Master of Science by Coursework in Sleep Medicine

Differences from 2018/19 to 2021/22

  • 1. The Divisional Board of Medical Sciences shall elect for the supervision of the course an Organising Committee. The Organising Committee will oversee teaching provision and will nominate Examiners for the Examinations Board.

  • 2. The Course Committee shall arrange teaching, student supervision and assessments and shall appoint for each candidate a dissertation supervisor.

  • 3. Students admitted to the M.Sc. course are required to matriculate, involving admission by a college of the University.  

  • 4. To be eligible for the award a candidate must have been on the Course Register for a period of not less than two years, and not more than four years.

  • 5. Candidates may be permitted in certain circumstances to suspend status, for a maximum of six terms. Any such period shall not count to the minimum permitted period of registration and no fee liability will be incurred during such periods.

  • 6. Every candidate for an M.Sc. award will be required to satisfy the examiners in the following:

    • (i) attendance at all modules specified in the Schedule;

    • (ii) completion of each of the MCQ examinations prior to the Final Meeting of the Board of Examiners;

    • (iii) submission of eight essays of not more than 4,000 words each (excluding references, appendices, tables, figures or figure legends), relating to each of modules (i) to (viii). Two essays will be submitted at the end of Hilary Term in each year of the course, and two essays will be submitted at the end of Trinity Term in each year of the course, on dates to be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook no later than the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course. Each essay topic will be selected by the Board of Examiners. The essay topics will be distributed to the students at the start of Michaelmas term of the academic year in which the examination is taken;

    • (iv) submission of a dissertation of not more than 10,000 words (excluding tables, graphs, references and bibliography), on a subject selected by the candidate in consultation with the dissertation supervisor and approved by the Course Committee. Approval must be sought by no later than the end of Hilary Term in the first year of the course. The dissertation must be submitted in the Long Vacation of the second year of the course on a date to be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook no later than the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course;

    • (v) attendance at the Residential School following at least 2 terms of study and prior to submission of the dissertation.

  • 7. Candidates may be required to attend a viva voce after submission of the dissertation, on a date to be arranged by the examiners. Viva voce will normally cover the content of all the assessed work and will be conducted via video conference.

  • 8.  Essays shall be submitted, in electronic format via the University approved assessment platform, to the Chair of Examiners, M.Sc. in Sleep Medicine, c/o Registry, Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA. The format of each submission and the deadlines for submission shall be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook at the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course.

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  • 9.  Dissertations shall be submitted in electronic format via athe secureUniversity authorisedapproved onlineassessment methodplatform, to the Chair of Examiners, M.Sc. in Sleep Medicine, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford OX1 4BG, by dates to be specified by the Course Committee and published in the course handbook no later than the start of Michaelmas Term of the first year of the course.

  • 10. All written submissions must be accompanied by a statement that they are the candidate's own work except where otherwise indicated.

  • 11. Candidates must pass each assessment in order to pass the examination overall.

  • 12. The examiners shall retain one copy of each dissertation of each successful M.Sc. candidate for deposit in the appropriate departmental library.

  • 13. The examiners may award a distinction for excellence in the whole examination.

  • 13. Candidates who fail to satisfy the examiners in the:

    • (i) extended essays will be permitted, by 2pm Thursday of Week 8 of the term following the term in which the results were notified to the candidate, to resubmit work in respect of the part or parts they have failed on not more than one occasion.

    • (ii) dissertation will be permitted, by 2pm on the first Thursday in September in the year following the original date of submission, to resubmit the work in respect to the part or parts they have failed on not more than one occasion.

  • 14. Candidates who fail the extended essays or dissertation at the second attempt will be judged to have failed to reach the necessary standard for the award.

  • 15. Candidates who have failed the dissertation but have satisfied the requirements for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma may be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma.

  • 16. Candidates who have satisfied the requirements for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma and who do not wish to continue their studies, may end their registration and at that point be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma.

  • 17. In the case that a candidate who has been awarded the Postgraduate Diploma is readmitted to the M.Sc. then the following apply: 

    • (i) If any candidate who is successful in the examination for the M.Sc. has previously successfully completed the Postgraduate Diploma, then the subsequent award will subsume his or her previous award.

    • (ii) If any student who has previously successfully completed the Postgraduate Diploma and ended their registration on the Programme subsequently is re-admitted to the M.Sc., the Course Committee shall have the discretion to deem satisfactory completion of modules within the Postgraduate Diploma as having met the attendance and examination requirements in respect of the modules (i)-(viii) specified in the Schedule. Such discretion will normally only be exercised if the time elapsed between completion of the final module contributing to the Postgraduate Diploma and registering for the M.Sc. is not more than three years.

    • (iii) Candidates will be required to submit a dissertation as specified in point 6(v) above, however the deadline for approval of the dissertation subject will be the end of Friday of Week 8 of Michaelmas Term following readmission.

  • 18. In the case of a candidate who is readmitted they will be subject to the Examination Conventions in force at the date of their readmission.

  • 19. In the case that a candidate has undertaken a module (as outlined in the Schedule) for credit prior to enrolling onto the MSc in Sleep Medicine programme, the organising committee shall have discretion to deem satisfactory completion of the module (including the associated assessment) prior to registration for the MSc in Sleep Medicine. The organising committee shall decide if the candidate has met the attendance and examination requirements in respect of that module under 6.i-iii above. Such discretion will normally only be exercised if the time elapsed between commencement of the accredited module concerned and registration for the MSc in Sleep Medicine is not more than three years. The maximum number of modules taken for credit prior to registration for the MSc in Sleep Medicine that can contribute to the achievement of the award shall be three.

Schedule

  • (i) The Physiological Basis of Sleep

  • (ii) Introduction to Sleep Medicine and Methodological Approaches

  • (iii) Circadian Rhythm Disruption and Sleep

  • (iv) Insomnia

  • (v) Sleep-disordered Breathing and Sleep-related Movement Disorders

  • (vi) Hypersomnias and Parasomnias

  • (vii) Sleep in Specialist Populations

  • (viii) Sleep and Society

  • (ix) Research Methods 1: Introduction to scientific method and research design

  • (x) Research Methods 2: Handling data and research dissemination