Research opportunities for undergraduates: Final Honours School
For students undertaking the standard six-year medical course, their third year affords the opportunity to undertake a research project. This contributes to the Final Honours School (FHS) phase of their degree. The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences offers a broad range of FHS projects, reflecting the diversity of the Department’s research interests, with the aim of teaching the method of critical scientific enquiry and so facilitate thinking and adaptable doctors of research scientists.
Research projects
The research projects are a compulsory component of the course for Medical Students and Biomedical Students. Each student must have a clearly defined topic, which is solely his/her responsibility. Projects should consist of original experiments and/or data analysis carried out by the candidate alone or in collaboration with others (where such collaborations is, for instance, needed to produce results in the time available).
Work for a research project is intended to occupy the student for a total of 8 full weeks, or an equivalent period (e.g., 16 half-time weeks). Timing should be agreed between supervisors in discussion with the student(s) before the project begins. Work can start as early as week 1, Trinity Term (24 April 2023) for Biomedical Sciences students and week 3, Trinity Term (8 May 2023) for medical students. Data gathering and/or data analysis should occupy the student for 8 full weeks, or an equivalent period (e.g., 16 half-time weeks). Students have a complete academic year to complete and write-up their projects, but students will be fairly heavily occupied with lectures, seminars and tutorial teaching from October onwards.
WHAT’S EXPECTED OF THE STUDENT?
Student are required to discuss projects for which they are interested with the supervisor(s) and submit their preferences by week 8 of Hilary term (year 2).
Students are required to produce a project write-up for submission to the examiners of no more than 4,500 words including the abstract and figure legends, but excluding tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices. The finished write-up must be submitted by 8th week, Hilary Term (Year 3). Students are also required to undergo an oral presentation and discuss their project with examiners in week 1 of Trinity Term.
WHY SUBMIT A PROJECT?
There are always some excellent students who are considering doing a research degree, and a research project affords them an especially valuable experience. A number FHS students have led and/or contributed to work that has resulted in presentation at national and international conferences, prize awards, and peer-review publication as well as PhD applications.
Get in touch
Students choose their project during their second year. For students interested in working with one of the highly rated research groups in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, please contact Dr Alison Convey at alison.convey@phc.ox.ac.uk during Year Two.