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Microbiology BSc (Hons) - 2023/4

Awarding body

University of Surrey

Teaching institute

University of Surrey

Framework

FHEQ Level 6

Final award and programme/pathway title

BSc (Hons) Microbiology

Subsidiary award(s)

Award Title
Ord Biosciences
DipHE Biosciences
CertHE Biosciences

Professional recognition

Royal Society of Biology
Accredited by the Royal Society of Biology for the purpose of meeting, in part, the academic and experience requirement of membership and Chartered Biologist (CBiol).

Modes of study

Route code Credits and ECTS Credits
Full-time UCG10001 360 credits and 180 ECTS credits
Full-time with PTY UCG10001 480 credits and 240 ECTS credits

JACs code

100353

QAA Subject benchmark statement (if applicable)

Biosciences

Other internal and / or external reference points

N/A

Faculty and Department / School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences - School of Biosciences

Programme Leader

LOCKER Nicolas (Biosciences)

Date of production/revision of spec

04/06/2023

Educational aims of the programme

  • To provide a high quality education in the various aspects of microbiology for students with diverse interests and career aspirations (e.g. pharmaceutical / industrial research, scientific writer/editor, medical studies, MSc / PhD).
  • To further the students' knowledge of the fundamental principles of microbiology and to develop a deeper knowledge in specific areas of microbiology.
  • To provide the appropriate environment to encourage the development of the students interest in microbiology and to help them acquire appropriate intellectual, scientific, technical and key transferable skills to promote self-directed and life-long learning.
  • To provide opportunities for students to think creatively, both individually and within groups, in order to propose innovative solutions to a range of problems of a biological nature.

Programme learning outcomes

Attributes Developed Awards Ref.
An understanding of laboratory-based investigations in microbiology applicable to studying microbial involvement in health, disease, and biotechnology. K DipHE
An understanding of the basic principles of microbiology and the application of these to the understanding and solution of a range of scientific and academic problems K CertHE
A good breadth of knowledge in the field of microbiology in general and a good depth of knowledge in the specialist fields (Medical, Biotechnology, Food Science) as defined in these specifications and the subject bench marking statements K BSc (Hons)
Evaluate research findings and scientific literature and demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate appropriate sources of material and to critically assess it. C BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an understanding of research design and planning and the limits of scientific findings. C BSc (Hons)
Develop basic and advanced laboratory skills relevant to microbiology. PT BSc (Hons)
Interpret quantitative and qualitative data, using advanced numerical and statistical skills PT BSc (Hons)
Work effectively and take responsibility for planning and organisation of work both their own (independently) and in a team or small group towards a common goal. PT BSc (Hons)
Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written and visual means T BSc (Hons)
Use Information Technology e.g. WWW, Virtual Learning Resources, word processors and statistics packages. T BSc (Hons)
An understanding of laboratory-based investigations in bioscience applicable to studying microbiology K Ord
An understanding of the basic principles of microbiology and the application of these to the understanding and solution of a range of scientific and academic problems. K Ord
A good breadth of knowledge in the field of bioscience in general and a good depth of knowledge in the context of medical aspects as defined in these specifications and the subject bench marking statements K Ord
Evaluate research findings and scientific literature and demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate appropriate sources of material and to critically assess it C Ord
Understand key principles of research design and planning and the limits of scientific findings C Ord
Learn basic laboratory skills relevant to microbiology P Ord
Interpret quantitative and qualitative data, using basic numerical and statistical skills PT Ord
Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written and visual means. T Ord
Work effectively and take responsibility for planning and organisation of work both their own (independently) and in a team or small group towards a common goal. T Ord
Use Information Technology e.g. WWW, Virtual Learning Resources, word processors and statistics packages. T Ord
An understanding of the basic principles of microbiology and the application of these to the understanding and solution of a range of scientific and academic problems. K DipHE
A good breadth of knowledge in the field of bioscience in general and a good depth of knowledge in the context of medical aspects as defined in these specifications and the subject bench marking statements. K DipHE
Understand research findings and scientific literature and demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate appropriate sources of material and to critically assess it C DipHE
Learn basic laboratory skills relevant to microbiology. P DipHE
Interpret quantitative and qualitative data. P DipHE
Planning and organise indendently their work contribute to effective working as part of a team/small groups on a given project or task. PT DipHE
Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written and visual means T DipHE
Apply basic statistical and numerical skills to experimental data. T DipHE
Use Information Technology e.g. WWW, Virtual Learning Resources, word processors and statistics packages T DipHE
A limited understanding of laboratory-based investigations in bioscience applicable to studying microbiology. K CertHE
A limited understanding of the basic principles of microbiology and the application of these to the understanding and solution of a range of scientific and academic problems. K CertHE
A good breadth of knowledge in the field of bioscience in general as defined in these specifications and the subject bench marking statements. K CertHE
Demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate appropriate sources of material and to critically assess it. C CertHE
Learn basic laboratory skills relevant to microbiology individually or as part of team PT CertHE
Interpret quantitative and qualitative data using numerical and statistical skills PT CertHE
Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written and visual means. T CertHE
Use Information Technology e.g. WWW, Virtual Learning Resources, word processors and statistics packages. T CertHE

Attributes Developed

C - Cognitive/analytical

K - Subject knowledge

T - Transferable skills

P - Professional/Practical skills

Programme structure

Full-time

This Bachelor's Degree (Honours) programme is studied full-time over three academic years, consisting of 360 credits (120 credits at FHEQ levels 4, 5 and 6). All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Bachelor's Degree (Ordinary) (300 credits)
- Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)
- Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

Full-time with PTY

This Bachelor's Degree (Honours) programme is studied full-time over four academic years, consisting of 480 credits (120 credits at FHEQ levels 4, 5, 6 and the optional professional training year). All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Bachelor's Degree (Ordinary) (300 credits)
- Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)
- Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

Programme Adjustments (if applicable)

N/A

Modules

Year 2 - FHEQ Level 5

Module Selection for Year 2 - FHEQ Level 5

Choose six optional modules. A total of four modules must be taken each semester.
BMS2043 is optional - mutually exclusive with BMS2053
BMS2053 is optional - mutually exclusive with BMS2043

Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5

Module Selection for Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5

Choose six optional modules. A total of four modules must be taken each semester.
BMS2043 is optional - mutually exclusive with BMS2053
BMS2053 is optional - mutually exclusive with BMS2043

Professional Training Year (PTY) - Professional Training Year

Module code Module title Status Credits Semester
BMSP007 PROFESSIONAL TRAINING YEAR MODULE (FULL-YEAR WORK) Core 120 Year-long

Module Selection for Professional Training Year (PTY) - Professional Training Year

N/A

Opportunities for placements / work related learning / collaborative activity

Associate Tutor(s) / Guest Speakers / Visiting Academics Y
Professional Training Year (PTY) Y
Placement(s) (study or work that are not part of PTY) N
Clinical Placement(s) (that are not part of the PTY scheme) N
Study exchange (Level 5) Y
Dual degree N

Other information

This programme is aligned to the University of Surrey¿s Five Pillars of Curriculum Design and design, namely (in alphabetical order), Digital Capabilities, Employability, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Resourcefulness & Resilience, and Sustainability. Specifically, these pillars are covered in this programme in the following ways:

Digital Capabilities: Throughout their programme, microbiology students adapt and learn how to best make use of the SurreyLearn Virtual Learning Environment and other digital resources and online databases to aid their learning and undertake research (microbiology and epidemiology datasets). Students are also trained into being proficient in topic specific digital tools that include those required for the analysis of microbiology data such as epidemiology analysis and statistical packages, building their skills to assess how outbreaks occur and spread, how microbes grow and propagate, generating, analysing, and presenting data.
Students are further encouraged to use modern means of communicating science for team or individual work including Whatsapp, Teams, Zoom, and utilising cloud/file sharing for communication and team working. The appropriate storage and curating of digital media and communication platforms is increasingly important for the modern microbiologist and their interaction with the general public and patient, and through use and discussion of these students gain an awareness of their roles, plus their limitations and misuse which can have wider impact (e.g., to digital well-being, scientific misinformation, misconduct, research integrity)

Employability: The programme is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology, as such, the programme is already designed to equip students with all the core competencies associated with this accreditation. Throughout the course students will be taught by, and exposed to, a variety of internal and external speakers exposing students to the full extent of microbiology specific roles from patient facing, drug development, basic research to understand pathogen biology. The tasks and assessments undertaken across the modules are specifically chosen to equip students with knowledge and skills that are key to the role of modern microbiologists. Paramount to this idea, students will develop their ability to critically appraise evidence and apply the appropriate knowledge to specific pathogens, case studies, outbreak scenarios in the development of new mitigations strategies, therapeutic approaches (enterprise skills) or advancing research.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Like all other programmes at Surrey, Microbiology is taught in an interactive and collaborative way, in a cohort that commonly represents a wealth of nationalities and backgrounds on both students and staff side. Students are encouraged to engage with, and learn from, diverse perspectives through interaction and teamwork. There is clear evidence that different ethnicities, gender, cultures all impact how microbes affect and are managed in the general population. Therefore students will draw from these findings to appreciate better their understanding of response to pathogens at the cellular, organismal and populational level. Students will also develop an understanding of inequalities in health and the underlying causes of inadequate access to diagnostics or specific therapies worldwide, and how this impacts on global health.

Resourcefulness & Resilience: From their first day at Surrey the students are introduced to the expectations regarding teaching, learning and assessment to facilitate self-efficacy and the strong commitment required in this two-way communication. The timetabling promotes agency in planning their workloads in advance and preparations for the many sessions which employs aspects of ¿flipped learning¿, or practical aspect of the course. The different formative and summative assessments are designed to ¿feed forward¿ to assessments within but also across modules in the programme. Collaborative learning, communication, and peer support is foster throughout assessment activities, group works but also participation in topic-specific societies.
Overall in-class activities and assessments, formative and summative, are design to build independent learning, critical thinking, dynamism, risk assessment and problem-solving attributes. By its structure the microbiology programme enables students to draw upon individual and collective resourcefulness. Whether individually or as a cohort, through practical and professional elements of the programme, the importance of leadership, self-efficacy and resilience is highlighted in the microbiologist role profile and the challenges associated to raising to excellence.

Sustainability: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for modern microbiologist, whether it is through accessible diagnostic tools, treatments or drugs, or managing a research in the context of challenging consumables sourcing and often poor or limited option for sustainability. Broader aspects relevant to sustainability, linked to food microbiology including food production, processing, distribution, retail and impact on global resources and the environment are topics that are addressed across the programme. Seminars and tutorials give students the opportunity to explore specific topical aspects of sustainability including how to develop low impact diagnostics or eco-friendly lab research culture through addressing the key questions that are : How do you make a lab more environmentally friendly? How do you conduct a sustainable research? How do you run a sustainability science research group sustainably? How do you make a project environmentally friendly? Students are provided opportunities to demonstrate this in practice during laboratory sessions and their final year project.

Quality assurance

The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at:

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality-enhancement-standards

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.