Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics welcome [ppt 4.09MB ...

BIOCHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY & BIOMEDICAL BIOMEDICAL

SCIENCESCIENCE

Prof Tony MooreHead of Chemistry & BiochemistryConvenor: Biochemistry Degree Programme

Dr Neil CrickmoreConvenor: Molecular Genetics Degree Programme

Dr Simon MorleyConvenor: Molecular Medicine Degree Programme

Who’s Who in the FacultyWho’s Who in the Faculty

Prof Trevor BeebeeChairman of the Biochemistry & Biomedical Science Exam Board

Your Academic Adviser is a member of teaching faculty.

You will meet him/her in the first week and regularly during the first two terms term as he/she will also act as one of your academic tutors.

In your second and third years, you should meet your Academic Adviser at least once a term, preferably at the beginning of term.

Your Academic Adviser will inform you of his/her Office Hour where appropriate, and their contact details can be found handbook.

Your Academic Adviser will monitor your academic progress and discuss your tutorial reports with you, but he/she will be available to give you advice and help on academic or personal issues that may be affecting your studies at other times.

He/she will normally be one of the main individuals to provide references for you

Your Academic Advisor should be your first port of call if you encounter any difficulties or need advice

If any academic matter requires further attention, you may also contact myself as the Head of Department for Chemistry & Biochemistry or Gwenda Baker or Sam Clarke in the School Office ([email protected]).

Your Academic AdviserYour Academic Adviser

Degree Convenors and Course OrganisersDegree Convenors and Course OrganisersCourse OrganiserEvery course has a member of faculty as course organiser, and it is their job to ensure everything about the course – the teaching, the course documentation, supporting teaching materials, etc – runs smoothly. If you’ve got a problem with a course, you can contact the course organiser either directly or via email. At the end of each course you will be required to complete a questionnaire and it is the role of the course organiser to analyse these and report back to the teaching committee and higher university committees.

Degree ConvenorsThe role of the degree convenors is to act as a point of contact for general matters relating to your degree programme. Queries about your progress and any particular problems that you may have should be directed initially to your Academic Adviser. However, if he/she cannot help you, or if you wish to raise a broader issue about the whole degree programme, discuss it with your degree convenor.

They are also here, along with your Academic Adviser, to offer advice and information on careers associated with a degree in Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics or Molecular Medicine.

You will be allocated to a course tutor who will teach you during tutorials.

Course tutors write termly tutorial reports on students and these are available to the Academic Adviser and School Office.

Attendance at tutorials, practicals and exercise classes is compulsory and course tutors and other members of faculty will report your absence to the School Office and your Academic Adviser

Students missing several compulsory sessions will be called in to see me to explain their absence and may be referred on to the Student Adviser for further support.

If a student's work receives poor grades they will also be asked to meet with either myself, their Academic Adviser or a Student Adviser to discuss any help available.

Course Tutors, Tutorials and AbsencesCourse Tutors, Tutorials and Absences

Degree programmes at Sussex are modular, with each academic year being a largely ‘self-contained’ unit of study.

Full-time students are expected to spend at least 30 working weeks on their studies - a grand total of at least 1,200 student-hours per year. So we anticipate you spending 40 hours per week on your studies i.e. the number of hours for a typical job!

Each academic year contains at least 120 credits - a credit is equivalent to 10 hours of student effort. These credits are divided out amongst the different courses with courses being in units of 6 e.g. 6, 12 or 18 units.

The credit allocated to a course is meant to indicate the total amount of effort required over the duration of the course. This can include time spent on many relevant learning activities such as reading background material, preparing and writing essays, attending lectures and tutorials and revision for exams.

The credit systemThe credit system

Turn up for lectures, practicals and tutorials.

Ensure that you do not miss tutorials or practicals. If you are unable to attend, let your tutor know (beforehand, where possible).

Prepare for tutorials. Merely turning up is obviously not enough. You need to have done the specified reading in advance. To turn up and say nothing, or to speak from a position of ignorance, is a waste of everyone’s time. You should contribute to tutorials, as well as benefiting from other people’s contributions.

Observe deadlines. Being able to organise your time and to plan ahead to meet deadlines is an important skill. So we insist that you meet deadlines for essays and other written work, and there are strict deadlines for work that counts towards the final mark for a course.

Co-operate with your fellow students. You are not in a competition! Doing well does not mean doing better than others. You can learn a lot and help each other by sharing resources, such as reading material, notes and essays. Students often set up their own study groups and nearer exam time, revision groups.

What We Require of YouWhat We Require of You

A variety of assessment methods are used to develop and test different types of skills and aptitudes.

Coursework forms an integral part of assessment at all levels. This will include essays and practical reports, but other exercises will be included as appropriate to the course and the skills which you are being expected to develop.

Some of the assessment is by unseen examination, of varying format, and includes questions on both general knowledge of the subject (essay questions); specific points (short-answer questions and multiple-choice questions); and data-handling and interpretation (problem questions).

Final year examinations, which tend to be more common, focus more on your ability to use your knowledge of the subject, rather than simply testing your memory for facts.

For all courses, past examination papers are linked to the information about the course on the University website.

Methods of assessmentMethods of assessment

The procedure for any piece of assessed work will be made explicit by the course organiser in the course handbook.

Unless your course tutor tells you otherwise, coursework should be handed in to the submissions desk located in the JMS School Office (room 3B10) on a Thursday by 4pm on the deadline date - these dates are in the course handbooks and also on Sussex Direct).

You must bring one copy of your work, and make sure that a cover sheet is attached before you hand your work in – the cover sheets are available from the School Office.

You must sign your assessed coursework in, so it is important that you hand your work in yourself.

Coursework which is over 24 hours late should be handed in directly to the office that owns the course you are submitting work for.

Handing in formally-assessed courseworkHanding in formally-assessed coursework

Deadlines for assessed coursework are absolute.

Coursework submitted up to 24 hours late will receive a penalty of 10% reduction of the marks available. Work submitted any later than 24 hours after the deadline will receive zero marks.

If you experience genuine problems in getting your work in on time you should make an appointment with the Student Adviser, Rachel Gould. You can make an appointment at the School Office.

A Mitigating Evidence Form (available from the School Office) must be filled in if you have a valid reason for your work being submitted late and given to the Student Services Co-ordinator, Tabitha Ellwood, together with medical evidence or other evidence if relevant.

If your reason for lateness is considered a valid one, the reduction in your mark may be altered or waived.

You will receive no mark for coursework that is submitted more than 24 hours late without good reason.

Deadlines for assessed workDeadlines for assessed work

Assessed work will normally be returned to you within 15 working days of the deadline. For each piece of work you will be given a mark as well as comments from the marker.

The School of Life Sciences Guide to Study gives you some helpful information about essay writing and also describes the required format for presentation of submitted work.

You should read these sections carefully as well as those on what NOT to do, i.e. misconduct in the form of plagiarism or collusion.

Feedback on your performanceFeedback on your performance

BiochemistryBiochemistry

Biochemistry Programme Year 1Biochemistry Programme Year 1

Autumn Spring Summer

Cell and Molecular Biology

Cell and MolecularBiology

Chemical Techniques in Biochemistry

Darwinian Evolution Biological Chemistry Energy in Life

Human Physiology Diversity of Life or Neuroscience and Behaviour

Introduction to Molecular Genetics

Essential Skills in Biomedical Sciences

Research Methods in Biochemistry

Research Methods in Biochemistry

The courses taken in your first year are designed to inspire and interest you as well as give you crucial background material in some of the most important areas of Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics or Molecular Medicine.

The broad grounding in your first year will lead to more specialised courses in your second year. In these courses you will get to explore biological processes in depth.

Core courses include:•Cell Regulation and Cancer •Bioenergetics •Genes and Genomes •Molecular Cell Biology

As well as options such as:•Principles of Neuroscience •Proteins in Action •Clinical Aspects in Biochemistry •Developmental Biology •Bioinformatics •Neural Circuits •Critical Reasoning in Biochemistry •The Immune System •Introduction to Structural Pharmacology

Biochemistry Programme Year 2Biochemistry Programme Year 2

In your final year, you will choose to join one of our research teams and carry out an individual research project. In addition to your final year research project, you will be able to take courses from the following:

•Genome Stability, Genetic Diseases and Cancer •Biochemistry of Gene Expression •Cell Signalling and its Applications in Disease and Therapeutics •Biotechnology, Innovation and Science Policy •Endocrinology and Disease •Genomics •Immunology in Health and Disease •Molecular Genetics •Protein Form and Function

Biochemistry Programme Year 3Biochemistry Programme Year 3

Molecular GeneticsMolecular Genetics

Molecular Genetics Programme Year 1Molecular Genetics Programme Year 1

Molecular Genetics Programme Year 2Molecular Genetics Programme Year 2

Molecular Genetics Programme Year 3Molecular Genetics Programme Year 3

It MAY be possible for you to replace a course listed on the previous slides with another that is being taught at the University.

In order to do this however you will need to convince us that there is a good academic reason for wanting to swap.

Even if there are good academic reasons for changing it still may not be practicable, for example if there are timetable clashes between the course you wish to take and those that you are already taking.

Variation of SyllabusVariation of Syllabus

Enjoy YourselfEnjoy Yourself

Time will go very fast between now and graduation, make the most of it, study hard but most of all enjoy your time here