University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2022/23 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Science > School of Chemistry > Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (CertHE) > Specification
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Programme code | 2CHEM013U |
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Programme type | Undergraduate Certificate |
Programme director(s) |
Jonathan Charmant
|
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
School/department | School of Chemistry |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 1 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:
The Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics will allow you to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, attributes and behaviours to prepare you fully for progression to a non-clinical undergraduate degree programme in science, engineering or mathematics. It will enable you to acquire a sound understanding of fundamental scientific and mathematical principles, together with the specialist knowledge and practical skills in either chemistry or physics, as appropriate for further study in your chosen discipline.
The Foundation Year is intended to be inspiring and innovative. It has been designed specifically for your needs as a mature student or student with non-traditional qualifications, with an emphasis on developing the understanding and skills necessary for success rather than simply emulating the content of A-level courses.
It will stimulate further your existing interest in science, engineering and mathematics and inspire you to pursue your studies to a higher level. You will be motivated not only by the subject material, but also by being taught by world-class educators and researchers and by studying alongside other talented scholars. It will encourage curiosity and give you the confidence to tackle challenging open-ended problems.
The foundation year will be inherently both disciplinary and interdisciplinary. It will provide students with a solid grounding in fundamental chemistry or physics, and mathematics to prepare them for progression to any nonclinical degree programme in science, engineering or mathematics. Students with interests in all disciplines in science will work alongside one another and be encouraged to share ideas and support one another. Applications will be chosen from across the full breadth of the natural sciences and engineering, with the project unit, in particular, allowing you to explore applications of your knowledge and understanding to solve real-world, interdisciplinary, problems.
The Foundation Year puts a strong emphasis on academic and personal development. It will enable you to become a resilient and confident learner by introducing you to the challenge of engaging with abstract concepts. In doing so, you will come to relish, rather than shy away from, tackling unfamiliar problems. It will build on our strength in research-rich education by supporting you in the development of the attributes and behaviours of a scientist, engineer of mathematician.
The Foundation Year will actively help you to feel an integral part of the scientific community at the University of Bristol and so foster a sense of belonging. In doing so, it will support you not only in making the transition to higher education, but also in progressing to an undergraduate degree programme in your preferred discipline. Many of the students on the Foundation Year will be local, and we will build on that pride in the City of Bristol to promote wider global and civic engagement
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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|
Pre-seminar resources. Whole-cohort seminars, shared with students on other programmes. Whole-cohort seminars, only for students on the Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Weekly formative assignments. End-of-topic mid-term tests. End-of-unit examinations. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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|
Whole-cohort seminars. Small-group tutorials. Small-group problems classes and discovery sessions. Practical classes. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Weekly formative assignments. End-of-topic mid-term tests. End-of-unit examinations. Discovery challenges. Project presentation and report. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
---|---|
|
Whole-cohort seminars, only for students on the Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Weekly formative assignments. End-of-topic mid-term tests. End-of-unit examinations. Discovery challenges. Project presentation and report. |
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 |
Following successful completion of the Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics, you will have acquired a broad knowledge and understanding of the fundamental scientific and mathematical concepts and principles necessary for progression to a degree programme in your preferred non-clinical scientific or engineering discipline. You will also be able to evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data and apply your knowledge and understanding to solve elementary problems. In addition, you will be able to communicate scientific or mathematical arguments, or the solutions to problems, accurately and clearly to both scientific and non-scientific audiences. You will have a good appreciation of, and have begun to develop, the underlying characteristics and behaviours of a scientist, engineer or mathematician. |
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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.
UG Workload Statement
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. 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 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.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
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-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula 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. 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 regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Essential Foundation Mathematics | MATH10021 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1,TB-2 |
Foundation Skills for Science, Engineering and Mathematics | CHEM10018 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Foundation Project for Science, Engineering and Mathematics | CHEM10019 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Select one Unit from the following list | ||||
Foundation Chemistry | CHEM10017 | 40 | Optional | TB-4 |
Foundation Physics | PHYS10010 | 40 | Optional | TB-4 |
Select one Unit from the following list | ||||
Discovering Foundation Mathematics | MATH10020 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Extension Foundation Mathematics | MATH10022 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (CertHE) | 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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