Programme Specification for Bachelor of Science (Honours) Physics
with French (With Integrated Year Abroad)
Educational aims of programme
This programme will involve study of Physics and French at an
advanced, research-led level in which students will gain an
understanding of how knowledge is created, advanced and renewed. The
programme will encourage in all students a desire to pursue
learning with curiosity, integrity, tolerance and intellectual rigour.
Programme outcomes / Graduate attributes
In the course of this programme students will develop
programme-specific skills. On completing the programme students should
be able to demonstrate the graduate attributes outlined below.
a) Intellectual skills and attributes
- To provide a systematic functional knowledge and understanding of
core physical concepts, principles and theories, and some of their
applications
- To provide specialist functional knowledge and understanding
relevant to the particular degree programme, for example in
astrophysics, theoretical physics, or photonics
- To provide access to physics at the frontiers, capitalising on
the strengths of the research undertaken in the School
- To develop proficiency in the analysis of complex physical
problems and the use of mathematical and other appropriate techniques
to solve them
- To provide the ability to plan, execute under supervision,
analyse and report upon the results of an experiment or investigation
- To provide experience and expertise in experimental
investigations for all students at the earlier stages of the
programme,and for students on this degree programmes to develop these
skills further in the honours years.
- To develop skills in the use of computers for control, data
acquisition, and data analysis in experimental investigations
- To develop the professional skills of teamwork, independent
learning, information retrieval, critical analysis, and the
communication of scientific concepts in writing and orally
- To develop the ability to be a self-directed learner, including
fostering a healthy intellectual curiosity in this and other
disciplines, and the ability to determine one's own learning needs and
to organise one's own learning
- To enthuse students about the discipline and its applications,
and to develop their confidence in their work using the discipline
- To provide students in the School with an educational and social
environment which encourages them to become informed, responsible, and
respected members of society
- To provide opportunities and support for all students to reach
their full potential during their studies
- Ability to communicate in and comprehend both written and spoken
French at an advanced level
- Ability to construct a coherent argument or debate
- Ability to create a hypothesis and appreciation of how hypotheses
relate to broader theories
- Ability to evaluate hypotheses, theories, methods and evidence
within their proper contexts
- Ability to reason from the particular to the general
- Ability to solve complex problems by critical understanding,
analysis and synthesis
- Academic integrity
- Capacity for close analysis of visual material and comparative
analysis
- Capacity for close textual analysis and comparative analysis
- Clarity of expression
- Creativity and originality
- Curiosity and an enquiring mind
- Deductive reasoning
- Direct engagement with current research and developments in the
subject
- Discipline specific technical abilities
- Engagement with both primary and secondary material and an
appreciation of the differences between them
- Independence of thought
- Informatics
- Logical processing of information
- Qualitative methods of analysis
- Referencing
- Sophisticated use of a range of resources appropriate to the task
at hand
- Understanding of francophone culture(s)
- Identification of goals
- Planning and strategy
- Taking responsibility
- Objectives orientation; focus on goals
- Adaptability in response to developments and feedback
- Delivery of outcomes to time and scale demands
- Self motivation and independence
- Self-reflection
b) Transferable skills
- Ability to communicate in and comprehend both written and spoken
French at an advanced level
- Note taking
- Listening
- Oral presentations
- Rapport building
- Translation, interpreting and negotiation skills
- Visual presentations
- Web/electronic presentations
- Written material
- Team Working
- Active engagement
- Collective responsibility
- Delegation
- Initiative
- Leadership
Teaching, Learning and Assessment strategies
The skills and graduate attributes listed above will be accomplished
through delivery of the following teaching, learning and assessment
strategies appropriate to the programme aims.
a) Teaching and Learning
Students will engage with
independent and group study in a supportive framework of teaching and
learning. The strategy is to use methods of teaching and assessment
that will facilitate learning appropriate to the aims of the
major/minor
honours degree
programme. The following methods will be employed where appropriate to
the level of study and the particular content of each module in the
programme.
- Autonomous learning groups
- Dissertation
- Independent study activities (supervised and unsupervised)
- Language learning (translation, linguistic and analytic
competence)
- Lectures
- One-to-one discussion
- Period of residence in French speaking country
- Practical work
- Presentations
- Project work
- Regular practice exercises
- Seminars
- Small group discussion tutorials
- Study at a partner University in France
- Workshops
- Problem solving workshops and whole class tutorials
- Group based problem solving
- Guided independent study and research
- Teaching laboratories
- Computer based analysis
- Research project
- Individual consultations with staff members
b) Material submitted for assessment
Assessment can be a
blend of diagnostic work to determine student needs, formative work
submitted for assessment and feedback (but not necessarily for academic
credit) or summative work submitted for academic credit.
Continuous assessment
- Aural comprehension
- AV media presentations
- Class tests
- Commentaries
- Dictation
- Discourse analysis
- Essays, dissertations (short and long)
- Oral presentations
- Laboratory notebook assessments
- Assessment of prepared solutions to tutorial problems
- Self and peer assessment of group work
- Reflective analysis
- Review articles
- Final year project report
- Oral presentations
End of semester examinations
- Unseen written examination - standard end of module examinations
(including for example, translation, grammar exercises, and/or essays)
- Oral examinations
c) Learning and Teaching support
(i) Physics
Students will have access to specialist support units in the
University (Student Services and the Central Learning and
Teaching Support Unit called SALTIRE), their adviser of studies, and
their year co-ordinator. Support in using the library and information
technology resources is provided. Detailed information on the programme
and individual modules is available in the School handbooks and the
module synopses, all of which are accessible from the School's web
pages at
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/Staff_Stud.shtml.
(ii) French
Students' scholarship skills (in, for
example, academic writing,
information gathering and academic conduct) will be supported and
developed through this programme. The following will be available,
where appropriate to the level of study and the particular content of
each module in the programme.
- Access to specialist University support units
- Class handouts/handbooks
- Central access to French television
- eLearning - web-based and via the virtual learning environment
(VLE)
- Feedback on work submitted (in accordance with School and
University policies)
- High number of contact hours
- Library support
- Multi-media centre
- School guidelines for good scholarship
- Office hours and staff availability
- Recommended reading lists and booklets (for the programme and
specific modules and courses)
- Small group teaching
Programme structure
This is a five-year programme of study leading to the degree of
Bachelor of Science (Honours). As with all St Andrews programmes, it is
made
up of credit bearing
modules. Students must earn 540 credits over the duration of the
programme, with 120 credits normally earned each academic year and 60
credits in the year abroad.
Students may have the option of direct entry into second year with
students then required to earn 420 credits,with 120 credits normally
earned each academic year and 60 credits in the year abroad. Typically,
the first two years of study include core modules specific
to the programme as well as other modules chosen from a range of
options (in some cases, including modules from a different Faculty).
The remaining years offer advanced research-led learning through
modules that provide a programme-specific curriculum.
For information about core and optional modules for each programme,
please consult the Course Catalogue, which can be found at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/admissions/ug/Choosingyourdegree/Coursecatalogue/.
This catalogue describes the detailed structure of the course and the
contents of all the modules that can be included in the programme.
Teaching, learning and assessment are progressive, with both the
content and methods of delivery changing to suit the increasing level
of complexity in the material, and independence of students, as they
work through the programme.
Distinctive programme features
Distinctive features of this programme include:
a) School of Physics
A choice of entry
points (level one or level two). Mathematical and
experimental skills are developed. Students can expect to have the
opportunity to engage with a number of specialist topics including for
example quantum physics, optoelectronics, magnetism, superconductivity,
biophotonics.
b) School of Modern Languages (ML)
Teaching, learning and
assessment of and in French to a high level. Students can expect to
have the opportunity to engage with a number of specialist topics
including for example French language, literature, culture, history,
politics and film in both French and English. All languages in the
School require students to take the specialized Senior Honours modules
specific to the languages.
