Course descriptionThe last two decades have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of the growth and development of plants. The application of molecular genetic approaches, in particular in Arabidopsis thaliana and more recently rice has produced a wealth of information on gene and protein sequence, gene regulation and gene function. In addition, increasingly sophisticated microscopical techniques have provided new insights into protein localisation and function within cells. Undoubtedly, recent and future advances in plant science will have far-reaching impacts on agriculture and food production in the decades to come.
The Master of Research in Plant Science provides research training in contemporary plant science with an emphasis on the cellular and molecular basis of plant growth and development. Students taking this course will gain advanced knowledge and practical skills in this field and is an excellent preparation for those intending to undertake a PhD in Plant Science or who plan to embark upon a career, for example, in science management, commerce or publishing.
The course is organised by the Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences (FBLS) and involves academic staff from the Plant Science Group of the Division of Molecular & Cellular Biology. The Group has 9 academic staff and includes over 50 researchers. The Plant Science Group has an international reputation in research. The overall aim of our research is to understand aspects of plant development and metabolism and their regulation by environmental stimuli and endogenous signals and to apply this knowledge to improving crop production and food quality. The research involves molecular genetic, cell biological, biochemical and physiological approaches.
The Plant Science Group is housed in new laboratories and has outstanding facilities and equipment for research. Depending on the projects they undertake, students may acquire skills in proteomics, transcriptome analysis, bioinformatics, plant and cell imaging, analytical biochemistry or electrophysiology.
Course Outline
The duration of the course is 12 months, full time, and consists of a taught component together with two 20-week research projects. The taught course includes:
* lectures on generic aspects of research training, such as laboratory safety, experimental design, statistics and IT skills.
* two advanced courses, normally in Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Biotechnology, or another relevant subject.
The MRes students meet on a regular basis to give oral presentations of their work. This is considered to be an important part of research training. Care is taken to ensure that overseas students have full access to training in the use of written and spoken English.
The main part of the degree is two 20-week research projects based in the laboratories of Plant Science Group staff. Some projects may additionally involve other FBLS staff, for instance in the Sir Henry Wellcome Functional Genomics Facility. Projects will be selected through discussion with individual staff members and will be focused on their areas of research. The projects are chosen to reflect students' interests and the skills they wish to acquire and are of sufficient duration to enable real scientific progress to be made.
Assessment
Some components of the taught course, the advanced course and the oral presentations will be assessed. However, the main assessment (66% of the course) is based on the research projects. After each project students will write a scientific report and will be examined by interview. Students achieving a satisfactory standard will be awarded the degree of Master of Research and those performing particularly well may be awarded the degree with Merit or Distinction.