Welcome to the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Welcome to your Postgraduate Taught Programme in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester. The University has a worldwide reputation based on high quality teaching and research, and I am sure that your taught programme will provide a solid foundation for your future career success.
Within the Faculty, our goal is to create an environment that allows you to excel and reach your full potential. Offering access to first-class facilities and strong links with regional health-service providers, our postgraduate taught programmes are designed to meet the diverse needs of all our students. The curriculum of our taught programmes provides the knowledge and skills you will need in your subject area and all our Masters programmes include an opportunity to carry out an independent research project on topics spanning all areas of biomedical research from molecular to experimental biology and clinical medicine. While subject areas cover a broad range, all our taught programmes have two common aims:
- To develop your skills in your chosen field of study
- To enhance your knowledge within the field you have chosen. Whether you are a graduate, professional or have a clinical background, the programmes have been tailored to meet your specific needs.
As a student of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health you will be expected to take responsibility for your degree, within a supportive environment that fosters your development and helps prepare you for your future career. This handbook will be a useful resource as you progress through your taught programme. It provides programme specific information that I am sure that you will find helpful throughout your study. If however, you have questions or would like some further advice, please do not hesitate to contact the people listed in this handbook for further information and assistance.
I wish you every success as you embark upon your taught programme, and in your future career.
Professor Phil Padfield
Associate Dean for Postgraduate Taught Education
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Key Dates and Deadlines
Information on individual programme timetables can be found in the Programme Specific Information section of this handbook.
Please note that some optional course units may be scheduled outside of normal semester time. It is strongly recommended that holidays taken during the summer and/or at other times are arranged after discussion with your project supervisor/PGT Advisor, taking full account of the availability of research staff and equipment and of the timetabling of course units.
First Semester:
Monday 19th September 2016 - Friday 27th January 2017
Welcome Week events: Monday 19th to Friday 23rd September 2016
Lectures begin: Monday 26th September 2016
Christmas Break:
Saturday 17th December 2016 - Sunday 15th January 2017
Second Semester:
Monday 30th January 2017 - Friday 9th June 2017
Easter Break:
Saturday 1st April 2017 - Sunday 23rd April 2017
Examination Results publication dates:
Thursday 24th February 2017 - Semester 1 results
TBC May 2017 – Semester 2 results
TBC November 2017-Publication of Final results
Examination Periods:
16th – 27th January 2017 (semester 1 exams)
18th May - 7th June 2017 (semester 2 exams)
July (referral exams)
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) Compulsory Health & Safety Training
Health & Safety training for all new postgraduate students based in the MIB will take place on dates below:
The induction session is compulsory for all new students.
The other courses (biological and chemical safety) are COMPULSORY for all new students planning to work in the MIB labs – failure to attend the complete course will result in the students not being permitted to work in the MIB labs
All sessions will be held in the MIB lecture theatre.
Please book a place on the course, to do so you must logon to the Training Catalogue using your central University username and password: https://app.manchester.ac.uk/training/default.aspx if you cannot book via the link, please email tanya.aspinall@manchester.ac.uk to notify her of the issue and go to the session without booking.
Examination Timetables
A personalised copy of your examination timetable will be provided shortly before the relevant examination period and you will receive a communication from the University in December and April informing you of how to obtain your personalised exam timetable. It is your responsibility to:
- check that there are no timetable clashes between any of your examinations (there should not be any if you have kept your registration up-to-date).
- ensure that you know when and where a particular examination will take place.
Misreading of the timetable or failure to locate an examination room is not a valid excuse for absence from an examination. As examinations may be held in a huge variety of locations, some of which are off campus, you are urged to check very carefully before the day in question that you know exactly where and when each exam will be. Campus maps and advice about locations can be sought from the Student Support Office.
Closely spaced examinations (e.g. 2 per day on consecutive days) may occur for many students and would not be considered grounds for applying for mitigation against poor performance.
If you have any queries regarding your timetable, please seek advice from either the Student Support Office, or the Student Services Centre.
If you are required to take August/September examinations, a personalised copy of your examination timetable will be provided shortly before the examination period (see provisional dates at front of handbook). It will not be possible to find out the exact date of the exam before this and the School does not control the scheduling of examinations.
Examinations and religious observance
The University will make every effort to avoid timetabling assessments on religious days or festivals for those students whose commitment to the observance of their faith would otherwise cause them to miss the assessment. If this may affect you, you must fill in an ‘Examination and Religious Observance form’ from the Student Services Centre. More information is available at http://www.exams.manchester.ac.uk/exam-timetable/#religious-observance.
Student Charter
One of the University’s three core goals is “To provide a superb higher education and learning experience to outstanding students, irrespective of their backgrounds, and to produce graduates distinguished by their intellectual capabilities, employability, leadership qualities, and their ability and ambition to contribute to society” (from the University of Manchester Strategic Vision 2020).
Our Student Charter, developed jointly by the University and the Students’ Union, is an important part of how we establish and maintain clear mutual expectations for the experience of all students: undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research. It sets out what we can expect from each other as partners in a learning community.
The Charter provides an overview of the Manchester experience and refers to regulations, policies and procedures.
To access the Charter please go to: http://www.yoursay.manchester.ac.uk/student-charter/
Service level agreement for the Student Support Office
Communication
When fully staffed and for at least 95% of cases the following performance standards will be met:
- Respond to all emails within 2 working days. Where this will not be possible, for example, Welcome Week, students and staff will be notified by an automatic reply of the estimated response time if it differs from the normal service level agreement.
- Activate auto-replies when staff are out of the office providing an alternative contact for any urgent queries (this includes staff who work part-time)
- Answer the telephone within 4 rings where possible
- Pick up colleagues phones when they are away from their desk including when they are out of the office/on annual leave
- Set up voicemail messages only when colleagues cannot answer telephones.
- When the Student Support Reception is busy two members of the Education Team will cover it. e.g. Welcome Week
- Reception will be manned continuously between the hours of 0830 and 1700.
Administration of the School of Biological Sciences
The School of Biological Sciences forms part of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH).
Although your main contacts in the School will be your Academic Advisor (see Section Academic Advisors) and Programme Director (see Section Programme Directors and where to find them (Undergraduate) (Postgraduate Taught)), some aspects of your course will be dealt with by the Student Support Office (see below) within the School. Management of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biological Sciences is the responsibility of the Education Management Team.
Your official contacts in the School
Student Support Office - Opening hours: 08.30 - 17.00 Monday to Friday
Room G.483 Stopford Building
Email: studentsupportoffice.sbs@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2751487
Fax number: 0161 2751488
Director of Undergraduate Studies- Dr Nicky High
Room G.554 Stopford Building
Email: nicky.high@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755749
Deputy Directors of Undergraduate Studies – School of Biological Sciences
Dr Donald Ward
Room A.1025 Michael Smith Building
Email: d.ward@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 275 5459
Dr David Boam
Room 1.205 Stopford Building
Email: dave.boam@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755105
Senior Advisor - Dr Tracey Speake
Room 1.104 Stopford Building
Email: tracey.speake@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755693
Deputy Senior Advisor - Dr Richard Prince
Room 1.100 Stopford Building
Email: richard.prince@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755469
In addition, the following academic roles support the School:
Head of School – Biological Sciences - Professor Jane Worthington
Writing Fellows
The School has three ‘Writing Fellows’ Susan Barker, Amanda Dalton and Tania Hershman, who are funded by The Royal Literary Fund.
The Writing Fellows provide students with free and confidential one-to-one advice on effective writing, including writing essays, lab reports, literature reviews or other coursework, Students can make an appointment during term-time with one of the Fellows by emailing them directly. Their availability and contact details are listed below:
| Writing Fellow | Availability | Contact details |
| Amanda Dalton | Mondays & Tuesdays | amanda.dalton@manchester.ac.uk |
| Tania Hershman | Wednesdays | tania.hershman@manchester.ac.uk |
| Susan Barker | Thursdays & Fridays | susan.barker@manchester.ac.uk |
Programme Directors and where to find them
| Programme | Programme Director |
| Bioinformatics and Systems Biology | Dr. Jean-Marc Schwartz |
| History of Science, Technology and Medicine | Dr. James Sumner |
| Science Communication | Dr. David Kirby |
| Immunology & Immunogenetics (DL) | Dr. Kathleen Nolan |
| Biotechnology and Enterprise | Dr. Anil Day |
| Biological Sciences | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Integrative Biology | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Developmental Biology | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Cell Biology | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Plant Science | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Biochemistry | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Cancer Research and Molecular Biomedicine | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
| Neuroscience | Prof. Ingo Schiessl |
Where to find people and places
There are maps showing room numbers posted in various corridors around the buildings
you are likely to use.
Finding rooms may be difficult at first and if time is short, it is usually quicker to ask the staff at the reception desks found at the front of most buildings. However, here are some guidelines:
Staff may have offices in the Michael Smith Building, the Core Technology Facility, the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the Stopford Building, AV Hill Building or Simon Building.
In the Stopford Building
- The first number or letter (G., 1., 2., 3.) indicates the floor. G = ground level.
- The second shows how far back in the Stopford building you need to go.
- The final two figures indicate approximately the position across the Stopford building.
- Lecture theatres are listed as T or LT, followed by a number e.g., LT1 stands for Lecture Theatre 1.
- Practical labs in Stopford are “multi user labs” – MUL 1 is on the first floor, MUL 2 is on the second.
- There are 3 computer clusters for student use on the ground floor: Stopford PC Clusters 1-3
To gain access to these buildings, you must first report to the Reception desk in that building.
Sometimes you will find the room you want inside another one. You will discover which ones by experience! During the free time in Welcome Week it would be wise to visit all of the locations for lectures, tutorials and practicals you are expecting to attend for the rest of the semester so that you feel confident about locating them in the short time between timetabled periods (sometimes less than 10 minutes).
You can find campus maps at http://www.explore.manchester.ac.uk/campus/
Communication – email/mail/announcements/texts
The Student Support Office is open 08.30 -17.00 Monday to Friday and should be your first stop for queries relating to your programme and general student support. Occasionally the opening times may vary, but we will inform you of this via the email announcement service (see below).
Effective communication between you, the staff of the School and the central administration of the University is vital. There will be many important official notices (including those on timetables, examinations and course assessment marks) for you to read and act upon during the year. There are three important channels of communication: electronic (email via your University email account,
announcements, the intranet, text messages nd Blackboard); paper (e.g. letters to your postal address); verbal (e.g. announcements in lectures and practicals).
Electronic communication: as part of registration you will be provided with a University email address and will be given a username and password. You must not pass on your username or password to anyone else and must not divulge email addresses of fellow students or staff to anyone else without their permission.
Verbal communication: staff may occasionally make verbal announcements in lectures and practicals that do not appear in any other fashion, so if you are late, or unable to attend something, be sure to check with a fellow student or the staff member concerned that you did not miss an important announcement. This is especially important for practical work; as if you are late you may miss health and safety announcements and may be denied entry to the lab.
Email and the Faculty Intranet Announcement Service are the standard methods used to communicate with students so you must ensure that you check your University email messages (including "Announcements" emails) on a regular and frequent basis - at least once a day. If you do not regularly check your email, your inbox may become full and important messages will not then get through to you.
Failure to respond to notices and mail means that you may miss lectures, tutorials or meetings, or it may even cost you money (e.g. library fines).
Email will be the main medium for communication with academic staff, including your Advisor. You will find their addresses in the email address books on the University network and on the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) Intranet.
PLEASE NOTE: email communication will only occur via your University email address and staff will not use or respond to any other email address except in very exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, you should not autoforward University email to a personal email address. Once personal email folders are full, new messages are deleted.
Text Messages: The School will endeavour to send any urgent messages that require immediate notification (such as cancellation of a lecture) via SMS text message to your mobile phone. To ensure that you receive these message you must ensure that your personal details held by the University are updated with any changes to your mobile phone number. If you do not wish to receive urgent messages in this format, please contact the Student Support Office.
MyManchester: My Manchester is a personalised online space for current students, which provides easy access to learning resources, services, student support and information, all in one place.
If your personal details change (term-time or home postal addresses, phone numbers, etc.) you must update your student record promptly or notify the Student Support Office if you are unable to make the changes via MyManchester. It is also your responsibility to ensure that your programme and unit information are correct and to notify the Student Support Office if changes are required. Any difficulties obtaining emails should be reported to IT Services - http://www.itservices.manchester.ac.uk/help/.
Health and Safety
The work that you do this year will require knowledge of and conformity with health and safety rules. It is consequently important for you to gain a wide understanding of the legal and practical requirements for working safely.
The University of Manchester is subject to British and European Community law on health and safety. The University has therefore, a duty to formulate health and safety policies and to promote these. From time to time the University issues its updated “Health and Safety Policy Statement”, as well as Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes. Following the requirements stipulated in the latter, the School of Biological Sciences is required to devise regulations that are suited to its work. These regulations apply to staff, students and visitors to the Faculty. Similar obligations and procedures apply to all employers in the UK, so that preparation and familiarity gained now could stand you in good stead for future employment. Please see the Health and Safety pages on the Faculty intranet.
An important set of regulations that require close attention are those that relate to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health; the COSHH Regulations. Everyone is required by these regulations to make an assessment of the risks that might arise during the storage or use of the substances that they use in their work. You must ensure that no one will be adversely affected as a consequence of the decisions that you make. During first year undergraduate practicals you will find that all risks will have been assessed for you by the practical coordinators (for specific risks relating to individual practical classes) and by the Teaching Laboratory Technicians (for COSHH also known as single substance risk assessments). Bear in mind that the term substance covers a wide range in relation to risk - biological as well as chemical. See https://app.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/hs/coshhdocuments.aspx.
It should be understood that these rules are not designed to prevent potentially hazardous work from taking place, but that they are designed to make sure that the work is done safely. This means that substances that might be hazardous to health can continue to be used when due precautions are taken by those engaged in the work. You are thus obliged to take these things into account yourself. You are entitled to expect that due care has been taken by those responsible for supervising your work, but it is important to remember that your willing co-operation for the implementation of safety measures is required. It is thus reasonable to expect that, so far as is reasonably practicable, you prepare in advance for the work that you will undertake. You are required to take notice of the relevant safety information provided at the start of each practical laboratory class and to wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In all cases this will consist of a white laboratory coat and goggles that must be worn for the full duration of all ‘wet’ practicals. Other items of PPE will be made available as appropriate e.g. gloves. You are required to keep the use of all personal items to a minimum in the laboratory in line with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). This includes mobile phones and other electronic devices. If digital devices are required then iPads will be provided, which are fully disinfected between classes and do not get used outside of the laboratory to minimise the risk of contamination to other users.
The first stage in the COSHH process is called risk assessment. You are required to refer to published information and, where appropriate, to ask for advice when carrying out this assessment. Manufacturers and suppliers are legally obliged to provide written information about the storage and use of substances. The range of examples to be considered is large, so that each individual substance must be considered, both alone and in conjunction with other substances to be found adjacently e.g. the same cupboard or in a mixture. The fact that a substance is within a container may not provide sufficient protection in all the circumstances that might arise, i.e. you are required to anticipate what could happen in the event of an accident. Flammability is one example of the information to be provided but you would also need to know if a substance became hazardous or more hazardous upon heating (physically and/or chemically): i.e. would it become explosive; how it might react in combination with other things? Then, what safety precautions and remedies must be provided?
The next stage is to decide how and in what circumstances a substance might be used safely, even if there is a risk. If there is a risk or the consequences of an accident could be serious, it would be necessary to consider the use of a satisfactory substitute. Someone in authority must decide this.
The principles of risk assessment cover all forms of activity in the place of work, and every activity should be assessed before you start work. A person in authority will normally have carried out this assessment on your behalf, and it is important to adhere to the protocol you have been given. You must be familiar with the contents of the relevant Risk Assessment before you start any form of work, and you must not make any changes to work procedures without the permission of your supervisor. Risk Assessments for most common procedures can be found at on the Faculty intranet.
Finally, a decision has to be made by a person in authority, e.g. your supervisor; about who should do the work and in what circumstances should the work be done. You can expect to be informed about any particular hazards and methods that apply in a laboratory, so please take note during the safety briefing at the start of any practical class. Please note that if you are pregnant or breastfeeding you should inform the relevant member of academic staff (e.g. Practical Unit Coordinator or Supervisor) immediately, so that an individual risk assessment can be undertaken. Please be assured that your confidentiality will be maintained and the outcome of the risk assessment will be handled with discretion.
Out of hours working
You may need to work out of hours on occasion in the evening or at weekends. If this is the case you should first consult your supervisor since any out of hours working occurs at their discretion. In addition you should inform your supervisor of your intended experiments and the approximate times you will be in the laboratory and make sure that you have signed appropriate risk assessment forms.
Data Protection
Data Protection Policy
The full university data protection policy is available on the University website. It is advised that all students read this policy. (http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=14914)
Conduct and Discipline
The Conduct and Discipline of Students, Regulation XVII not only covers academic malpractice/plagiarism (see section Plagiarism, collusion and other forms of academic malpractice) but also behaviour and actions.
General University information on the conduct and discipline of students can be found at www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/appeals-complaints/conductanddisciplineofstudents/.
The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) has its own policies for students on communication and dress code, social networking, and drugs and alcohol. Policy documents can be accessed below.
Information on Academic Malpractice and how to avoid it can be found at http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/guidance-to-students-on-plagiarism-and-other-forms-of-academic-malpractice/
If you find yourself the subject of a disciplinary procedure you are strongly advised to take advice from the Students Union.
If the allegation relates to an incidence which occurred in a Hall of Residence, then you should consult the Code of Conduct for living in Halls of Residence which can be found in the Residences Guide.
Once you have been through the full process within the University, if you remain dissatisfied, you may be entitled to take your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
Human subjects and animal tissues
The life sciences are observational and experimental sciences concerned with living systems. Therefore, some of the projects may require the use of invertebrates or tissues or cell components from vertebrates, including humans. If you have any reservations about participation in projects using animals or their tissues, you should discuss them with you Programme Director before registration.
Safeguarding your work
You must ensure that you back up your work on a regular basis to safeguard against loss, machine failure or theft. In addition to saving your work regularly to the secure University system in your ‘my documents/P: drive’ (for further information on P:drives please refer to the IT Services website.), you should back up your work on an external hard drive, USB memory stick, cloud storage, etc. (which you are advised to keep secure and separate from your computer). Do not save your work on the hard disc of Stopford PC cluster or other networked computers. Loss of data (i.e. your work) will not be accepted as a valid reason for extension requests or for late submission of work as this is deemed to be a preventable occurrence.
Do you need more space to save your files?
As academic submission deadlines approach, you may find that you need additional space in your "My Documents" area. Should you find that this is the case then please contact the IT Service Desk.
NOTE: Access to "My Documents" will cease when you leave the University.
Finance
Information on financial registration can be found at http://www.welcome.manchester.ac.uk/get-ready/registration/10-steps/.
a) Payment of Tuition Fees
Students must be able to demonstrate at the start of the academic year that they are able to pay their tuition fees. This will either be in the form of a posting via the School to the student records system if you are funded by a Research Council or, in the case of self-funded or externally sponsored students, you will be required to guarantee that ALL FEES will be paid in respect of that academic year.
b) Financial Registration (for students with Research Council Funding)
Some students will receive a maintenance payment from a Master's Training Grant (MTG). These are funds received from the UK Research Council and administered by the School in accordance with Research Council Terms and Conditions.
Students who are eligible for a Research Council payment will be required to enter their bank account details as part of financial registration. This will enable payments to be made directly into your bank account (BACS). Please contact the Student Support Office as soon as possible if you are expecting an award but the details do not appear on our self-service registration screens.
Payments will be made monthly, in advance and will always be subject to satisfactory academic progression. The School can stop a payment at any time if satisfactory progress is not being made or if there are attendance issues.
The Student Support Office works closely with the School Finance Office and the Student Services Centre to ensure that tuition fees are correct and maintenance payments are made on time.
Students in receipt of a Research Council award must inform the Student Support Office if they are absent for more than two weeks for reasons other than normal holidays. Payments may be stopped without prior notice for periods of unauthorised absence, periods of non-approved interruption or in cases where a student withdraws from their programme of study. If an interruption is necessary, this will be arranged with the funding body on your behalf via the Student Support Office. The School will seek to reclaim any overpayment made to any student where the student has been deemed to have received payments that they are not entitled to.
c) Debtors
Students who have outstanding debt at the end of their academic programme may not be permitted to graduate and may not receive their degree certificate.