Course Title: Thesis III

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Thesis III

Credit Points: 24.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
BIOL2360	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	160H Medical Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2010, 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 honours year program contains a mix of advanced theory, research training and research. The main component of the honours year program is a substantial piece of research leading to an assessable outcome that can be undertaken and presented in the format of a traditional dissertation and thesis.
The thesis assessment is 65% and has been distributed into 3 courses, Thesis I, Thesis II and Thesis III. These are student based learning courses that provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their capacity to incorporate learning from one-on-one supervisor interaction, the results of their own research, the honours program workshops and their undergraduate skills.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

The capabilities developed include scientific writing skills, appropriate for the discipline area of the research project. These include an ability to analyse and communicate experimental data in a form and length similar to that required for a peer-reviewed international scientific journal. This exercise traditionally develops the reading and report writing skills from undergraduate years to the level of current scientific understanding in the discipline.

At the end of the course, the student should have:
• Completed a thesis, similar in length and form to a manuscript for a peer-reviewed international scientific journal.
• Demonstrated an ability to learn scientific writing skills from primary literature in a specialist field.
• Incorporate editorial advice in written work
• The skills required for literature searching using databases and formatting required in referencing scientific communications.
• A capacity to write within defined presentation guidelines.
• A greater depth of knowledge in their major study discipline.

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

Supervisor, collaborators and peers. RMIT University and School of Medical Science research facilities. Honours program workshops.

Overview of Assessment

The thesis will be assessed by several examiners who may be internal and/or external to the School of Medical Science. The criteria for assessment of the thesis will be within a published framework accessible to the student and supervisor. There will be an oral defence of the thesis in the presence of the examiners and a written supervisor report.