Learning and teaching

Throughout the programme, you benefit from a careful blend of innovative and traditional teaching methods employed by both the Medical School and Biosciences. A variety of stimulating, cutting-edge resources are also available to support your learning.

Small group sessions

Expert-facilitated small group learning sessions promote your critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, interpersonal and lifelong learning skills. These sessions employ triggers, such as clinical case studies or recent news-making clinical science breakthroughs, to prompt your own and your group’s acquisition, appraisal and integration of new and clinically-relevant scientific knowledge.

Lectures and seminars

Large group lectures and cutting-edge research seminars are delivered by academics as well as external speakers. Lectures may contain students from a variety of different programmes for which the lecture content is relevant.

Life Sciences Resource Centre

A rich variety of state-of-the-art technology-enhanced resources are available to support your learning of human biomedical science principles including anatomical models, multimedia and IT resources, and a well-stocked library.

Clinical Skills Resource Centre

You will work with the specialist equipment available in this facility to consolidate your understanding of human physiology and train you in key practical clinical research techniques and patient communication skills. You will have access to state-of-the-art simulated patient mannequins and other equipment which you would find in a clinical environment.

Practical laboratory sessions

You will develop your wet-laboratory skills in the Biosciences teaching laboratory on the Streatham Campus, which is equipped with the best available instruments for observational, experimental and numerical aspects of biosciences including a range of biochemical, molecular, physiological and electronic apparatus. Computer-based practical sessions are held in the IT suite on the St Luke’s Campus. Helpful and friendly technicians and demonstrators are always available during practical sessions to ensure that you get the most out of your training sessions.

Online learning

Resources such as electronic journals, study guides, interactive online learning materials of various science disciplines, formative online assessments and discussion forums in various open, private, academic and social contexts are available.

Assessment

Regular assessment is used to help provide you with frequent feedback, enabling you to identify your strengths, as well as areas for improvement. Feedback is provided in a number of different ways including online written feedback and self, peer, tutor or small group feedback. Assessment formats include multiple-choice tests, essays, structured practical exams, reflective essays, oral and poster presentations, scientific report writing, short-answer question tests and independent project work.

Assessment in the early stages of the degree tends to be more knowledge-based to ensure a strong and broad grounding in the subject area, with some opportunities for essay writing and critical analysis. Assessment in the later degree stages tends to assess your critical appraisal skills, depth of understanding and your ability to think independently. Some assessments take place in groups, focussing on the team product or how well you lead your team to complete a task. A variety of assessment methods are employed across the programme, each aligned to the intended learning outcomes of the modules. These include multiple choice tests, reports and essays, and presentations.

Support for your learning

Academic support

All students are assigned a Personal Tutor by the Medical School for the three or four years of the programme. Your Personal Tutor is responsible for monitoring and supporting your academic progress and offers support and guidance in remediation, module choice advice and career development via the Personal Development Planning programme.

In addition, you’ll be assigned a Programme Advisor from Biosciences who will provide you with extra academic support for Biosciences modules.

You will benefit from student representation in both the Medical School’s Student Parliament and the Biosciences’ Staff-Student Liaison Committee. These organisations enable student opinions and interests to be recognised, and provide an effective channel for formal communications between students and academic, clinical and administrative staff.

Wellbeing

We offer a friendly and supportive environment from your first day with us. Our Pastoral Tutor team can provide assistance with non-academic issues and the University also provides extensive wellbeing support through a range of services including counselling services, advice units, chaplaincy, childcare facilities and student health centres. Read further information about wellbeing.