In later years of your programme, timetabled teaching will make up a smaller proportion of your overall workload and you will spend much of your time pursuing independent study.
Wednesday afternoons are set aside for students to engage in extracurricular activities, such as sporting activities. Note also that formal teaching is undertaken on Wednesday mornings, which in some programmes may preclude absences for travelling to sporting events.
You will be expected to work during most University vacations. All students are expected to use the Christmas and Easter holidays to revise for the examinations held in January and May/June, respectively. Should you be unsuccessful in the examinations, you should expect to set aside sufficient time over the summer vacation firstly to consolidate your understanding and then to revise intensively for the resit examinations held in August/September (resit examinations are not available in the final year of BSc programmes). Certain components of the teaching and assessment are mandatory - for details see individual programme regulations.
The biomedical sciences BSc programmes conform to the University modular framework where 10 credits represent about 100 hours of student work. We recognise that many students have to take paid employment to fund their studies. In order to achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
Dr. Ann M. Pullen (phone 0117 3312025; email A.M.Pullen@bristol.ac.uk)
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Fundamentals of Molecular Microbiology | PANM10003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Normal and Tumour Cells | PANM12051 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Biochemistry: Cellular Composition | BIOC10003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Biochemistry: Cellular Processes | BIOC10004 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Disease and Defence | PANM10002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | PANM10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Recombinant DNA Technology | MOLG22100 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Infection and Immunity | PANM22041 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Gene expression and rearrangement | MOLG22200 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Cellular and Molecular Pathology | PANM22042 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Biomedical Research, Employability and Enterprise Skills | MVSF20001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
It is strongly recommended that students take the following unit: | ||||
Molecular Cell Biology | BIOC20001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Alternatively, students can choose 20 Credit points of Open or Optional units including: | ||||
Pharmacology 1A | PHPH10003 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Pharmacology of the Nervous System | PHPH20011 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Anatomical Science 1B | ANAT10009 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Human Anatomy: Abdomen, Pelvis and Limbs | ANAT20002 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Human Anatomy: Thorax, Head and Neck | ANAT20003 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Languages units are subject to timetabling constraints | ||||
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Research Skills | PANM33011 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
Students must take 80 credit points from the following (excluding combinations that lead to other programmes): | ||||
Medical Microbiology | PANM33008 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Medical Virology | PANM33009 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Developmental Genetics and Embryonal Cancers | PANM33003 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Cancer Mechanisms and Therapeutics | PANM33004 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Advanced Immunology | PANM33001 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Immunopathology and Applied Immunology | PANM33002 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Regenerative Medicine | PANM33005 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Haemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation | PANM33006 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Frontiers in Infectious Diseases | PANM30001 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Cellular and Molecular Medicine (BSc) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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