Dear all,

There are two new MSc level courses that have recently started that there seems to be some confusion about.

1) Orientation to Research Work.

The new Orientation to research work course (12-20 credits or 12-18 credits for international MSc) in part replaces the old course Laboratory practice II in the new system. Students undertake a combination of Laboratory practice II (or equivalent) and/or periods of research work in research group(s). As well as gaining experience of the practical work required to undertake research, this course is also designed to allow students to make an informed decision about the right place to do a Pro Gradu project i.e. students are advised to do one month in the lab they are thinking about doing the Pro Gradu in as part of Orientation to research work.

There is no set timetable for the research work and the students can do the work in any research group and are advised to spend at least 1 month in a group outside the department. Groups are free to advertise their projects for example via Histoni´s email list.

When doing work in a research group, each student will make direct contact with the group leader and a mutual agreement made for the research period. A full-time working week (40 hours) gives 1.5 credits for the student. A maximum of 6 credits (four full-time working weeks) can be awarded for working in one research group. The research work can be either full-time or part-time. For example, working 1 day a week for 10 weeks would earn 3 credits. It is up to individual group leaders to decide if and how students should report the results e.g. a written report or a presentation. A formal report (työselostus) is not required. Any time taken by the student to prepare the report must be included in working time. After the research period the group leader is required to write a short statement on a card provided by the student, naming the subject of research, the dates over which the work was done, the number of hours worked and proposed credits to be awarded (40 hour work = 1.5 credits, op). Group leaders should be careful not to over- or under-credit the work done. Any credits should be in multiples of 0.5 credits. There is no requirement to notify the course convenor (Jari) in advance of the work

It is possible also to get credits for this course by undertaking the Laboratory practice II exercises (Biokemia II exercises). These are typically 1 week in length and are an excellent way to learn new techniques. Since these require a written report one full-time working week plus written report gives 2 credits for the student. Students should sign up for these exercises in advance on the notice board.

There is no grading for this course, just credits for appropriate level of work.

2) Dissertation.

The new optional Dissertation course (18 credits) is a major review of the literature. The credits awarded are equivalent of 12 weeks full time work by the student.

The student should make direct contact with the group leader they wish to supervise them (this can be within the department or beyond), who should be a recognised expert in the field. There are no formal requirements for style, length etc, but students and supervisors are advised to chose a style from an appropriate journal which would publish comprehensive reviews in the field. As a guide many comprehensive reviews are 15 to 30,000 words in length with 250-300 references.

Students are advised that this course does not have to be done as a solid 12 week block, that the workload can be spread over an extended timeperiod and hence it makes an excellent way to balance workload over a longer period of time. Students are also advised that the dissertation requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of a subject. Furthermore, English for Biochemists II or English for Biochemists III are strongly recommended before undertaking the dissertation. Students are also advised that plagarism has been a problem with similar courses run elsewhere and that plagarism will not be tolerated in any manner.

Supervisors are advised that this task should not be entered into lightly, supervising a dissertation properly will require a large amount of work in providing guidance and reading drafts of the work.

Occasionally I would expect a dissertation to be sufficiently good so as to be submitted to a journal as a comprehensive review (it happens in other places with similar courses) - a nice bonus for student and supervisor.

There is grading for disertations, on the 0-5 scale. Grading will be similar to that for the Pro Gradu project except that the supervisor will be one of the two examiners. A detailed marking scheme should appear on the departmental web site in the next couple of weeks.

I am course convenor. My task is to provide advice in choosing a topic and/or supervisor and to help in any cases where disputes arise between student and supervisor

I hope these explanations help.

Best wishes,

Lloyd