MSc Health and Clinical Sciences - subject to validation

This programme is for students seeking to pursue a career in the health or clinical sciences. These will be mainly European Union (EU) and overseas students, as clinical scientist training in the UK is currently delivered by the National Health Service (NHS).

This programme aims to educate students in the areas of health and clinical sciences, and to prepare them for potential future employment in the applied health and clinical sciences sector, either in the United Kingdom or abroad.

At the end of the programme, you will be expected to have:

• Attained an in-depth knowledge and understanding of topics related to health and clinical sciences, as informed by current scholarship and research
• Developed a critical awareness and understanding of current issues and developments in the taught subjects and related topics
• Developed a comprehensive understanding of the practical skills and techniques applicable to scientific research, your research project and the workplace
• Developed skills to plan and execute investigations, critically analyse results and draw valid conclusions based on expected outcomes, predictions or published data
• Attained proficiency in verbal and written communication skills that will facilitate effective communication with colleagues, the broader scientific community and the general public
• Developed sufficient knowledge and expertise for employment in the health or clinical sectors, research laboratories or industry
• Acquired the skills to promote lifelong learning
• Completed a research project, which will include a critical review of existing literature or other scholarly outputs

The programme delivery has been designed to gradually develop the academic skills and knowledge base to bring students to a similar academic level by the end of the first semester. This approach should provide a firm foundation for the more advanced second semester modules and subsequent research project and dissertation. This process has been planned to facilitate continuing development and lifelong learning after completion of the programme.

The academic content will consist of ten taught modules (15 credits each) and a research project (30 credits). Student progress will be monitored through formative and summative assessments, a personal development portfolio (PDP) with a reflective component, and scheduled meetings with academic and personal tutors. Furthermore, student engagement will be targeted through monitored self-assessment and peer-to-peer feedback.

The approach to teaching and learning that is adopted for this programme is heavily influenced by both the University’s learning and teaching strategy, and staff and student feedback on our other related MSc programmes, including the MSc in Clinical Biochemistry which was the precursor to this programme.

We aim to:

• Encourage an open, scholarly environment that will emphasise academic rigour and personal development
• Provide a programme that is based on the research strengths of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
• Develop critical insight and intellectual synthesis
• Create a rich and varied learning environment
• Provide training and support for the development of cognitive, practical, transferrable and personal development skills
• Provide opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and development
• Introduce students to the latest findings in particular research areas
• Facilitate collegiality
• Increase the use of the Surrey virtual learning environment, SurreyLearn, to enhance student learning
• Facilitate progress to further postgraduate study, preferably within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
• Prepare students for lifelong learning

Assessment will be through coursework, formal examinations and a research project dissertation. The coursework may include: the critical review of a subject, topic or question; the critical review of a scientific paper; practical reports; verbal and written presentations.

The programme will be mainly taught by full-time staff from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FHMS), both in the Institute of Biosciences and Medicine, and the School of Health and Social Care, with clinical input largely from associate staff at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and invited guest lecturers.

This approach has been used on the previous MSc in Clinical Biochemistry, although we have addressed the balance of University staff and external lecturers in order to facilitate continuity within modules and enhance student–staff interactions, such as feedback.

The Programme Directors are Dr Alfred Thumser (Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, FHMS) and Dr Callum Livingstone (Royal Surrey County Hospital, and Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, FHMS). Dr Thumser will be responsible for the academic content of the programme, while Dr Livingstone will be the clinical liaison.

The MSc in Health and Clinical Sciences is a replacement for the highly successful MSc programme in Clinical Biochemistry taught by the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences until September 2012. With the NHS reviewing and changing its training for healthcare scientists under the Modernising Scientific Careers agenda, we saw the need to replace the MSc Clinical Biochemistry with a new programme.

You will benefit, therefore, from a programme that has been created specifically to meet the needs of students outside the NHS, with the advantage of the expertise and reputation that we have built up through running the MSc in Clinical Biochemistry. We have also been able to learn from student feedback on the previous programme.

Academic and personal development remains an important tenet to the programme’s delivery. We expect the student cohort to have a heterogeneous cultural and academic background, and the programme has been designed to take this into account and benefit from this diversity.

The homogeneity of the teaching programme will be enhanced by using FHMS staff for the most part, including all module co-ordinators, with external teaching as required, especially in terms of the clinical content.

The aim of the Department is to study biological processes in animals and man at the biochemical and molecular level. We contribute to the Faculty's teaching programmes in biochemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, biomedical sciences, neuroscience and biological sciences, and at the undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) level. The Department is also engaged in research that uses biochemical and molecular techniques to investigate problems relating to human health and safety.

Members of staff contribute to research in the following cross-faculty themes:

• Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Metabolism
• Drug Design, Cancer and Toxicity
• Materials and Nanobiology
• Sleep, Chronobiology and Neurodisorders

The Department also collaborates with many partners through the Centre for Toxicology, Stockgrand and the Surrey Sleep Research Centre. Further information is available on the Department’s research web pages.

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/biochemistry/research/