Staff Contacts | Diary Dates | Induction Day
Course Structures | Module Codes | Choosing Modules
Projects (CHEM480) | Assessment | Careers or further study? | FAQs
What to do if you have to miss classes or an exam | ... you are having difficulties
It may be useful to be aware of the members of staff with specific responsibilities for Year 4 MChem students. There is a more complete list of Staff on the Departmental Website (http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/Chemistry/). Don't forget that you are also always welcome to contact the Chemistry Support Office (chemso@liverpool.ac.uk).
Your Academic Advisor. Engagement with your Academic Adviser (including meetings by appointment or through scheduled drop-in times) is one ‘pillar’ within the newly developed four pillar “Student Success Framework” that also includes Student Experience Teams (including the Chemistry Support Office), Peer Mentors, and yourselves. The role of Academic Advisor focuses on supporting your academic journey, offering guidance and support as you progress through your programme of study. Remember that the name of your Academic Advisor is listed in Liverpool Life.
Dr David L. Cooper (dlc@liverpool.ac.uk, Room M06 Donnan Labs) is Coordinator for all Year 3 and Year 4 students studying at UoL on BSc and MChem programmes. He can provide additional advice, e.g. if you are having problems with the course.
Dr Frédéric Blanc (Frederic.Blanc@liverpool.ac.uk) is in charge of the Year 4 projects (CHEM480) for MChem students.
Dr Christophe Aïssa (chemexam@liverpool.ac.uk, Room 117 Donnan Labs) deals with Examinations. You should consult him if you want further information about the examination procedures.
Prof. Nick Greeves (ngreeves@liverpool.ac.uk, Room 402 Robert Robinson Labs) is the Director of Teaching for 2019/20.
Dr Gita Sedghi (G.Sedghi@liverpool.ac.uk, Room G37 Donnan Labs) coordinates Internationalization Opportunities, including Year in China.
Iwan Williams (iwangw@liverpool.ac.uk, Careers Resource Centre) is the Careers Adviser in the Careers Service with responsibility for Chemistry students.
Claire Sharpe (csharpe@liverpool.ac.uk, Harold Cohen Library) is the Liaison Librarian with responsibility for Chemistry.
Term & Semester dates are listed here.
Friday, 20 September 2019: Induction Day.
Monday, 23 September 2019 to Friday, 13 December 2019: Weeks 1-12 of First Semester.
December 2019: SAS expected to publish Semester 1 exam timetable.
Monday, 6 January 2020 to Friday, 24 January 2020: First Semester examinations.
Monday, 27 January 2020 to Friday, 27 March 2020: Weeks 1-9 of Second Semester.
March 2020: SAS expected to release provisional Semester 1 marks.
April 2020: SAS expected to publish Semester 2 exam timetable.
Monday, 20 April 2020 to Friday, 8 May 2020: Weeks 10-12 of Second Semester.
Monday, 11 May 2020 to Friday, 29 May 2020: Second Semester examinations.
July 2020: SAS expected to release results.
Monday, 13 July 2020 to Friday, 17 July 2020: Graduation ceremonies.
You will be carrying out your project in an established research group, which is of course a very different experience from working in an undergraduate teaching laboratory. Those of you who have taken CHEM366 will already have some idea of the type of environment. Your Supervisor will give you detailed guidance about the work you are to carry out and will talk to you regularly about your results. You will also be assigned a co-assessor, who will be involved in some of the assessment of your project, and with whom you can discuss your work during the course of the year.
The module will be assessed by continual assessment: an assessment of your laboratory performance, a literature search and essay, an interim progress report, a dissertation, a talk, an oral exam, and computer modelling, database and employability exercises. The External Examiners may visit the Department to listen to the CHEM480 talks, and possibly to meet some of you at that time.
Further details about CHEM480 are provided in separate documents in VITAL. Questions about CHEM480 should be directed to the module coordinator, Dr Frédéric Blanc (Frederic.Blanc@liverpool.ac.uk).
[See separate documents in VITAL for full details of Assessment Criteria, including important information on Academic Integrity and on the Departmental Policy on Feedback to Students.]
Written examinations are held at the end of each Semester. Past exam papers are available. Lecturers may also be able to supply practice questions for you to attempt.
After all the written papers have been marked, the external examiners will come to the Department in June and, together with the staff, assess the scripts from the examinations in both Semesters. Further information about various aspects of the assessment will be given during the year; you can also consult Dr Christophe Aïssa (chemexam@liverpool.ac.uk).
The pass mark for level 7 FHEQ (aka 'level M') modules is 50% (whereas it is 40% for LIFE369). There is no "35% rule".
THERE ARE NORMALLY NO AUGUST/SEPTEMBER RESIT EXAMINATIONS FOR YEAR 3 AND YEAR 4 STUDENTS
[exceptions for 'first attempt' status]
Many MChem graduates decide that they want to continue their studies either by taught postgraduate programmes or PhD research programmes. Information about postgraduate Chemistry programmes at Liverpool is available here.
If you are considering employment after you graduate, you could do well to seek additional advice now from the Careers Service, even if you do not intend to start looking for employment until after you have graduated.
You are expected to attend all lectures in the modules for which you are registered, to do all of the relevant set work on time, to attend tutorials and oral presentations, and to attend regularly in the laboratory. If you are unable to do any of these because of illness or for other reasons you must follow official Absence Guidelines. Make sure you obtain a medical certificate from your GP or the hospital, as appropriate. The University's "Policy on Extenuating Circumstances in Relation to Performance in Assessments and Examinations" (and the corresponding Application Form) are available elsewhere. In particular, there should be copies of the forms outside the Undergraduate Office. If, for just cause, you miss a deadline for submitting some of your work then you should talk to the relevant module leader about the possibility of late submission.
Any student who misses an examination or part of an examination due to illness or other exceptional circumstances, or whose performance was impaired by illness or other exceptional circumstances, should make relevant information available immediately to Dr Christophe Aïssa (0151-795-2170, chemexam@liverpool.ac.uk). The University's "Policy on Extenuating Circumstances in Relation to Performance in Assessments and Examinations" (and the corresponding Application Form) are available elsewhere. Students must report any such circumstances no later than one week before the meeting of the Board of Examiners at which the results of the assessments concerned will be considered.
If you feel that you are not coping with any part of the year's work, you should discuss the matter as soon as possible first with your CHEM480 Supervisor and/or the Module Leader and/or with your Academic Advisor. You could also seek guidance from the Chemistry Support Office (chemso@liverpool.ac.uk) or the Year 4 Coordinator. There is also useful information, including various contact details, in the 'Support Services' area of the 'Chemistry Department' module.