University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2024/25 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Life Sciences > School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine > Cancer Biology and Immunology (BSc) > Specification
Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.
Programme code | 7PANM012U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Ann Pullen
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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) |
This section sets out why studying this programme is important, both in terms of inspiring you as an individual and in considering the challenges we face. It describes how this degree programme contributes to:
This section sets out why studying this programme is important, both in terms of inspiring you as an individual and in considering the challenges we face. It describes how this degree programme contributes to:
The aim of these programmes 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.
In their first year, students gain a broad training in biomedical science and will begin to study the cellular and molecular basis of human diseases, as well as basic biochemistry, cell biology, pathology and microbiology.
In the second year, students will study molecular genetics and learn skills in recombinant DNA technology, which underpins research in many cutting-edge laboratories. In addition, students will be taught biomedical research, employability and enterprise skills.
In the third year, students will choose four optional units including at least three from those offered by the school in the areas of cancer biology and immunology and then may choose their fourth unit from the areas of virology, microbiology, pathology and regenerative medicine. Students will also undertake a research project (experimental or non-experimental) working in the research project laboratory or in a research group in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine or in one of the surrounding hospitals.
Throughout the programme, students are supported by an academic personal tutor with whom they are able to seek advice on all academic and non-academic matters. Academic personal tutoring is available throughout the programme and throughout the extensive research projects in the final year.
Overall it is intended that our 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. The wide range of transferable skills acquired is highly valued by employers and provides an excellent preparation for a number of careers and further postgraduate study.
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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Lectures and workshops are the principal mode of learning 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 supported by eBiolabs, our Dynamic Laboratory Manual. Students gain experience of techniques of relevance to the project work in their third year. In Year 3 students undertake a research project on which they write a dissertation. Students also learn through tutorials, small group student-centred sessions allowing ready interaction between the teacher and the individual student. Students are encouraged to undertake independent reading throughout, mainly textbooks in the early stages and research papers later on. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Students are formatively assessed by tests, including multiple choice questions (MCQs) or short answers, within individual units, and formative essays before the Year 3 exams. Summative assessments include eBiolabs pre- and post-lab quizzes, practical write-ups for laboratory classes, and oral presentations and a poster session. Students are also assessed summatively on coursework essays and a variety of authentic assessments, and conventional end-of-unit examinations The Year 3 research projects are assessed by a dissertation or grant-proposal, and an oral presentation. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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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 workshops and interaction with teachers in these and in laboratory classes; 2 & 3 in laboratory classes data handling sessions and journal clubs; 4 in essay writing and while preparing for oral presentations and other authentic assessments; 5 & 6 particularly in level H project work and in oral presentations. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
All our formative and summative assessments aim to test the acquisition of these skills wherever possible. End-of-unit examinations address 1 in particular; 2 & 3 are addressed in laboratory class assessments and project work. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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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 in workshops (1) and students organise themselves and their time in laboratory work and in meeting deadlines (3,4,5); oral presentations increase confidence in 2. Laboratory work, eBiolabs and workshops instil 7 and university services including Study Skills and the Library support 6 & 8. 9 & 10 are central to project work for all students in Year 3. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Assessed essays, a variety of authentic assessments, end-of-unit examinations, laboratory records and project dissertations or grant proposals (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. Oral presentations in tutorials and of project work 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. Projects and industrial placements crucially test (9,10). Essays can involve experience of word processing, IT data retrieval and image scanning (8). Bioinformatics and Statistical analysis require the use of appropriate software (8). |
Embedded within the curriculum |
All students will have sessions with their Personal Tutors and will take the Biomedical Research, Employability and Enterprise Skills unit alongside their other unit choices. This unit provides important core competencies for students, to equip them with the skills they will need to succeed in the final year and to enhance their employability after graduation. The unit has three main aims:
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Co-curricular opportunities |
Co-curricular opportunities to enhance employability and careers thinking include a Careers in the Café which is hosted every other week during term time in our building. We have a strong relationship with the Careers Service and the Life Science careers adviser and all our students are actively encouraged to register and engage with ‘mycareer’ and ‘myskills’, undertake the Bristol Plus award and attend relevant events to interact with potential employers. Alumni careers panels are embedded within the Year 2 skills unit and are also organised alongside the curriculum. The Careers Service arranges Employer Events giving the students networking opportunities. |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
By the end of their Year 1 studies, students are expected to be able to use information acquired from textbooks and in lectures, practical classes, workshops and tutorials to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the fundamental principles of some of the core aspects of 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/5 students are expected to be able to demonstrate that they have expanded the range and depth of their knowledge of 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 optional unit. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
At level H/6 students are expected to expand the breadth and depth of their knowledge of Cancer Biology and Immunology through their study of four specialist units in Cancer Biology, Immunology, Virology and Microbiology, and through their experimental or non-experimental 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/4 and I/5, 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 Cancer Biology and Immunology and in related areas of biomedical sciences. |
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.
Undergraduate Students
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes 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.
Postgraduate Students
Taught postgraduate students are generally studying for one academic year. This is a longer year than for undergraduates, normally culminating in a research project. In a one-year full-time programme your workload will be distributed as evenly as possible, but this will depend on the precise arrangements for your programme. You will be expected to take responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive.
All students
At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20-credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials, problem-solving classes and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. 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.
UG Professional Programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curricula activities. This is usually not available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through their curriculum there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. There may also be an occasional need to work or travel to clinical placements at the weekend. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme information. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent, meaning that students will need to engage in revision activities and self-directed learning (including when on clinical placements).
Health Sciences Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment in the Faculty of Health Sciences. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/health-sciences/chse/documents/FHS%20Assessment%20and%20Feedback%20statement%202021.pdf
The School welcomes students on the Study Abroad programme and takes a small number each year into Level C and I Units.
The School welcomes applications for deferred entry, from mature candidates, and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. We participate actively in the University's Widening Participation programme within the overall policy of Equal Opportunities.
Email CMM-teaching@bristol.ac.uk
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Fundamentals of Molecular Microbiology | PANM10003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | PANM10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Normal and Tumour Cells | PANM12051 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Disease and Defence | PANM10002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Biochemistry: Cellular Composition | BIOC10003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Biochemistry: Cellular Processes | BIOC10004 | 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-2 |
Infection and Immunity | PANM22041 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Gene expression and rearrangement | MOLG22200 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Cellular and Molecular Pathology | PANM22042 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Biomedical Research, Employability and Enterprise Skills | PANM20006 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
It is strongly recommended that students take the following 20 credit point unit: | ||||
Bench to Bedside and Beyond | PANM20005 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Molecular Cell Biology | BIOC20001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Alternatively, students can choose 20 Credit points of Open or Optional units including: | ||||
Introduction to Cognitive and Biological Psychology | PSYC10013 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Sustainable Development | UNIV10001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
City Futures: Migration, Citizenship, and Planetary Change | UNIV10005 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Creative Futures: Tools for Changing the World | UNIV10007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Understanding global problems using data: inequality, climate change and the economy | UNIV10008 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Decolonise the Future! | UNIV10009 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Students may choose a Language unit at an appropriate level, but this will cause an imbalance in the workload for the academic year. | ||||
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 choose a minimum of 60 credit points, and a maximum of 80, from the following:: | ||||
Developmental Genetics and Embryonal Cancers | PANM33003 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Cancer Mechanisms and Therapeutics | PANM33004 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Cellular and Molecular Immunology | PANM30004 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Immunopathology and Applied Immunology | PANM33002 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Students who have chosen only 60 credit points from the list above should also choose 20 credit points from the following, but this is subject to a maximum of 40 credit points per teaching block: | ||||
Medical Microbiology | PANM33008 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Medical Virology | PANM33009 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Regenerative Medicine | PANM33005 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Frontiers in Infectious Diseases | PANM30001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Clinical Pathology in Action | PANM30002 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Cancer Biology and Immunology (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 100 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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