Biological Sciences

B.Sc. (Honours) in Biological Sciences

Programme Objectives

1. To offer broad-based training for students in biological sciences relevant to the 21st century.
2. To prepare graduates for challenging life-sciences-related careers in research and industry.

Statute

1. The period of study for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours (Biological Sciences) is four academic years.
2. During the period of study for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours (Biological Sciences), a candidate must pursue such courses of study as may be prescribed by Regulations made by the Academic Board on the recommendation of the School of Biological Sciences.
3. There shall be an examination at the end of each semester. Candidates will be examined in each of the courses they offer in the semester.
4. Successful completion of the programme requires a candidate to have :

   1. For candidates admitted to the First Year of the programme -
      obtained a total of not less than 153 academic units within the maximum period permitted, unless the candidates have been granted exemption by the School from taking certain courses, on a case-by-case basis;

      For candidates admitted directly to the Second Year of the programme -
      obtained a total of not less than 117 academic units within the maximum period permitted;

   2. passed in all the core courses and fulfilled the requirements for the prescribed electives and general electives as determined by the School of Biological Sciences; and
   3. fulfilled such other requirements as may be prescribed by the Academic Board.
5. No candidate shall be permitted to take more than seven years to complete the prescribed programme of study for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours (Biological Sciences).

Courses of Study

1. The courses of study and the distribution of the courses for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours (Biological Sciences) will be determined by the School of Biological Sciences with the approval of the University.
2. Each course will be assigned a certain number of academic units as may be determined by the University.
3. There are four compulsory components to the curriculum:
   1. Core courses: These are compulsory courses offered throughout the programme of study. Core courses are designed to provide students essential foundation courses in life-sciences.
   2. Prescribed electives: The prescribed electives, offered in the first semester of the final year, are intended to give students an opportunity to explore specialised areas of biology in more depth and intensity according to their own interests and career goals. The school has four divisions: structural and computational; chemical biology and biotechnology; molecular and cell biology; genomics and genetics. Students are required to take 4 prescribed electives. They are to choose any four courses offered by each division. Emphasis will be on classroom discussion of research papers. Students' participation would be encouraged and they would be expected to read and discuss relevant primary research papers.
   3. Final year project: All students are required to undertake a 1-semester Final Year Project in the second semester of the final year of study. The project will be supervised by staff from the school, at the research/health care facilities, or at the research institutions.
   4. General Education Requirement (GER): GER covers a wide spectrum of broadening courses applicable to students in all disciplines. Students are required to complete 36 academic units of GER to fulfill the requirement to graduate. There are three categories of GER courses and the distribution of academic units (AUs) amongst the GER courses is stipulated by the school. The GER Core courses (12 AUs) are to be read during the specific period assigned by the school as indicated in the curriculum. The semester for the reading of GER PE (15 AUs) and UE (9 AUs) courses can be specified by the students within the four years of the programme . The GER PE courses are sub-categorized into three fields with the following weightage in AUs:
      1. Arts/humanities/social sciences (9 AUs)
      2. Science and technologies (3 AUs)
      3. Business and management (3 AUs)
   5. Research exercise: This may be offered as an elective for selected students in the third year but it is not a requirement for the completion of the programme . The selected students are required in their third year to work on a research project, under supervision, over a period of 6 to 10 weeks. Offering of the research exercise component is determined by the school each academic year and is subjected to changes.
4. Only courses of the GER-PE and GER-UE may be registered under the satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) option. Course(s) registered under S/U option will be graded as "Satisfactory" if the grade obtained is at least 'C'; otherwise, it will be graded as "Unsatisfactory". Course(s) under S/U option will not be included in computation of CGPA but AU earned will still count towards AU requirement for graduation. Students cannot exercise the S/U option on courses tied to second major or minor programmes. The maximum AU allowed for S/U option is 12.