Undergraduate Prospectus 2013 University of Aberdeen | Undergraduate Prospectus 2013
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SEE THE DIFFERENCE SEE UNDERGRADUATE PROSPECTUS 2013 UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY OF | UNDERGRADUATE PROSPECTUS 2013 PROSPECTUS UNDERGRADUATE Office of External Affairs Student Recruitment and Admissions Service University Office, King’s College Aberdeen AB24 3FX Scotland Tel: +44 (0)1224 272090/91 Fax: +44 (0)1224 272576 Email: [email protected] Web: www.abdn.ac.uk/sras The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683 A20A20 Estd. 1495 Contents Principal’s Welcome 5 The University at a Glance 6 Arts & Social Sciences 76 History & Excellence 8 Investing in Your Future 12 Divinity & Theology 118 The Difference – Curriculum Reform at Aberdeen 14 Education 122 Student Support 20 Learning Resources 22 Support for Your Studies 24 Music 126 Study Abroad 25 Financial Support 26 International Students 30 Engineering 130 Careers 32 Student Life 34 Law 136 Accommodation 36 University Sport 38 Medicine & Dentistry 142 Students’ Association 40 The Hub 42 The University and the Environment 43 Sciences 150 Our Students 44 Term Dates Key to Icons Aberdeen The City 52 What’s Going On (Events Calendar) 56 Winter Term Website Address Getting to the University 58 Tuesday 24 September 2013 How to Find Us (Maps) 60 to Friday 20 December 2013 Study Abroad Opportunities Spring Term Your Studies 62 Monday 13 January 2014 Financial Information Choosing Your Degree 64 to Friday 28 March 2014 Foundation Programmes 66 Environmental or How to Apply 67 Summer Term Sustainability Content Widening Access 68 Monday 21 April 2014 Part-Time and Distance Learning 70 to Friday 13 June 2014 THE ABERDEEN DIFFERENCE Education Programmes (BA/Part-time) 71 First Half-Session Begins Curriculum Reform Information Tuesday 24 September 2013 Course Directory 75 Take a peek at our Second Half-Session Begins Monday 2 February 2014 3D images on pages 18, 28, 72 and see the difference! Please note these term dates may be subject to change. Follow us: universityofaberdeen @aberdeenuni When you have finished with When youthis have prospectus finished please with recycle it. this prospectus please recycle it. A word from our Principal As Principal I would like to welcome you to the University of Aberdeen’s Prospectus for Undergraduate Courses and Programmes in 2013/2014. Since 1495 the University of Aberdeen has been respected the world over for the high quality of its teaching and research but never more so than today. We are proud that our first objective is to ensure a student experience that is second to none. All the available indicators of teaching, student satisfaction and research place Aberdeen in the highest echelon of UK universities and one where both teaching and research are valued equally. The results of the 2011 National Student Survey confirmed our reputation as one of the leading universities in the UK for the student experience. Indeed, in a number of subjects we were in the top five universities in the UK. We are equally highly regarded for our excellence in research. In the most recent UK wide Research Assessment Exercise around 90% of the research conducted at Aberdeen was of international quality. At Aberdeen you will be joining a vibrant and stimulating scholarly community where teaching is informed by staff who are engaged in world leading research. The University is equally committed to providing you with the very best ‘As well as giving in support services and facilities. We have made an unprecedented multi- students a wonderful million pound investment to provide our students with some of the very best educational experience, facilities available anywhere in the UK. These include an Olympic standard the records show that sports village, one of the largest wireless campuses in Europe, a state-of-the-art medical teaching facility on Europe’s largest health campus and, just opened after leaving Aberdeen last Autumn, our fantastic new £57m library. our graduates are highly sought after As well as giving students a wonderful educational experience, the records show that after leaving Aberdeen our graduates are highly sought after by employers.’ by employers and can earn some of the best starting salaries. In the past few years we were one of the first universities in Britain to redesign our curriculum in partnership with students and employers to ensure that Aberdeen graduates are equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century. Choosing a university is a very important decision. When I made the decision to join Aberdeen as Principal I did so because I was inspired by the story of a university that for over five centuries had made an impact on the world and which had enabled people to fulfil their academic potential. There is an atmosphere here where a shared sense of pride in the University’s past achievements sits at one with an ambition to make the next chapter in its history an even more successful one. That makes Aberdeen an exciting and very special university to be part of. It’s why I chose Aberdeen. I hope you will too. Professor Ian Diamond Principal and Vice-Chancellor Founded in 1495 16,000 students 120 nationalities Ranked in world top 1% Study abroad exchanges worldwide Libraries with over 1,050,000 volumes Over 150 sports clubs and societies Five Nobel Prizes of graduates enter directly into work, further study or 91% training within 6 months Over 600 Largest wireless first degree programmes campus in Europe Brand new curriculum to produce graduates equipped for the 21st century Libraries with over In excess of £270 million investment 90% of research activity of international quality www.abdn.ac.uk/about/facts 8 The University of Aberdeen is the UK’s fifth oldest university with an academic reputation spanning over 500 years. Forward-thinking, Aberdeen is at the cutting- edge of research. THE DIFFERENCE IN History & Excellence 9 History & Excellence 10 Leading in the 15th Century History The University of Aberdeen is Scotland’s third oldest university, founded in 1495 as Columbus was opening up the New World and the Renaissance was spreading throughout Europe. William Elphinstone, & Excellence Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, established King’s College to train doctors, teachers and clergy for the communities of northern Scotland, and > Established 1495 lawyers and administrators to serve the > Ranked in world top 1% Scottish Crown. This fledgling university boasted, from 1497, the first chair of > 90% research activity is medicine in the English-speaking world. Picturesque and historic Old Aberdeen - of international quality home of Elphinstone’s original foundation - is now the main University site. The 15th > £28m sports facility century remains very much alive in King’s College Chapel, which is still in regular > £57m new library use, offering an oasis of peace, beauty and a sense of history in the daily life of a university now focused on the needs of the new millennium. www.abdn.ac.uk/about Leading in the 21st Century As you would expect from a university dedicated to excellence in teaching and learning, you will be taught by the people who are at the forefront of research in their particular fields. The University has made bold new changes to modernise its curriculum, inspired by major international universities like Harvard, Yale, Melbourne and Hong Kong. Our curriculum will help our graduates to leave the University even more academically excellent, intellectually flexible and as active citizens. The University of Aberdeen has been praised by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) for the quality of relationships between students and staff at all levels and 90% of Aberdeen’s research activity is of international quality. The University of Aberdeen is investing over £270 million into the facilities and support for our students, including the opening of our £28 million Olympic standard sports facility, The Suttie Centre, a new £20 million state-of-the-art facility for teaching and learning in healthcare, and our flagship £57 million new library. As a result, the University has been ranked one of the best places in the UK to study by the National Student Survey. www.abdn.ac.uk/about 11 History & Excellence College of Arts and Social Sciences The College comprises six Schools: Business; Divinity, History and Philosophy; Education; Language & Literature; Law; and Social Science, and encompasses over half of the University’s student population. There is a wide range of undergraduate opportunities, with MA, BMus, BD, BTh and LLB programmes on offer, and the College is continually reviewing its portfolio of Masters programmes, many of them interdisciplinary. The College aims to promote excellent research in all of its disciplines and to provide a framework in which interdisciplinary research can flourish. The College believes in research-led teaching and as such, it has a number of thriving research groups, including the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, the Elphinstone Institute, the Centre for Scandinavian Studies, and the Northern Institute of Philosophy. These research groups provide the College’s academic staff with an opportunity to pass on cutting-edge research to students at all levels. www.abdn.ac.uk/cass Its researchers investigate the causes and Research informs all aspects of teaching, College of Life Sciences and Medicine consequences of health problems as well as providing a stimulating environment Innovative research is being pursued the content and organisation of healthcare with good links to industry and other throughout the College of Life Sciences in both primary and secondary care settings. universities. and Medicine. The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) Science at the University is supported On the King’s College campus, the School brings together scientists and clinicians in a by well-founded laboratories with high- of Biological Sciences undertakes research state-of-the-art research laboratory facility.