Mission Statement
"We shall be excellent in delivering learning and teaching, in undertaking research and commercialisation, in promoting research and scholarship, and in governance and management. The University of Aberdeen will be accessible and inclusive."
Introduction
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY!
The Catalogue of Courses is a companion volume to the Aberdeen University Calendar. It contains details of all postgraduate courses taught in the University. These courses have been organised to fit a flexible, modular teaching structure which is arranged in half-sessions. Most courses are of one half-session's duration, involving twelve teaching weeks followed by an examination period, although some courses are shorter or longer. The Catalogue should be read in conjunction with the degree regulations and degree prescriptions which are published in the University Calendar.
Course Format:
In the Catalogue, all courses have been listed using a common format. Each course appears under the general heading of the department or subject group by which it is taught. The format used for each course is as follows:
Code – Course Title – Credit Points
Credit Point: the outcome of learning achieved by an average student through 10 notional hours of learning time.
Course co-ordinator: the member of staff responsible for organising the course.
Pre-requisite(s): for entry to the course.
Co-requisite(s): where appropriate.
Note: of particular circumstances or conditions attached to the course.
Course Description: an indication of the topics covered by the course.
Teaching Arrangements: the duration and nature of the teaching contact for the course.
Occasionally, times for some courses are given by Threads 1 and 11 or Slots A to F. These refer to the following divisions of the teaching week:
THREAD 1 |
||
Mon 9-1 |
Wed 11-1 |
SLOT A |
Thu 9-1 |
Thu 4-6 |
SLOT E |
Thu 2-4 |
Fri 9-1 |
SLOT F |
THREAD 11 |
||
Mon 2-6 |
Wed 9-11 |
SLOT B |
Tue 9-11 |
Tue 2-6 |
SLOT C |
Tue 11-1 |
Fri 2-6 |
SLOT D |
The fact that a course is shown as falling within a particular Thread or Slot does not necessarily mean that teaching for it will occupy all the hours within the period concerned. Further details on teaching arrangements and times may be obtained from the school/discipline concerned.
Method of Assessment: the arrangements for examinations and continuous or other assessment.
In this section information on the Degree Examination relating to the course is shown first, followed by details of any continuous assessment and/or other assessment methods which will be used in the formal assessment of student performance in the course. The weighting given to such methods in the overall assessment of the course is indicated in brackets e.g. 1 two hour examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%). Some courses may be assessed wholly by formal examination or wholly by continuous assessment.
The University Year
The University Year (53 weeks) runs from July to July. A copy of the University Term Dates can be found below. Normally, first half-session courses begin in Week 12 (week commencing 29 September 2008). Second half-session courses begin in Week 30 (week commencing 2 February 2009). For students beginning a taught Master’s programme in September, the project/dissertation part of the degree programme will normally be undertaken during the summer.
Guidance on Course Codes:
Each course is allocated a code which consists of two letters, two numbers and two further characters (usually two further numbers, although sometimes letters are used).
The first two letters represent the discipline or subject group responsible for teaching the course.
The first numerical digit indicates the level at which a course is normally taught.
The second digit indicates the point in the session at which a course starts, according to the following list:
Courses beginning in Timetable week: |
Code digit: |
12 |
0 |
15 |
2 |
18 |
3 |
21 |
4 |
30 |
5 |
33 |
7 |
36 |
8 |
38 |
9 |
Students should note that the codes 0 and 5 (weeks 12 and 30) represent the beginning of the first and second half-session respectively.. Unless otherwise stated, courses will conclude by the end of the half-session in which they begin. Where a course has two codes this will normally indicate that the course can be offered in either half-session e.g DR 5050/Dr 5550,..
The final two characters are normally only used to differentiate courses and have no particular meaning.
University Calendar of Dates
Week 1 |
14 July – 18 July 2008 |
|
Week 2 |
21 July – 25 July 2008 |
|
Week 3 |
28 July – 1 August 2008 |
4yr Medical Registration |
Week 4 |
4 August – 8 August 2008 |
|
Week 5 |
11 August – 15 August 2008 |
August Resits |
Week 6 |
18 August – 22 August 2008 |
August Resits |
Week 7 |
25 August – 29 August 2008 |
|
Week 8 |
1 September – 5 September 2008 |
5yr Medical Registration/PGDE Registration |
Week 9 |
08 September – 12 September 2008 |
|
Week 10 |
15 September – 19 September 2008 |
3yr Medical Registration |
Week 11 |
22 September – 26 September 2008 |
Advising Week |
Week 12 |
29 September – 3 October 2008 |
Commencement of Teaching 1ST HALF SESS |
Week 13 |
6 October – 10 October 2008 |
|
Week 14 |
13 October – 17 October 2008 |
|
Week 15 |
20 October – 24 October 2008 |
|
Week 16 |
27 October – 31October 2008 |
|
Week 17 |
3 November – 07 November 2008 |
|
Week 18 |
10 November – 14 November 2008 |
|
Week 19 |
17 November – 21 November 2008 |
|
Week 20 |
24 November – 28 November 2008 |
|
Week 21 |
1 December – 5 December 2008 |
|
Week 22 |
8 December – 12 December 2008 |
|
Week 23 |
15 December – 19 December 2008 |
|
Week 24 |
22 December – 26 December 2008 |
Christmas Vacation |
Week 25 |
29 December – 2 January 2009 |
Christmas Vacation |
Week 26 |
5 January – 09 January 2009 |
Christmas Vacation |
Week 27 |
12 January – 16 January 2009 |
Revision Week |
Week 28 |
19 January – 23 January 2009 |
Exam Week |
Week 29 |
26 January – 30 January 2009 |
Exam Week |
Week 30 |
2 February – 06 February 2009 |
Commencement of Teaching 2ND HALF SESS |
Week 31 |
9 February – 13 February 2009 |
|
Week 32 |
16 February – 20 February 2009 |
|
Week 33 |
23 February – 27 February2009 |
|
Week 34 |
2 March – 6 March 2009 |
|
Week 35 |
9 March – 13 March 2009 |
|
Week 36 |
16 March – 20 March 2009 |
|
Week 37 |
23 March – 27 March 2009 |
|
Week 38 |
30 March – 3 April 2009 |
Easter Vacation |
Week 39 |
6 April – 10 April 2009 |
Easter Vacation |
Week 40 |
13 April – 17 April 2009 |
Easter Vacation |
Week 41 |
20 April – 24 April 2009 |
|
Week 42 |
27April – 1 May 2009 |
|
Week 43 |
4 May – 08 May 2009 |
|
Week 44 |
11 May – 15 May 2009 |
|
Week 45 |
18 May – 22 May 2009 |
Revision Week |
Week 46 |
25 May – 29 May 2009 |
Exam Week |
Week 47 |
1 June – 5 June 2009 |
Exam Week |
Week 48 |
08 June – 12 June 2009 |
Exam Week / End of Session |
Week 49 |
15 June – 19 June 2009 |
|
Week 50 |
22 June –26 June 2009 |
|
Week 51 |
29 June – 3 July 2009 |
|
Week 52 |
06 July – 10 July 2009 |
Graduation Week |
Degree Structure
The University Calendar contains the regulations for all degrees and other awards and the schedule of prescribed courses that must be taken for each programme. In addition to studying these courses, students must also comply with the overall credit requirement for each programme.
A Postgraduate Certificate requires the accumulation of 60 credit points, including at least 40 at level 5; a Postgraduate Diploma requires the accumulation of 120 credit points, including at least 90 at level 5; a Master’s degree requires the accumulation of 180 credit points, including at least 150 at level 5.
Entry to a Course:
For entry to a course, students must possess the pre-requisite and satisfy the co-requisite (if any) as they are stated in the Catalogue of Courses. In some cases, students who do not satisfy the pre-requisite and/or co-requisite may be admitted to courses at the discretion of the Head of the School concerned.
Students who may wish to enter a course for which they do not have the stated pre-requisite (or for which they will not satisfy the co-requisite) are advised to seek the permission of the appropriate Head of School at the earliest opportunity and certainly before the commencement of teaching for that course.
Students will not be admitted to any course after 25% of teaching for that course has been completed, although some Schools may set earlier limits where in their academic judgement this is desirable.
European Credit Transfer System (ECTS):
The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credit weighting of courses is half the number of Aberdeen University Credit Points stated in the Catalogue.
Contact Details:
Any comments on the format and/or content of this Catalogue will be welcomed and may be directed to
Registry
University Office
King's College
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX
Email: postgraduate@abdn.ac.uk
Further information on taught postgraduate study at the University of Aberdeen can be found in the Code of Practice for Postgraduate Taught Students, which is available on the University’s website at the following address:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x3.pdf
Taught Postgraduate Students should also consult their School/Discipline website.