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Advanced Research Project (York) - CHE00052M

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  • Department: Chemistry
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. John Moore
  • Credit value: 80 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24
  • Notes: This is an independent study module

Module summary

The Advanced Research Project module runs throughout both semesters of year-4. All MChem students (together with MSci students specialising in Chemistry) must complete an Advanced Research Project based in industry, abroad or in York.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2024-25 to Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

The advanced research project is designed to improve and develop your skills for independent research and to introduce you to some of the advanced experimental methods you can expect to use when working in an industrial or academic research laboratory. You will interact with more senior researchers, and improve your scientific communication skills.

Module learning outcomes

Students will be able to

  • follow laboratory, computational or theoretical operating procedures accurately and confidently to generate experimental, computational or theoretical results efficiently;
  • produce results with high accuracy and precision and avoid having to repeat experiments due to mistakes or foreseeable errors;
  • make personal and incisive contributions to project work and demonstrate leadership in managing project activities;
  • propose and execute original experiments and work increasingly independently as the project develops, overcoming difficulties encountered during the project
  • plan and implement a research project over both short and long term, monitoring progress against agreed research plans and meet deadlines and coordinating access to experimental facilities as necessary;
  • demonstrate an awareness of safety issues and comply with risk assessments, as appropriate for the project;
  • observe and record gross and fine detail of experiments, computational or theoretical work, keeping a clear and detailed lab book or electronic equivalent and comply with data management procedures;
  • write a project report that presents the results of their project clearly through well written English and the use of appropriate figures;
  • provide the necessary background and literature context for the project through a brief introduction that sets out the aims of the project in a clear, concise manner;
  • write a logical and well-argued discussion of the project results that is truly critical and places the results obtained in the context of the literature, via the use of appropriate citations;
  • write a clear and comprehensive experimental section in the manner appropriate to the type of project undertaken and use correct nomenclature, style and units throughout the report;
  • write a well-argued conclusion that is clear, informative and concise and puts the results in the context of the literature.

Module content

Project Details

This is an 80-credit module, which runs over both semesters of Year 4. Early in semester 7, training will be provided in the form of:

  • A project planning and management course
  • A project planning session,where you and your supervisor will draw up a plan for the project, including timings, objectives and deliverables.
  • A safety course.

Your time should be broken down roughly as follows:-

Time spent preparing report: 130 h

Project training session 3 h

Time on project: 620 h

Private Study 47 h

Total 800 h

Project Assessment

Project marks are broken down as follows:

% Marks

Project (80 credits)

Project execution

 40

Project report

60

See year-4 handbook for details of marking guidelines.

If you wish to graduate with one of these three specific degree titles (Chemistry, Green Principles and Sustainable Processes; Chemistry, the Atmosphere and the Environment; Chemistry, Biological and Medicinal Chemistry) then your research project must be undertaken in this area.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Project report		 N/A 60
Practical
Project execution		 N/A 40

Special assessment rules

Non-reassessable

Additional assessment information

Reassessment - Report component only of the project is reassessable. This component will count for 100% in terms of reassessment but students should only take the reassessment if they have passed the non-reassessable (project execution) component.

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Project Report		 N/A 100

Module feedback

The project supervisor(s) will give feedback on an interim project report, to be submitted early in semester 2 (see year-4 handbook). Progress of the project can be discussed with the project supervisor throughout the year.

Feedback will be provided regarding the final project report upon completion of the module.

Indicative reading

Research articles, depending on individual project.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.