MSc Biological Sciences

The MSc tutorials give the student the opportunity to learn about important concepts and cutting-edge methodology relating to the Biological Sciences. Students work in groups of 6-8 and undertake 2 tutorials with academic staff. The academic member of staff provides a tutorial title and supplies one or two research papers or assigns a particular task. The students will critically analyse the papers or research the task and discuss their findings with the tutor. After the discussion the students will write an essay on the topic that will be marked by the advisor.

The MSc Bioethics Workshop gives students experience of exploring and debating some of the ethical issues that surround current scientific research, including that being carried out in the Faculty of Life Sciences. The workshop also provides an opportunity for students to consider the impact that scientific advances may have on wider society.

All MSc students attend the first (introductory) session of the MSc Bioethics Workshop, which is run by the Workshop Coordinator. At the end of this first session, students are assigned to a student group and given a topic in bioethics for further investigation. For the second session of the Bioethics Workshop, each MSc group will meet separately. The students will prepare a presentation and present this to the Workshop Coordinator. Further discussion will follow the presentation as appropriate.

In the report writing workshop the students will prepare an abstract and a figure from their research project. The students will then discuss and peer review the abstract and discuss their figure with their tutor.

The unit aims to:

• Increase the students’ breadth of understanding in biological sciences
• Improve the students’ communication and debating skills
• Develop a sense of ownership in the student’s scientific education and career
• Increase the students’ awareness of ethical issues that surround scientific research
• Increase the students’ skills to present scientific findings in presentations, essays, through report writing and podcasts

Students should:

• be better able to understand research reports that appear in peer-review publications, both in scientific content and in the methodology used
• be better able to appreciate the relevance of a scientific study in the context of the broad area of biological sciences
• be better able to understand the ethical issues that are discussed in peer-review publications, the media and in wider society in relation to current scientific research.
• be better able to present the findings in a research paper to a group
• understand how the peer-review system works in research and will have a rudimentary understanding of how to appraise yourself and others in a peer group.

The MSc tutorials give the student the opportunity to learn about important concepts and cutting-edge methodology relating to the Biological Sciences. Students work in groups of 8-10 and undertake 1 bioethics workshop, 2 tutorial sessions and one report-writing workshop with academic staff. All MSc students attend the first (introductory) session of the bioethics workshop run by the unit coordinator. The bioethics workshop gives students experience of exploring and debating some of the ethical issues that surround current scientific research and the impact that scientific advances may have on wider society. The second part of the bioethics workshop will take place in the tutorial group setting where students give a group presentation on the bioethics topic, followed by the submission of individual 1000-word essays marked by the tutor. For the first tutorial session, the tutor provides a scientific paper which is showcased as a group presentation and being discussed, followed by individual submissions of 1000-word essays marked by the tutor. For the second tutorial, the tutor provides scientific topics to groups of 2-3 students who develop them into short podcasts which will be discussed during the tutorial session and marked by the tutor. The report-writing workshop is formative and takes place in the tutorial setting where pre-prepared abstracts, figures and figure legends from the students’ research projects will be peer-reviewed and discussed with the tutor. 

• Bioinformatics workshop: students will have prepared a provided research paper which they discuss in teams of about 10 students during the bioethics workshop to develop arguments that will be presented by a speaker for each team.
• Following a dedicated interactive 2 hr classroom session to learn strategies for scientific presentations, students will develop a 20 min. team presentation based on one of the papers from the workshop and present it during the tutorial session.  
• Following a dedicated interactive 2 hr classroom session to learn strategies for essay writing, the students will individually compose and submit an essay based on the presented research paper.
• Following a dedicated interactive 2hr classroom session to learn strategies for podcasting, students in groups of 2-3 will develop an allocated scientific topic into a 10-minute podcast that will be discussed during the tutorial session.
• Following a dedicated interactive 2hr classroom session to learn strategies for report writing, students generate an abstract and an example figure with legend which are peer-reviewed and discussed during a tutorial session.

• Critically interpret research reports published in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating understanding of both scientific content and research methodology.
• Critically interpret research reports published in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating understanding of both scientific content and research methodology.

• Analyse and critically reflect on ethical issues arising from current scientific research, as presented in academic publications, media, and public discourse. 

• Present the findings of a research paper clearly and effectively to a scientific audience.
• Write a concise, evidence-based essay drawing on critical evaluation of primary literature.
• Communicate scientific research effectively through spoken language, adapting style and content to different audiences.
• Prepare and format research data appropriately for potential publication.
• Learn the use of podcasts as a presentation technique

• Apply a research-oriented mindset to approaching scientific problems and science communication.
• Work collaboratively to plan and deliver group outputs, demonstrating teamworking and communication skills.
• Chair group discussions and manage tasks effectively, showing leadership and project management capabilities.
• Design and deliver effective oral presentations tailored to diverse scientific audiences.
• Develop and record a science-focused podcast, demonstrating clear and engaging oral communication.
• Integrate diverse perspectives during problem-solving activities in workshops and tutorials.
• Critically analyse and summarise scientific literature for use in presentations, written assignments, and podcast scripts.
• Communicate ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments, including essays and scientific reports. 

• Bioethics: group presentation - 20 min - 10%
• Bioethics: individual essay - 1000 words - 25%
• Tutorial: group presentation - 20 min - 10%
• Tutorial: individual essay - 1000 words - 25%
• Tutorial: podcast by teams of 2-3 students - 10 min - 30%
• Write-up workshop: abstract, figure, legend (formative)

The PGT advisor will give feedback on the oral presentations and written assignments via the tutorial sessions and via the use of marking comments respectively.