Course Title: Thesis II

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Thesis II

Credit Points: 24.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
BIOL2359	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	160H Medical Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012

Course Coordinator: Dr Simon Potocnik

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7074

Course Coordinator Email: simon.potocnik@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

A degree in Medical Science with a major study in subjects which are appropriate to the research project chosen. An overall undergraduate degree average GPA of 2.5 or above.

Course Description

The aim of this course is to:
• Give students a quality research experience.
• Prepare students for research and higher-level employment, by developing their knowledge of these fields, capacity for independent work and scientific communication/
• Provide appropriate training in scientific method, research skills and to prepare students for higher degree programs.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course is particularly important in the graduate capabilities of:
• Ability to engage in problem solving and research, including both critical and lateral thinking.
• Ability to work and learn both independently and collaboratively.
• Ability to locate, evaluate, understand, manage and use a range of information in the context and completion of a research project.
• Ability to communicate in written, visual and oral formats.

At the end of the course, the student should have:

• An ability to apply scientific methods and research processes to problem solving.
• An ability to effectively manage and deliver project milestones.
• A capacity to interpret scientific data and findings.
• A greater depth of knowledge in their major study discipline.
• Specialist research and technical skills.

Presented a minor thesis of their experimental work which demonstrates the graduate capabilities listed above.
A further outcome may be that the project work is published in a peer reviewed journal as the thesis is designed to be approximately equivalent, in length and depth of study to a research manuscript.

Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities will vary depending on the research project and typically include skills particular to the experiments or procedures of the specific project.
In general these include:
• Individual problem solving, guided by supervisor advice, experience and published literature
• Discussion and reflection with supervisor, collaborators and peers

Overview of Learning Resources

The resources available will depend on the individual project. A major learning resource is the direct application to an individual research project supervised by active research staff.

Overview of Assessment

The thesis is assessed by at least two examiners appointed by the Honours Program Committee.
An honours year research component will be assessed using an assessment framework (matrix) that will be available to the student.