Course Catalogue

The programme aims to close the existing gap between skills possessed by graduate students and those required to enter a postgraduate research programme or an industry-based research career. It is distinctive from our existing Masters provision with greater emphasis on the development of research skills and the implementation of a significant research project aligned to one of the school research groups. Graduates of the programme will have the necessary skills and expertise to pursue a programme of postgraduate research or enter the workplace.

Module 7001PBRES Developing Real-world Research Skills

Students will be co-taught on an existing module ‘biomolecular research skills and data analysis’ with an additional 10 credits to expose students to qualitative and quantitative research methods, lectures on advances in science and novel clinical therapies, good clinical practice training, science communication, and teaching on applying for ethical approval. There will be pre-reading/independent study adopting a flipped classroom approach where students present to campus to receive face to face teaching and application of learning. This will ensure reinforcement of knowledge and provide contact time with academic staff and an opportunity where students can address any queries / misunderstandings.

Module 7002PBSRES The Reflective Researcher:

The home of the e-portfolio- a structured document designed to ensure that students develop reflective skills. Reflective practice is an increasingly important skill relevant to all workplaces. Through maintenance of an e-portfolio students will develop their abilities to collate in a single place reflective accounts on their learning/ skills developed in modules 70001PBSRES and 70003PBSRES. The e-portfolio will be structured to ensure that evidence is provided demonstrating that the student has met the learning outcomes detailed below. Examples of entries include reflections on formative feedback, research proposal, peer-review from oral presentations, evidence of teamworking, abstract writing, and participation with in-house and external training sessions e.g., science made simple/ writing for the conversation. These additional training sessions will further build essential skills for future working such as communication of science to a non-specialist audience, and presentation skills. 

Module 7003PBSRES Application of Research:

The final module serving as the research module where students will complete their research project answering unmet real-world questions within the remit of the research themes of PBS. It accounts for the largest proportion of credits reflecting the nature of the programme. Students will select projects in advance of commencing the programme to ensure a timely commencement of the research and any necessary associated training early in the programme. Each student will have a primary research supervisor plus a personal tutor who will provide personal support. Supervisors will be asked to submit project areas under the key research themes with provisional titles in January each year for the following academic year, and these will be advertised on the website as exemplar research projects. Of course, as per any research, titles can change as the research evolves but the student will complete a project under the theme that they select an interest in.

Assessments are as outlined above 

7001PBSRES Developing Real-world Research Skills: 30 credits -Literature review: 70%: max 4000 words, -Research proposal: 20%: max 5 A4 pages, -Journal club presentation: 10%: 20 minutes 

7002PBSRES The Reflective Researcher: 30 credits: -e-portfolio: 100% weighting, An electronic repository and structured document will be maintained on the University’s OneDrive system. Students will be assessed on a pass/ fail basis – passing if all elements of the portfolio are complete.

7003PBSRES Application of Research: 120 credits: -Thesis: 80%: max 10,000 words, -Viva voce: 20%:30 mins oral presentation + 5-mins questions

Assessments will adhere to the University’s Academic Framework as outlined at https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/public-information/academic-quality-and-regulations/academic-framework

The programme provides the basis for progression to working outside of academia as well as continuation to completing a PhD. As detailed above, candidates will gain a range of transferable skills futureproofing career opportunities. Through hosting a dedicated programme careers day, those not in employment or considering alternative options will have the opportunity to explore these in addition to completion of interview training to assist with career progression. Those whose projects are linked with/ co-supervised by external partners may have an opportunity to visit/ conduct research at these external sites. External partners will also serve as assessors/ advisors on the dragons den style commercialisation day to be held during semester 2 to drive innovation skills and promote research and development to meet real world needs.