Welcome to Immunology & Infectious Diseases Honours.
The following is a guide to the
structure of the Honours year.
Immunology and Infectious Diseases
Honours are research-based courses, commencing in early February and
culminating in presentation of a thesis in early November. Candidates are assessed on all aspects of
their research performance, by their supervisor and by two internal examiners
who will be scientists familiar with the general field of research, but not
directly associated with the student or their research lab. Assessed components are: (i)
a review of the literature pertaining to the particular research project
undertaken by the candidate (formative), (ii) oral presentation of research in the
form of a short seminar (twenty minutes talk and ten minutes for questions)(summative),
(iii) the thesis, (summative),
(iv) research performance (formative).
The
Research Program
Candidates will work almost exclusively
on their chosen research topic, independently, but under the guidance of their
supervisor. At the end of the year, the research is written up in the form of
an Honours Thesis and is examined by the supervisor
and two other scientists appointed by the Honours
committee. Each thesis is assessed on its overall quality and not simply on the
quantity of results. Getting results is not the sole aim of the research
program.
In mid-October, 2-3 weeks before the
thesis is submitted, candidates are required to present a seminar on their
project. This will be a 20-minute presentation, followed by constructive
feedback in the form of questions from the audience of peers, supervisors,
examiners and interested colleagues.
The research program is further
structured to help develop scientific writing skills in the following way:
1.
Preparation of an approximately 2 page summary outlining the
aims and experimental approach which the candidate understands to be their
project and why the project has scientific merit in their opinion. (in other words, what they are going to do and why they are doing it). This is not
formally assessed but will be discussed at interview with the supervisor.
2.
Preparation of a literature review essay that is the basis
of the Introduction to the final thesis, and prior preparation of the results
and methods chapters. These sections are read by the supervisor, and some
corrections, suggestions for improvements and other comments are made before
submission of the thesis.
The
Supplementary Program
The supplementary program has 2 main
aims-
·
to keep the candidate abreast of wider issues in Immunology
and Infectious Diseases, while fostering their particular research interest,
and
·
to enable the candidate to develop
strong skills in communication and
critical appraisal of the literature.
To this end, in addition to research at
the bench, students are required to attend
1. A Research
Seminar Series at Centenary Institute, Westmead Millennium
Institute or their equivalent in other locations.
2. Honours class
meeting, where we create a self-help program reviewing each others aims,
results and relevant literature, solving technical problems and providing
workshops in statistics and data analysis.
3. Meetings of
their own research group which will focus on the particular interests of the
group, and where the student is expected to participate both in presenting
results and reviewing literature.
4. Journal Club
in the Centenary Institute (or its equivalent), where each week a member of
staff reviews one or two recent papers of more general interest.
Introductory
Course on Animal Experimentation
An introductory course on Animal
Experimentation will be presented by the Animal Care & Ethics Committee of
the University and attendance and successful completion by all Honours students is compulsory.
Final
Assessment
Assessment marks are considered at a
Departmental Honours Committee meeting, which then
forwards their recommendation to the Faculty of Science. The Faculty makes the
final decision as to the grade awarded. The Faculty recently revised its Honours policy. The
requirement for a minimum SCIWAM of 68 to be eligible for the award of First
Class Honours was eliminated. Instead all Honours
students are eligible for First Class Honours if
their Honours performance justifies a mark of 80 or
greater. However Departments are
constrained in the average mark that can be awarded by the following: The
rolling five year average mark difference (student Honours
mark minus SCIWAM) should fall within the range 10 plus or minus 2. We do not anticipate any problem adhering to
these guidelines. However if your WAM
score was possibly affected by sickness, or other reasons, you should make sure
that this is known to the Discipline Honours
Committee, Helen, in the first instance.
1.
Read and
review the projects outlined in this document.
Pay attention to the general thrust of the research and the techniques
used. These should help you determine
your level of interest in a particular proposal.
2.
Attend the Information
evening on
3.
Choose 3-4
projects
of special interest to yourself.
4.
Arrange an
interview with each supervisor to discuss these projects in detail on a
one-to-one basis. (The supervisor needs to assess you, and you need to assess
both the project and the supervisor!). You must take a copy of your academic
transcript and a brief curriculum vitae to each
interview.
5.
Complete and return the application form to Helen Briscoe by
To qualify for admission to Honours the Faculty of Science requires that a student is
qualified for the award of a pass degree, has a SCIWAM score of at least 58 and
a credit in their chosen Honours topic. Further a student must be considered by the
Faculty and the Head of Department concerned to have the requisite knowledge for
an Honours course.
To qualify for Honours in Immunology or in Infectious Diseases a
student must satisfy the minimal conditions.
The student should have performed
well in all aspects of the senior Immunology course BMED3003 / IMMU 3002 or
Infectious Diseases course BMED 3004 and achieved at least a credit in the
final assessment. A SCIWAM score of 65
or above is also desirable. In
special circumstances applicants who have studied subjects other than
Immunology 3 may be considered.
Admission
to Honours will be based upon these criteria and
recommendations from the interview with the supervisor.
Please
submit your application together with your academic transcript and CV to Helen
Briscoe. Queries should be directed to Helen Briscoe,
Room 676, Blackburn Building University of Sydney. hbriscoe@med.usyd.edu.au
Telephone: 9351 7308
Name:
. Student ID
.
Degree
program (eg.
BSc, BMEDSc)
.
Contact Information:
Email address:
..
Mailing Address & telephone
number:
Term
time
Telephone
.
Mobile
.
Vacation
Telephone
Mobile
..
Projects in which you have a
special interest
(please
list in order of preference)
1.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Supervisor contacted Yes / No]
2.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Supervisor contacted Yes / No]
3.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Supervisor contacted Yes / No]
4.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Supervisor contacted Yes / No]
Please
turn over
Are you applying for Honours in Infectious Diseases?
Yes / No
Are you applying for Honours in Immunology?
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Are you applying for Honours courses in other subjects?
Yes / No
If
yes, which subject(s)
.
..
Which is your first preference Honours Program?
Yes
/ No
If
yes, which course(s)
..
Please indicate when you
will be notified if your application in other programs is successful.
.
Please attach a copy of your academic transcript and a brief CV .
Please submit your
application together with your academic transcript and CV to Helen Briscoe on
or before