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