Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology
Differences from 2016/17 to 2023/24
A
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1. The subject of the Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology shall be all aspects of the scientific study of the development and functioning of living organisms with particular but not exclusive reference to mammals.
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2. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this school unless
hetheyor she hashave either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination. -
3. The examination in this school shall be under the supervision of the Medical Sciences Board, which shall make regulations concerning it.
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4. The examination in Cell and Systems Biology shall consist of two parts: Part I and Part II.
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5. No candidate shall be admitted to the Part II examination in this school unless
hetheyor she hashave completed the Part I examination in this school. -
6. The examination for Part I will take place during Week 0 or 1 in Trinity Term of the candidate’s second year. The examination for Part II will take place during Trinity Term of the candidate’s third year.
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7. For the Part I options provided by the Department of Experimental Psychology, candidates shall be examined by such of the Public Examiners in the Honour School of Experimental Psychology as may be required. For the written papers in Part II
which are as specified for, theHonourResearchSchool of Medical SciencesProject, and theResearchSpecialistProjectReview, candidates shall be examined by such of the Public Examiners in the Honour School of Medical Sciences and the Honour School of Experimental Psychology as may be required. -
8. In addition to the form of examination prescribed below, candidates may be examined viva voce in either part of the examination.
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9. Candidates for Part I and Part II may offer themselves for examination in one or more of the Supplementary Subjects. The Supplementary Subjects available in any year will be notified to students annually during Trinity Term. Account shall be taken of a candidate’s results in any such subject in the candidate’s overall classification in the Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology. Candidates awarded a pass in a Supplementary Subject examination may not retake the same Supplementary Subject examination.
B
PART I
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1. Candidates will attend lectures and practicals in options selected from a list published to students by the end of Week 8 of Hilary Term in the year preceding the examination. Each option will have a number of units ascribed to it. Candidates will be required to study options totalling ten units. The handbook for the course will specify how many units are assigned to each option, and which options are
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2. Two written papers will be set:
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(i) Paper I will be a three-hour examination comprising a selection of questions requiring short answers. Candidates will be required to answer those questions relating to their chosen options.
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(ii) Paper II will be a two-hour essay paper. Candidates will be required to answer questions from a selection relating to the different options that they have studied.
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3. If, in Paper II of the Part I Examination, a candidate presents essentially the same information on more than one occasion, then credit will be given in only the first instance.
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4. Candidates will be required to undertake practical work and submit written reports as specified in the course handbook which will constitute part of the examination. On the basis of attendance records and the submitted reports, the Course Director, or a deputy, shall make available to the Examiners, at the end of Week 0 of Trinity Term in which the examinations are held, evidence showing the extent and the standard to which each candidate has completed the prescribed practical work. Practical work cannot normally be retaken. Candidates whose attendance or performance is deemed unsatisfactory will forfeit one quarter of the marks in the Part I examination, the outcome of which will be carried forward to the Part II Examination.
PART II
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1. Each candidate must offer three timed written examination papers
and, a project report based on aresearchResearchprojectProject, and a Specialist Review. -
2.
:ANeuroscienceBpublishedMolecular MedicineC[For students starting before MT 2017:Cardiovascular, Renal, and Respiratory Biology] [For students starting from MT 2017:Cardiovascular and Respiratory Biology]D Infection and ImmunityE Cellular Physiology and Pharmacology
as specified forby theHonour SchoolFaculty ofMedicalPhysiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office not later than noon on Friday of Week 6 of Hilary Term in the year preceding that in which the examination is due to be taken.-
3. Each candidate must offer
fourwritten papers: Paper 1 for least twochosen, except that Paper 1 for the second chosen option will require candidates to answer two questions in two hours. -
4. The Research Project
The research project will normally be carried out in the Trinity Term of the candidate’s second year and the Michaelmas Term of the candidate’s third year.-
(i) Form, subject, and approval of the project
The project shall consist of original experiments and/or data analysis carried out by the candidate alone or in collaboration with others (where such collaboration is, for instance, needed to produce results in the time available).
Each project shall be supervised, and the topic and supervisor shall be approved on behalf of the Medical Sciences Board by the Course Director, or a deputy.
A list of approved project titles and their supervisors shall be published no later than Friday of Week 1 of Hilary Term in the academic year preceding the examination, and allocation of these projects to candidates shall be carried out through the Faculty of Physiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office.AsApplicationanforalternative to the allocation process, a candidate may apply to undertake a project that is not on the approved list. Such applicationapproval must be made no later than Friday of Week 8 of Hilary Term in the academic year preceding the examination. The candidate must submit the title of their proposed research project, provide a brief outline of the subject matter and supply details of supervision arrangements. The decision on the application shall be made by the Course Director, or a deputy, and shall be communicated to the candidate as soon as possible, and work should not start on the project until approval has been given. Candidates should allow at least one week for the process of approval, and should bear in mind that an application may be referred for clarification or may be refused. -
(ii) Application to change title of project
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If required, candidates may apply to change the title of their project through the Faculty of Physiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office on one occasion and no later than noon on Friday of Week 4 of Hilary term in the academic year in which they intend taking the examination.
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(iii) Submission of the Project Report
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The length and format of the Project Report shall be according to guidelines published by the Medical Sciences Board. Material in a candidate's Project Report must not be duplicated in any answer given in a written examination paper. Project Reports previously submitted for the Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology may be resubmitted. No Project Report will be accepted if it has already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degree of this University or for a degree of any other institution.
Project Reports
WebLearnthe University approved online assessment platform (according to the instructions set out in the letter to candidates from the Chair of Examiners), not later than noon on the Friday of Week 8 of the Hilary Term in which the candidate intends to take the examination. Each Report shall be accompanied by a certificate of authorship indicating that the research project is the candidate's own workIn exceptional cases, where through unforeseen circumstances a research project produces no useable results (i.e. not even negative or ambiguous results), the candidate may apply through their college to the Course Director, or a deputy, for permission to submit a concise review of the scientific context and the aims of the work that was attempted, in place of the normal Project Report. Such an application must be accompanied by supporting evidence from the supervisor of the project. The concise review to be submitted in such circumstances should be comparable in length to the Report of a successful research project, will be presented orally to the examiners, and will be examined viva voce in the usual way for a research project. The examiners will be advised that substantive results could not be produced.
The examiners shall obtain and consider a written report from each supervisor indicating the extent of the input made by the candidate to the outcome of the project and also any unforeseen difficulties associated with the project (e.g. unexpected technical issues or problems in the availability of materials, equipment, or literature or other published data).
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(iv) Oral Assessment of Project-based Written Work
In addition, each candidate shall make a brief oral presentation of their project to a group of two examiners (or examiners and assessors appointed to ensure an adequate representation of expertise), after which, the candidate shall be examined viva voce on the project.
5. The Specialist Review
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(i) Form and subject of the specialist review
The length and format of the specialist review shall be according to guidelines that will be published by the Medical Sciences Board.
The subject matter of a candidate’s specialist review shall be within the scope of the school. The review may relate to any of the themes taught in the options of the school.
A specimen list and/or a list of review titles registered by students in previous academic years will be made available by Week 5 of the Trinity Term of the academic year preceding that of the examination, to assist candidates in the choice of topic or general field for the review.
(ii) Registration
No later than noon on Friday of Week 8 of Michaelmas Term in the academic year of the examination, every candidate must
register their specialist review article via the means specified by the Faculty of Physiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office. A decision on the application shall be made by the Course Director, or a deputy and shall be communicated to the candidate.(iii) Application to change title of specialist review
If required, candidates may apply to change the title of their review through the Faculty of Physiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office on one occasion and no later than noon on Friday of Week 8 of Hilary Term in the academic year in which they intend taking the examination.
(iv) Authorship
The review must be the candidate's own work. Candidates' tutors, or their deputies nominated to act as advisors, may discuss with candidates the proposed field of study, the sources available, and the method of treatment, but on no account may they read or comment on any written draft. Every candidate shall submit a certificate to the effect that this rule has been observed and that the review is their own work; and the candidate's tutor or adviser may be asked to confirm that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, this is so.
(v) Submission
Specialist reviews must be submitted via the University approved online assessment platform (according to the instructions set out in the letter to candidates from the Chair of Examiners), not later than noon on the Friday of Week 0 of the Trinity Term in which the candidate intends to take the examination. Each review shall be accompanied by a certificate of authorship as specified in the preceding paragraph.
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67.2520 per cent for the Research ProjectReport based on the research project,1516 per cent for each of Papers 1, 2, and 3,exceptandthat12Paperper1cent for thesecondSpecialistchosen option will carry 10 per cent of the marksReview. Marks carried forward from the Part I examination will account for the remaining 20 per cent of the candidate’s overall result for the Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology.