DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
DEPARTMENT OF
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
STUDENT HANDBOOK
(Full-time undergraduate programmes)
SESSION 2015/2016
Dates of College Terms
The College terms for session 2015/2016 are:
First Term:
Monday, 28 September 2015 – Friday, 18 December 2015 (12 weeks)
Second Term:
Monday, 11 January 2016 – Thursday, 24 March 2016 (11 weeks)
Third Term:
Monday, 25 April 2016 – Friday, 12 June 2016 (7 weeks)
Reading weeks begin
Term 1 – 9 November 2015
Term 2 – 15 February 2016
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this
document, the Department cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions
contained herein. The rules and regulations of UCL supersede any statements herein.
A copy of this Handbook and all those referred to may be found at the Departmental Web site:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/phys/internal/student/index/edit/undergraduate
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FOREWORD
Welcome to University College London, one of the foremost universities in Britain, and
indeed the world. You are now a member of one of the largest departments in the College
and one of the leading Physics and Astronomy departments in the UK. The Department is
proud of the quality of its teaching, which was awarded 23 points from a possible 24, a
rating of “excellent”, by the QAA. You will be taught by outstanding physicists who work at
the frontiers of astrophysics, nanotechnology, high energy particle physics, laser science and
beyond. As they discover new physics, their expertise and enthusiasm will inform your own
journey into the wonders of physics and astronomy.
The general aim of the Department is to deliver a wide range of programmes designed to
develop a student’s full potential, using the research strengths and experience of the staff in
a challenging, but friendly and supportive, environment. During your course you will not
only acquire an in-depth understanding of your chosen field of study, but also gain a
sufficient broad education in specialist and transferable skills to facilitate progression to a
wide variety of careers, both within and outside the physics and astronomy professions.
If you are a new student, you may find the size of UCL can be a little daunting at first.
Don’t panic, you will soon find your way around! You are entering into a new and different
phase of your life and there are bound to be many things with which you will be unfamiliar.
There are many people around to help you. The Departmental Programmes Tutor, Dr S W
Zochowski who is your immediate contact point within the Department, and is available to
you if you find you have problems of an academic or personal nature. Whilst an
appointment is not always necessary, it is advisable to check his availability. His office is
located on the Ground Floor of the Physics Building (rooms E8). In addition, the
Undergraduate Teaching Administrator, (Room E2), is available to offer advice.
I wish you every success in your studies, and an enjoyable time at UCL!
Professor Jonathan Butterworth
Head of Department
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CONTENTS
DATES OF COLLEGE TERMS .......................................................................................................... I
FOREWORD................................................................................................................................. II
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1
2. GENERAL INFORMATION ............................................................................................ 1
2.1 Location of lecture theatres and other teaching venues .......................................................1
2.2 How to contact a member of staff ...............................................................................................2
2.3 How staff will contact you .............................................................................................................2
2.4 Safety ...................................................................................................................................................2
2.5 What we expect of you ...................................................................................................................3
(a) Attendance ................................................................................................................................................. 3
(b) Behaviour within the Department ........................................................................................................... 3
(c) Change of address .................................................................................................................................... 3
3. INFORMATION FOR NEW STUDENTS ..................................................................... 4
3.1 People of immediate use to you ...................................................................................................4
3.2 Other sources of information within the Department............................................................5
(a) Careers advice ........................................................................................................................................... 5
(b) Equal opportunities ................................................................................................................................... 5
(c) Disabilities ................................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 Advice elsewhere in the College ..................................................................................................5
(a) Health service ............................................................................................................................................ 5
(b) Faculty Tutor .............................................................................................................................................. 6
(c) Adviser to women students ..................................................................................................................... 6
(d) Financial support ....................................................................................................................................... 6
4. STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES ................................................................ 6
4.1 Cumberland Lodge Weekend ........................................................................................................6
4.2 Common Room ..................................................................................................................................7
4.3 Photocopying and Scanning ..........................................................................................................7
4.4 Student Departmental Society .....................................................................................................7
4.5 University College London Union (UCLU) ..................................................................................7
4.6 University of London Union (ULU) ...............................................................................................7
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4.7 External Societies in the vicinity of the College ......................................................................7
(a) The Institute of Physics (IoP) .................................................................................................................. 8
(b) The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) .................................................................................................. 8
5. TEACHING AND LEARNING ........................................................................................ 8
5.1 Problem-Solving Tutorials and ICAs for 1st and 2nd year modules. ....................................8
5.2 Coursework and penalties for late work (All labs, 3rd and 4th year modules) ..................8
5.3 Text books ..........................................................................................................................................9
5.4 Personal Tutors ...............................................................................................................................10
5.5 Revision Lectures ...........................................................................................................................10
5.6 Timetables ........................................................................................................................................10
5.7 Reading Week .................................................................................................................................10
5.8 UCL Global Citizenship Programme ...........................................................................................10
6. LIBRARY AND COMPUTING RESOURCES ............................................................ 11
6.1 DMS Watson Science Library.......................................................................................................11
6.2 Computing facilities .......................................................................................................................11
6.4 Software............................................................................................................................................11
7. STUDENT FEEDBACK .................................................................................................. 12
7.1 Module Evaluation by Students ..................................................................................................12
7.2 Staff-Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) ......................................................................12
7.3 Peer observation of lecturers ......................................................................................................12
7.4 Exit survey ........................................................................................................................................12
8. EXAMINATIONS ............................................................................................................ 13
8.1 Examination schedule ...................................................................................................................13
8.2 How to plan for and survive examinations .............................................................................13
8.3 Withdrawal from Examinations and interruptions in study ...............................................15
8.4 Problems due to illness .................................................................................................................15
8.5 Problems due to late arrival or absence ..................................................................................16
8.6 Reassessments (Re-sits) and Repeats of Year ......................................................................16
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8.7 Dyslexia and other medical conditions ....................................................................................17
8.8 Plagiarism .........................................................................................................................................17
9. ASSESSMENT AND PROGRESSION IN THE DEGREE........................................ 19
9.1 Examination results .......................................................................................................................19
9.2 September Referrals and Deferred Assessments ..................................................................19
9.3 Yearly progression and degree classification .........................................................................20
9.4 Progression in Theoretical Physics ............................................................................................21
9.5 MSci progression rules ..................................................................................................................22
10. DATA PROTECTION ACT .......................................................................................... 22
11. PRIZES ........................................................................................................................... 23
12. UCL’S GREEN POLICY ............................................................................................... 23
APPENDIX 1 - MODULE SELECTION ON PORTICO (UCL STUDENT
INFORMATION SERVICE) ............................................................................................... 25
(a) On-line module registration for most students in years 2, 3 and 4. .................................25
(b) Selection screen – optional modules ........................................................................................26
(c) Selection screen – elective modules ..........................................................................................27
(d) Validation/Confirmation of selections ......................................................................................27
v
1. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this Handbook is to supply you with a range of useful information about the
Department and some of its rules in so far as they apply to you as an undergraduate. It
complements other publications and College websites, which are available to each student
on admission. It is a good idea to keep this publication to hand as it will answer most of
your immediate questions. However, it cannot answer all your questions. If anything is
missing, or unclear, or plain wrong even, please contact your Programme Tutor!
Details about course structures are not in this Handbook. They are provided separately in
other Departmental publications which are available on the Departmental website
(https://www.ucl.ac.uk/phys/internal/student/index/edit/undergraduate) or the Programme
Tutor’s Moodle page. One, entitled “BSc/MSci Programme Structures”, gives the current
structures of all our full-time undergraduate degree programmes. Others, called “Course
Descriptions” give detailed aims and objectives, syllabuses, etc., for each module in the 3year BSc and 4-year MSci degree programmes (including some Intercollegiate Courses). All
individual modules should have their own Moodle presence. Most members of staff have
their own Web page which may contain a short biography along with their research
interests.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION
The Physics Building is open from 8am to 7pm during the normal working day.
** Undergraduates may not be in the Department outside this period. **
The door leading out to the Massey Theatre, Physics Yard and the Gower Place entrance to
the College site may be opened by use of a swipe card that will be provided to you once you
are a fully registered student. It will be a part of your College ID card. Do not lose it!
Some of our staff have offices in the Kathleen Lonsdale Building (temporarily located to
132 Hampstead Road) and also the London Centre for Nanotechnology, both of which are
close to the Department and are accessible during working hours.
2.1 Location of lecture theatres and other teaching venues
The main teaching spaces used by the Department are given below.
Massey Theatre
A1
D103
Cluster room D105
Chemistry Theatre
Lab 1
Lab 2
Lab 3
A19
D3
Maths 500 & 505
Ground Floor, Union Building
Fourth floor, Physics Building
First floor, Union Building
First floor, Union Building
Christopher Ingold Building, Gordon Street
First floor, Physics Building
Second floor, Physics Building
Third floor, Physics Building
‘Asteroid cluster room’, Fourth Floor, Physics Building
Lab 1 adjunct
Fifth floor of Student Union building (Maths Dept.)
The lift within the Physics Building serves all four floors directly, while the lifts at the North
Cloister entrance to the Department can be used to access the fourth floor and the
basement.
1
2.2 How to contact a member of staff
Members of the teaching staff can be contacted by using the internal mail or email. Mail
boxes (‘pigeon holes’) for staff are situated outside room E15, on the ground floor of the
Physics Building. If there appears to be no appropriate box, ask someone in E15. Room
numbers for teaching staff can be obtained from the departmental website
http://www.phys.ucl.ac.uk/contact/index.php or from the two picture boards outside room
E8. These boards display photographs and room numbers of all teaching staff in the
Department. When emailing a member of staff, always state your name, degree course
and year. It takes time for staff to get to know the large number of students in the
Department.
If you need to contact anyone in the Department from outside UCL via letter you should use
the official address:
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
Telephone: 020 7679 7144 (Teaching Administrator)
You must not have your personal mail delivered here.
2.3 How staff will contact you
Important notices from the Programme Tutor will be displayed on the Tutor’s Notice Boards
between Rooms E2 and E6 on the Ground Floor corridor of the Physics Building, or
distributed by email. If staff members, either from the Department or a UCL administrative
division, wish to contact you personally they will do so either by internal mail, by mobile
phone or by email. The Student mailbox is located in the Undergraduate Common Room.
***PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU CHECK BOTH YOUR MAILBOX FOR INTERNAL
MAIL AND YOUR UCL EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY TO AVOID MISSING
IMPORTANT OR URGENT INFORMATION, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE
AWARE OF ALL ANNOUNCEMENTS CONCERNING YOUR STUDIES HERE ***
N.B. UCL WILL ONLY SEND EMAIL TO YOUR OFFICIAL UCL COMPUTER ACCOUNT. IF YOU
WANT IT RE-DIRECTED TO ANOTHER ACCOUNT THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOING SO ARE
ON THE UCL INFORMATION SYSTEM’S WEB PAGE.
2.4 Safety
The Department places great importance on safety, with special emphasis on safety in the
Laboratories, both at the University of London Observatory (ULO) and Gower Street. You are
expected to behave in a sensible manner, especially when dealing with any of the
Laboratory equipment. The Departmental Safety Officer will give guidance to all students at
the beginning of the Session on how to conduct themselves whilst working with equipment
to ensure both their own safety and that of those working around them. Further detailed
information is given in the laboratory handbooks for the Physics Laboratories and the
Observatory.
2
Fire drills are held during the terms at unannounced times, so you should familiarise yourself
with the instructions displayed on notice boards in hallways and on lab notice-boards as to
the procedure you should follow and where assembly points are. There are Fire Evacuation
Marshals (FEMs) appointed from the staff and technicians who will take charge of you
during these times.
2.5 What we expect of you
(a) Attendance
Every student is obliged to attend regularly the lectures, laboratory classes and problem
solving tutorials which all constitute parts of their degree. If you are unable to do so for any
significant time and for any reason, you should inform the Programme Tutor as soon as
possible. This should be done either in person, by telephone, letter (internal mail or normal
mail) or email. For absence of 5 working days or less due to illness students are allowed to
provide a self-certificate covering their absence, you MUST provide a Medical Certificate
from a GP if the absence due to illness is longer than 5 days or the absences includes a
deadline for submission of coursework or attending an exam. Any certificate must be given
to the Programme Tutor upon your return to College.
Attendance sheets are distributed both in lectures and practical sessions and you are
expected to ‘sign’ them and NOT deface them. If you are noted to be absent from a
sequence of two sessions of a lab or three lectures for a module, this will be reported to the
Tutor and they will take the appropriate actions. When attending large lectures, you usually
will be asked to record your attendance via a “scanner”. This device just has to be placed on
your ID card to record your attendance. If your ID card is replaced, you must let the
Teaching Administrator know as your name will otherwise appear as absent. All first-year
students will be asked to have their cards initially swiped at the beginning of the session.
It will also be the case that at various points through the year students will be asked to see
the Programme Tutor and “sign-in”, especially at the beginning of the terms.
(b) Behaviour within the Department
It is expected that students will observe the basic courtesies in their behaviour towards staff
and fellow students. While asking questions in lectures is to be encouraged, a background of
whispering can totally disrupt a lecture for other students and is strongly discouraged. You
may be excluded from lectures for persistent disruptive behavior. You are expected to arrive
at lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions on time. If, however, you are unavoidably
delayed, you should join the class with the minimum of disruption, with any apologies being
saved for later. The Department is a no smoking zone and smoking is not permitted
anywhere in the building. All staff and students are asked to respect this rule. No food or
drinks are to be consumed in the lecture theatres or laboratories.
(c) Change of address
Throughout your time at UCL, it is essential that the Department and UCL should have an
accurate record of your address and a contact telephone number if possible. Should you
change your home, mail contact, in term and out-of-term address (or telephone number) at
any time, you must immediately inform the College and the Department by altering your
record on the www.ucl.ac.uk/portico website.
3
3. INFORMATION FOR NEW STUDENTS
3.1 People of immediate use to you
There are a number of Departmental staff who you will meet in your first few days here.
Their contact details are:
Name and Email
Title
Room
Tel
Dr Stan Zochowski
s.zochowski@ucl.ac.uk
Prof Ruben Saakyan
r.saakyan@ucl.ac.uk
Jas Gill-Thind
Programme Tutor
E8
020 7679 7038
Deputy
Programme
(Intercollegiate/Affiliate)
Teaching Administrator
Tutor D107
E2
020 7679 3049
020 7679 7144
jaskiran.gill.09@ucl.ac.uk
Joanna Davies
j.l.davies@ucl.ac.uk
Derek Attree
dja@hep.ucl.ac.uk
Lee Bebbington
l.bebbington@ucl.ac.uk
Senior Teaching & Learning E2
Administrator
Deputy Safety Officer
C19
020 7679 7246
Departmental Safety
& Facilities Manager
020 7679 3445
Officer E6
020 7679 3459
The Head of Department is Professor J Butterworth (Room E14, ground floor, Physics
Building). Whilst he is happy to talk to students about their problems, it is advisable, in the
first instance, that such problems should be addressed to the Programme Tutor.
Purely scientific questions should be discussed with lecturers or your personal tutor, to
whom you will be assigned in the first weeks of term one. For any problem which is
preventing you working at your best, whether it be academic, financial, personal welfare
etc., do not hesitate to talk to the Programme Tutor, or your personal tutor. The Tutors may
discuss things with the Head of Department or Faculty Tutor as and when necessary, but
any discussions will be treated in strict confidence. However, if you wish the information to
be confined to the Tutor, then that is what will happen! The Tutor’s advice will always be
given in a spirit of helpfulness, although sometimes it may not necessarily be what you want
to hear; they have to work within the rules of the Department and UCL. For example, it is
their responsibility to monitor attendance at lectures and practical sessions and they will
certainly want explanations if your attendance is not regular or your work appears to be
falling off in quantity or quality. If you need a reference during your time at UCL, whether
for personal or academic reasons, you should normally ask the Programme Tutor. Personal
Tutors and other staff are generally happy to provide references for students they know, but
remember that it is only polite to ask them first, before you put their name on a form.
The Teaching Administrators are available to help if the Programme Tutor is not, or you
wish specifically to speak to a woman.
All first-year students will be assigned a later-year student as a Mentor during induction
week in a Registry-run programme. This should help in the transition to university life.
Syllabuses for the various degree programme modules are available from our web-site.
4
Personal timetables are available through Portico and the on-line timetable system
www.ucl.ac.uk/timetable.
All students are assigned a Personal Tutor for the entire period of degree study. They should
be available for advice, support and references. Tutors to new students will be assigned a
soon as possible after the start of term 1.
3.2 Other sources of information within the Department
(a) Careers advice
The Departmental Careers Tutor is Dr Angus Bain, with whom appointments can be made
either by telephoning extension 33472 or by email on a.bain@ucl.ac.uk. He can also be
found in Room B20 which is on the third floor of the Physics Building. Career opportunities
are regularly posted on the UCL Physics & Astronomy Students Facebook page. Careers
advice and information, including application checking and practice interviews is also
available from UCL Careers: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers.
(b) Equal opportunities
The Departmental Equal Opportunities Liaison Officer is the Departmental Manager (Room
E14, telephone: 37155) whose function is the promotion of equal opportunities for women,
ethnic minorities and those with socio-economic disadvantages.
If you feel that you have been discriminated against on racial or sexual grounds or have
been harassed in any way, you should inform the Departmental Manager, or your Personal
Tutor, or the Programme Tutor directly. Immediate confidential help in dealing with the
problem is assured.
(c) Disabilities
Joanna Davies (E2) is the Departmental Student Disabilities Coordinator – email
j.l.davies@ucl.ac.uk if you have any concerns.
3.3 Advice elsewhere in the College
The best source of information (a starting point, at least) can be found at the
comprehensive site:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/support.
If you have a
question, please try there first.
(a) Health service
Students should be aware that they are welcome to consult, by appointment, any of the
staff at the Gower Place Practice (formerly the Health Centre), which include Physicians,
Psychologists, Dental Surgeons and Nurses. All those staff are familiar with the special
difficulties that students may encounter, and all such consultations are entirely confidential.
The telephone numbers are as follows: Gower Place Practice – 020 7387 6306; Dental
Practice – 020 7679 7186; both the Doctors and Dentists are located at 3 Gower Place which
is situated at the rear of the Physics Building. (If calling from within UCL the numbers are
prefixed by 3).
In addition, a Student Psychological Service (more counseling actually) is available which
covers such aspects as: homesickness, loneliness, anxiety, depression; problems with
studies and exams; problems in relationships; family problems; eating disorders, drug or
alcohol problems; sexual issues.
It is totally confidential and ‘demand-friendly’.
5
Appointments can be booked, by calling at 3 Taviton Street (First Floor, Room 101), by
telephone (020 7679 1487).
(b) Faculty Tutor
Dr Caroline Essex is the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Faculty Tutor – (contact via her
P.A., extension 37235), email direct - c.essex@ucl.ac.uk. Dr Essex may be consulted, by
appointment, on administrative topics, in the Faculty Office, which is situated on the
First Floor of the South Wing of the main quadrangle.
(c) Adviser to women students
The Adviser to Women Students assists in providing advice and welfare support to students
and is available specifically for women students who need to talk to a woman. Appointments
with the Adviser to Women Students may be made by contacting Miss Denise Long
(Director, Student Support and Wellbeing), Student Support and Wellbeing Office, 4 Taviton
Street; Internal 30255 External +44 20 7679 2055 denise.long@ucl.ac.uk.
(d) Financial support
UCL has been allocated by the Government a sum of money, known as the Access to
Learning Fund, from which grants can be made to British students who find themselves in
financial difficulty. In addition, UCL operates a Student Hardship Fund for the same purpose,
and various scholarships. These grants do not have to be repaid. Eligible undergraduate
students must provide evidence of having taking out a Student Loan. Application forms are
available from the Students Union’s Rights and Advice Office, 1st Floor Bloomsbury Building
and the Student Support and Wellbeing Office, 4 Taviton Street.
The College can also offer emergency loans. All details are on the UCL website,
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/money.
A further search on the Colleges webpages will help provide more information of the help
available from various personnel.
4. STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES
4.1 Cumberland Lodge Weekend
Every year, during the first term, a group of approximately 45 students and several
members of the academic staff from the Department spend the weekend at Cumberland
Lodge, a beautiful country house close to Royal Lodge, the late Queen Mother’s residence
which she left to the Duke of York, in Windsor Great Park. The intention is to get students
and staff away from the College environment and to get them to know each other better
over discussions of interesting problems in physics and astronomy in an informal and very
pleasant environment. The majority of students attending are from Year 1, though other
years and postgraduates are also well-represented.
Talks are given by members of staff, and invited people from outside UCL. Topics include
some of the research activities of the Department, sometimes a lighthearted look at Science.
The weekend concludes with a general discussion about teaching in the department which is
normally attended by the Director of Teaching and the Head of Department. In addition to
the talks, ample time is available for informal discussions and for social activities, two of the
most popular of which are walking in Windsor Great Park and the Saturday night party.
6
The Weekend usually takes place around the October/November period. Students travel to
Cumberland Lodge by coach, leaving the College site on the Friday afternoon and returning
to London after tea on the Sunday evening. The fee, including transportation and all meals,
is around £60. This is considerably less than the actual cost, owing to the large subsidies
provided by the Department and by the St Catherine’s Foundation, which runs Cumberland
Lodge. Students invariably enjoy the Weekend and regard it as excellent value for money.
You are encouraged to book early as places are limited.
4.2 Common Room
There is a small Undergraduate Student Common Room with a small kitchen provided within
the Department which is located in A17 on the top floor of the Physics Building. Students
are expected to keep the Common Room tidy. Lockers are available in the corridor by A21 –
please see Jas Gill-Thind in E2 to obtain access to one (first come, first served).
4.3 Photocopying and Scanning
Undergraduates are not allowed use of the photocopying machines located within the
Department. There are photocopiers and scanners for student use in the UCL libraries and
the Study Room on the 2nd floor of the union building.
4.4 Student Departmental Society
There is a Student Society called “Event Horizon”. It has associations with the Institute of
Physics. It offers social events, arranges lectures by visiting speakers from other
Universities, and arranges visits to external research organisations and industry. A small
annual membership fee may be payable.
4.5 University College London Union (UCLU)
UCL has a very active Students’ Union located at 25 Gordon Street, the building adjacent to
the Physics Building. There are several bars and coffee bars, a shop and hairdressing salon
within the Union Building. In addition, there is a vast number of societies catering for all
tastes and interests. The Union holds a Freshers’ Fair in the Cloisters at the beginning of the
first term, where all the societies, sports clubs and other Union activities have stalls and
provide information. The Union provides basic advice on such things as financial matters,
welfare, housing, Council Tax, legal problems, health, etc., and there are full-time Sabbatical
Officers (existing students who take a year out) on hand to help. The Union runs a Night
Line (020 7631 0101) for students who are in trouble or just need to talk to someone during
the hours when the College and Union are closed. The Union also has a sports ground at
Shenley in Hertfordshire. The union arranges transport there, to those interested, every
Wednesday lunchtime.
4.6 University of London Union (ULU)
The ULU building is on Malet Place. You will need a valid Student Identity Card to be allowed
in. It has a multitude of facilities including a swimming pool in the basement and a refectory
on the top floor. It can be a place to meet students from other Colleges in the University of
London.
4.7 External Societies in the vicinity of the College
Although you will be inundated with requests to join all the internal UCL societies, two
external ones which may be of particular interest to you are:
7
(a) The Institute of Physics (IoP)
The IoP is the professional body for Physicists. Membership brings with it the excellent
monthly publication “Physics World” which contains informative scientific articles as well as
news of the Institute’s activities and job opportunities. The IoP is located at
76 Portland Place and offers the use of a library to its members.
(b) The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)
Students with an interest in astronomy are encouraged to join the Royal Astronomical
Society as Junior Members, and to attend RAS Discussion Meetings and Monthly Astronomy
and Geophysics Meetings which are held on the second Friday of each month from October
to May. UCL students are the closest, geographically, to the location of these meetings
(Saville Row, just off Oxford Street) of all the astronomy students in the UK, and should take
advantage if timetables and other commitments permit. You can get information about the
RAS from Professor Ian Howarth – idh@star.ucl.ac.uk. A notice about the programmes of
the RAS meetings is on display in the Department; but it is easy to remember that the
second Friday of (nearly) every month is the RAS day. The Discussion Meetings usually run
from 10.30am until 3.30pm, and are followed, after tea, by the Monthly Astronomy and
Geophysics Meetings of the Society, which all members and Fellows are warmly invited to
attend.
5. TEACHING AND LEARNING
For each of our degree programmes a normally progressing student will be registered for
four course units worth of lecture and practical modules each year, which are delivered
during term 1 and 2. The third term is reserved for revision lectures and examinations. The
structure of the programmes and individual courses are given in the additional booklet
“BSc/MSci Programme Structures”. The following is to give you some idea of the structure of
the work you will undertake.
5.1 Problem-Solving Tutorials and ICAs for 1st- and 2nd-year modules.
All 1st-year and 2nd-year lecture modules will have associated Problem-Solving Tutorials to
help students develop their problem solving ability. The schedules and groupings of students
will show in your timetable a week or so after term starts. PSTs are not assessed, but
attendance is expected as they do form an integral part of each module. During these
sessions, students can ask for help on pre-seen problems while one or two instructors are
on hand to give assistance on any. One of the instructors may in fact be the lecturer for the
course.
Twice during the term (usually during Reading Week and the last week of term) there will
be In-Course-Assessment (ICA) tests associated with most 1st- and 2nd- year lecture
modules. These ICAs will be based on seen problems and will be marked and count towards
the final assessment of the modules. Other homework papers will not be marked but it is
expected students will attempt them. For most 1st-year courses ICA results will count for
15%, while for 2nd-year courses it counts 10%.
5.2 Coursework and penalties for late work (All labs, 3rd and 4th year modules)
All lectured 3rd- and 4th-year courses include a component of continuous assessment
(generally 10%). This component is made up in various ways, including problem papers,
8
essays. The marks for continuous assessment contribute to the final grading achieved for
courses and hence towards the class of degree attained.
When possible, coursework is handed out to a schedule to limit the overloading of students
and should consequently be submitted on time. Work submitted late will be marked, but will
attract a penalty unless a reasonable excuse is given to the course organiser/lecturer. The
following scheme is in place:
Coursework that is submitted N days late will have its raw mark of X reduced to Y where
Y = (0.9)N X. Thus work that is 6 days late would have its mark reduced to 0.53 X. If the
work is 7 days late or more the mark is reduced to zero, except for laboratory and project
reports where the mark is reduced to the pass mark, assuming the work merits a pass. If
the mark is reduced to zero the assessment would nevertheless be considered to be
complete with respect to progression or degree classification.
Where there are extenuating circumstances that have been recognised by the Exam Board
or the programme Tutor, these penalties will only apply after any granted extension period
has been exceeded.
For preference, homework should be handed in as stapled sheets bearing the name of the
course, the name of the lecturer, as well as your own! Hard copy is preferred, though on
occasions electronic submission will be required. It is our aim to get marked work back to
you as quickly as possible via the lecturer. If you have been unable to hand in work due to
illness you should contact the lecturer or Programme Tutor.
Attendance at lectures, lab classes, problem solving tutorials and the submission of
coursework are all closely monitored. The Programme Tutor will require explanations from
students failing to perform adequately in these respects. Termly reports on a student’s
progress are made to the Faculty by the Programme Tutors and UCL will suspend students
who pay insufficient attention to their academic studies.
Grading on practical laboratory courses, held in the Gower Street laboratories or at the
Observatory are based entirely on continuous assessment. Such courses may consist of a
combination of experiments recorded in notebook form, selected experiments reported in
full detail, some lectures and problem papers. All constituent parts of a course must be
attempted in order that you are considered to have completed the course.
A lot of emphasis is placed on developing effective communications skills and it forms an
integral part of your training here, 2 full modules, accounting for a total of approximately
5% of a BSc degree (slightly less for the MSci degree) taken in years 1 and 2. Failure to get
good marks in this work might affect your degree classification and you could get a lower
classification. The reverse is also true.
5.3 Text books
It is normal for students to look in the DMS Watson library to find the recommended books
or buy them from local bookshops such as Waterstone’s.
9
5.4 Personal Tutors
On entering the department 1st-year students will be assigned a Personal Tutor who usually
will remain their tutor during the length of time the student is present at UCL as an
undergraduate. This individual will provide a permanent contact point for you, a source of
support and advice, and ultimately references. It is compulsory that you meet your Personal
Tutor at least once or twice a term and these meetings will be reported to the Programme
Tutor. A suggested schedule will be sent out before the session starts.
The personal tutor is your first point of contact for any academic or personal problems you
may have. You may also approach the Programme Tutor when experiencing problems. A
student may request that their Tutor is changed, if they have good reason.
5.5 Revision Lectures
These are normally given early in term 3 before examinations begin; some may be in the
week before term 3 starts. You may ask the lecturer to go over problems or subject areas
where difficulties have been encountered. Attendance at these is not mandatory and no new
material is covered. Timetables for revision lectures will be available at the end of term 2.
5.6 Timetables
These are available before the start of each term and you will be able to obtain a copy
through the online timetable system with your UCL ID and password at
http://ucl.ac.uk/timetable. You can also access your timetable via the student information
service Portico http://ucl.ac.uk/portico. Any questions about timetabling should be directed
at Dr Stan Zochowski.
5.7 Reading Week
All students except those taking some 4th-year Intercollegiate courses will have a Reading
Week in terms 1 and 2. Lectures and problem solving tutorials will not be held, but some
practical classes may continue as normal. 1st- and 2nd-years will have one of their mandatory
In-Courses-Assessments during this week. Students are strongly advised to use this
opportunity to catch up with work, or broaden understanding by additional reading or
discussion.
5.8 UCL Global Citizenship Programme
The UCL Global Citizenship Programme offers undergraduate students the chance to put
your studies in a global context, learn new skills and see the world differently. From tackling
the same global issues as UCL’s Grand Challenges to volunteering and enterprise
opportunities, there is something different on offer across all years of your degree. The
Programme takes place at the end of the summer term, after undergraduate exams have
finished, and is focused on small-group project work. You will be working with students from
across UCL, and previous students have really valued the opportunity to see how students
from other disciplines tackle the same complex issues. It's a great way to pick up new skills,
make new friends and to broaden your knowledge beyond your degree programme.
It is optional for all undergraduates, and there are different choices for first-year and
second, third and final year students. You can find out more at www.ucl.ac.uk/globalcitizenship/programme, including details of how to register for this year's Programme. As
this is not run by the Department, questions should not be directed to departmental staff,
but to the Programme directly, as outlined at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/global-citizenship.
10
6. LIBRARY AND COMPUTING RESOURCES
6.1 DMS Watson Science Library
UCL has several Libraries and you are strongly advised to find out the whereabouts of these
early in your course. The main science Library is located in the DMS Watson Building, which
is on the left-hand side as you enter through the gates of the Torrington Place entrance to
the College opposite Waterstone’s Bookshop. In addition you may wish to visit the Main
Library (The Donaldson), which is located under the Dome of the College adjacent to the
Flaxman Gallery. You will need to have a valid student identity card to gain access to these
libraries and enroll so that you may borrow books.
Past Examination papers for 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-year modules, plus the 4th-Year Intercollegiate
MSci courses, are available on the UCL Library Web site (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library).
6.2 Computing facilities
Within the Department, there are personal computers available for student use in the
teaching laboratories and at the Observatory. These are primarily used for the laboratory
courses, but can be used for report writing when no laboratory course is being given. (NB:
In such cases, safety considerations dictate that there must always be a
technician or staff member present in the laboratory.) These computers have limited
connection to the Internet. There is also a cluster of networked PCs located in the Asteroid
Cluster Room (Room A19) for which a valid access password (other than the UCL account
id) is required; accounts on these machines are obtainable via your tutor/project supervisor
making a request to Prof I.D. Howarth – email: idh@star.ucl.ac.uk. These machines are
normally available to all final year students for project work, although there may be times
that the room is used for teaching classes. Finally, there are some PCs available in A27.
Information Systems manages a large number of computers, which are sited in clusters
around UCL. Time on these machines must normally be reserved in advance and further
information about booking may be obtained from the Information Systems Help Desk
located on the ground floor of the DMS Watson Library located in Malet Place. To be able to
use UCL computers you will need an account id and password, which will be allocated at the
beginning of the first Term. The nearest IT cluster located is Room D105 in the Union
Building which is open from 09:00 to 21:00. This cluster is used for class teaching purposes,
but outside scheduled times it may be used by individual students without booking. Towards
the end of term, when reports and essays become due, UCL- managed computers tend to
be heavily used, so plan well ahead.
Personal Laptops can be connected to a WiFi system which permeates UCL (Eduroam).
Information on how to connect to this and the minimum system requirements can all be
found on ISDs website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/ or at the HelpDesk in the DMS Watson
Library. You will need a UCL account and password to be able to use this system.
6.4 Software
Students can use desktop@UCL to access a number of applications on campus and by
remote access on a range of devices.
A large proportion of the software available is
Microsoft in origin. To be compatible with software running on the managed cluster
machines, the Departmental laboratory computers have the same main software packages,
11
namely Microsoft Excel and Word, plus other specialist software. The Asteroid Cluster runs
the Linux operating system so that certain analysis programs at the Observatory, used by
astronomy students, can be accessed. The computers at ULO can use Windows or the
UNIX/Linux system.
7. STUDENT FEEDBACK
Student feedback concerning the learning process is an extremely important part of the
academic monitoring system in the Department. The main formal methods are student
course evaluation forms (paper or electronic) and the Staff-Student Consultative Committee.
Verbal feedback direct to the Programme Tutor is also important, as are comments made by
students to their academic tutors during tutorials.
7.1 Module Evaluation by Students
Every lecture and practical module is assessed by students. Some modules are evaluated
electronically others use a paper form. Volunteers are sought from those present to collect
all paper forms and produce an overall summary sheet which should then be handed in to
the Teaching Administrator in Room E2. Written comments about aspects of the course can
also be submitted directly to the Teaching Administrator on a blank sheet of paper (or left in
the pigeon hole). The Department greatly values the feedback from students which in the
past has resulted in many positive changes; complete confidentiality is assured.
Modifications to courses and their delivery can be made very quickly by action of the
Director of Teaching.
7.2 Staff-Student Consultative Committee (SSCC)
The Staff-Student Consultative Committee meets at least once a term and is a chance for
students to bring matters of importance and concern to the attention of the Department
through ‘elected’ representatives from each year. Comments made to personal or academic
tutors can also be passed on by the Departmental Programme Tutor. The Minutes of the
meetings, which are normally kept by a student representative, are subsequently submitted
to the Departmental Teaching Committee (DTC) for its consideration, sent to the Head of
Department and posted on-line. A representative from the SSCC normally attends DTC
meetings. Actions arising from legitimate complaints are acted upon quickly wherever
possible.
7.3 Peer observation of lecturers
Observation of lecturers by other teachers within the Department is carried out once per
lecture course every year. The Observer attends the lecture, but takes no part in the
teaching, and afterwards discusses with the lecturer any observed bad or good points.
7.4 Exit survey
We will also ask your overall opinion on the Programme we have delivered to you in
an online Exit Survey after your final-year exams. Your responses to our queries will
help us in improving our delivery of degree programmes.
12
8. EXAMINATIONS
8.1 Examination schedule
The main examination period is during the third term, usually running over a four-week
period, typically from week 2 of the 7. Most examinations are held away from the main UCL
site, so that it is important that you know exactly where and when the examination is being
held. Examination timetables for UCL-based examinations and maps showing the location of
the possible examination halls will be available on-line via Portico before the end of the
second term. These may be printed out by you. They bear an important alphanumeric
identifier code, unique to each student, which is used to identify your answer paper, as
papers are marked anonymously. You must bring this timetable, along with your UCL ID
card and Exam card (these will be posted to the address you have provided on Portico),
when you attend an examination. Without them you may be refused entry to an
examination.
Dates and times of examination may also be displayed on Departmental notice-boards.
Where the use of calculators is permitted in an examination, all students will have to use
‘standard’ calculators in examinations which conform to the College specification. These will
not have any text facility nor be able to store, for example, equations. The College has
decreed that, except in certain specified examinations, only the following calculators
may be used:(a) Battery-powered CASIO FX83GT+, FX83WA, FX83ES, FX83MS
(b) Solar-powered CASIO FX85GT+, FX85WA, FX85ES, FX85MS
The above calculators are widely available and will be sold at the College shop. The list is
reviewed each year and displayed closer to the examination period. It is up to the student to
check closer to the exam period, that the calculator they intend using in exams is allowed as
changes to the list may have occurred.
NB: The unauthorised use of other calculators during an examination is banned
and such use would constitute an examination irregularity resulting in a student
being called before an Inquiry Board.
8.2 How to plan for and survive examinations
However carefully all the examinations are planned by the Registrar’s Division, in
consultation with the Department, because of the wide range of options, it is impossible to
please everyone all of the time. You may find that all your examinations are scheduled close
together with no substantial break in between. The important thing is not to panic. Listed
below are a few hints, which might make your examination period a little less stressful.
Students habitually throw away marks in examinations for reasons that have nothing to do
with their lack of knowledge of the subject matter. You have studied for a long time (usually
a year at least) to do your best in the examination and it would be irrational to throw away
credit through lack of common-sense. Here is some simple advice to improve your
examination performance.
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Before an examination





check its date, time and location;
know how long it will take you to get there, (go there beforehand!);
know the format of the paper (how many questions to choose from, how many
questions to do, how much time to spend on each, etc.);
assemble required implements (pens, pencils, calculator, etc.);
remember your UCL identification card, exam ID card and to check your exam timetable.
Do not take anything to the examination hall which could be misconstrued as helping you in
the exam, i.e., small slips of paper with an equation written on it, similarly do not
have anything written on your hands. UCL is unforgiving on plagiarism and cheating
and will certainly act vigorously if such events are detected. You could find yourself facing
an Exam Irregularities Panel and as a result of their judgement be removed from UCL
without ever being allowed to finish your degree studies. No dictionaries are allowed.
At the examination
Read the instructions (the rubric) at the head of the paper, taking particular note of: the number of questions to be answered;
 whether the paper is in sections, the number of questions to be answered from each
section;
 the time to be spent on each question;
 whether or not each new question has to be started on a new page of the answer book;
 decide which questions you are going to attempt, trying to rank them in order of easiness,
and answer them in this order;
 do all the parts you can of all the questions you decide to answer;
 if you get completely stuck on part of a question, do not pursue it whilst there are other
questions that you know you can answer; you can always come back to the
‘troublemaker’ later, if time permits;
 most questions are in several parts and each part carries marks – even if you are unable to
tackle the whole of a question, always make an attempt to do as much of it as you can
and clearly identify which part you are answering;
 do not write long, rambling essays; examiners will be looking for understanding of a few
key points, so list the ones you want to make, and write concisely about them – a single
sentence on each key point is often all that is needed;
 it is unlikely that your handwriting will be at its best under examination conditions, but the
examiner cannot give marks for an answer that cannot be deciphered – try to write as
clearly as you possibly can;
 never leave an examination before time is up; even if you have done very little, there may
be more marks to be had by polishing and thinking more about the questions;
 if you are in danger of running out of time, quickly sketch a skeleton of the answer you
would have given; it may earn you a few more marks.
 NEVER use pencil for writing in exams. Always use ink.
All the above may seem very obvious. Nevertheless, year after year, failure to observe these
few common-sense guidelines leads some students to doing worse than they are capable of
and in some cases to fail. Make sure you are not among them.
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8.3 Withdrawal from Examinations and interruptions in study
To withdraw from an examination you need to complete the appropriate form and obtain
signed approval of the Programme and Faculty Tutors. Such approval may only be given on
medical grounds or following the death of a near relative or other cause acceptable to the
UCL authorities and provided certification is given to the Department. Once approval has
been granted you will not be regarded as having made an entry to the examination and may
re-sit in the following session without penalty (see re-sits below). If you are considering
withdrawing, you must discuss the matter with the Programme Tutor. Of course a
withdrawal from an examination may impede your progression into the next year.
Students with major health, personal or financial difficulties may apply for an ‘interruption in
study’, which normally also means that the student is withdrawn from all exams that
academic session. Tuition is suspended. The student may resume at a later date (often 12
months later) subject to the resolution of the problem, normally supported by medical
reports etc.
If in any doubt, please consult your Personal Tutor, or the Programme Tutor.
8.4 Problems due to illness
A medical certificate is required for support of all the following.
If you are ill immediately prior to an examination it is essential that you inform your
Programme Tutor. If you are unable to sit the examination through illness or other grave
personal circumstances and supply documentary evidence it may be possible to apply for
deferred assessment. Applications must be made within a week of the end of the
examination period on the appropriate form to your Departmental Tutor for approval by
the Faculty Tutor. All medical matters are treated confidentially. Deferred assessments
are not permitted in your graduating year.
Your absence from exams on
compassionate grounds are treated in a similar manner. This type of assessment will
normally be carried out in the Summer vacation (see later).
If you find that you sustain an injury, which means that you are unable to write, it may be
possible for you to be supplied with an amanuensis, someone who will write down your
answers to examination questions as you dictate. Several things should be borne in mind
before you decide that an amanuensis is the solution: the amanuensis must take down
exactly what you say, even if it is wrong. On the other hand you may be awarded extra
examination time.
Alternatively, if your medical condition means you are capable of writing slowly, you may
prefer to be assessed by Student Health and be allowed to sit the examination under
medical supervision. Although you will be given no extra time for the exam, you will be
allowed breaks when the clock will be stopped and then started again after you resume
writing.
If you are taken ill during an examination you may be taken to Student Health together with
your examination paper. This means that if you recover sufficiently to be able to continue,
you can do so under medical supervision.
15
If you decide that, despite feeling ill, you still want to sit the examination, you will be
allowed to leave, temporarily, the examination hall under supervision. You will not be
allowed any extra time, although a note of your absences from the examination hall will be
made on the formal notification to the Registry. NB: Please ensure that you are
accompanied at all times if you do temporarily leave the examination hall.
8.5 Problems due to late arrival or absence
If you arrive less than half-an-hour late you will be allowed to enter the examination hall
and to sit the examination but you will not be given any extra time and MUST finish at the
same time as the other candidates sitting the paper.
If you arrive after the first half-an-hour but before the end of the examination you will not
be allowed to sit in the examination hall but will be sent to report to your Programme Tutor
without delay. Normally you will be allowed to sit the paper in the Department but 30
minutes will be deducted from the time allowed. You will be asked to give a written
explanation for your late arrival.
If you arrive at the Department AFTER the time for the normal end of the examination you
will NOT be allowed to sit the paper, and will be given a fail in that module unless there are
strong extenuating circumstances. In that case that form must be filled out.
8.6 Reassessments (Re-sits) and Repeats of Year
A module is passed when the aggregate of marks from all components (usually exam and
coursework) exceeds the pass mark (40% in years 1, 2 and 3, and 50% in year 4 of the
MSci). If the overall module mark is less than the pass mark, the module is failed and may
be retaken. According to UCL rules, components of failed modules that were given a mark
below the pass mark may be retaken, once – at the next opportunity. Thus a retake can
involve redoing the exam only, the coursework only, or both. The exact retake position for
individual students will be indicated on Portico.
Any modules, or indeed components of modules, which have been recorded as passed may
not be retaken to gain a better mark.
Students who at a first attempt do not pass a module may retake normally on not more
than ONE occasion provided the original or a strictly comparable course is being examined.
Such a reassessment must be made at the next available opportunity. For example, a failed
first-year module may be retaken at the same time as all second-year exams in the
following session. If you are unsuccessful in the reassessment, application must be made to
the College for special permission to be reassessed on one further occasion.
Normally, if a module is passed on re-sit, the “failed mark” is replaced by the new mark
obtained at re-sit without any penalty being applied. If the mark for the second attempt is
lower than the first, the higher mark is used.
Absenting yourself from an exam and the re-sit for that exam will have a dramatic effect on
whether you can get a degree. If you do this you will be considered ‘Not Complete’ in your
studies which will make the award of a degree very unlikely. All exams must be
attempted.
16
Repeats of a year are possible if the normal year progression criteria are not met (see
below). Normally this is undertaken by registration for re-attendance of any number of failed
modules. Reassessment also can be taken without attendance at classes. This rule is forced
upon us by the complicated quota rules for student admissions. Indeed a repeating student
can choose to be reassessed entirely without attendance; effectively the student takes a
year out, and returns for the exam period only (though coursework deadlines through the
year will need to be observed, if necessary). In both cases College will require a fee to be
paid, but fees for repeat without attendance are much lower since no tuition is received.
If you are obliged to repeat a year you may substitute up to two modules for original noncore courses failed or not examined. No more than two modules may be substituted in this
way over your entire degree programme. However, you will normally only be allowed ONE
attempt at the examination in the new courses, i.e., no re-sit of a substitution is allowed.
8.7 Dyslexia and other medical conditions
If you have been clinically diagnosed as suffering from dyslexia you will be allowed extra
time during examinations – usually an extra 10 minutes per hour. It is vitally important
that the Programme Tutor and the College Disabilities Group is made aware that
you are dyslexic at least 3 months before the examination period, so that certain
administrative documentation can be produced to ensure that the Examinations Section of
the Registry are aware of your needs. Examinations taken by dyslexic students are held
centrally in a room on the College campus.
Special exam facilities are also made available by UCL for students with long term medical
conditions. Again adequate notice must be given to make these arrangements, through the
Programme Tutor.
In short, if you have a disability, or suspect you may have one, you should go to the
Student Disability Service (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/disability). It is important that you are
assessed/registered so that we know how to help you.
8.8 Plagiarism
Plagarism is of great concern to us, especially with the large availability of information on
the Internet, and we are doing all we can to stamp it out. It is considered as cheating and is
not tolerated by the Department, Faculty and UCL.
The following is an extract from the “UCL Student Handbook”, prepared by the Registrar’s
Division.
“Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of another person’s thoughts or words or artefacts
or software as though they were a student’s own. Any quotation from the published or
unpublished works of other persons must, therefore, be clearly identified as such by being
placed inside quotation marks, and students should identify their sources as accurately and
fully as possible. A series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly
identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged
long quotation from a single source.”
“Where part of an examination consists of ‘take away’ papers, essays or other work written
in a student’s own time, or a course work assessment, the work submitted must be the
17
candidate’s own.” Plagiarism constitutes an “examination offence under the University
regulations and will normally be treated as cheating or irregularities under the regulations
for Proceedings in respect of Examination Irregularities. Under these Regulations students
found to have committed an offence may be excluded from all further examinations of the
University or of the College or of both.”
The following is taken directly from a handout entitled “How NOT to fail your Degree”
produced by N.Hayes and R. Muid from the UCL Dept of Pharmacology (2006) but is also
applicable in our department.
What does this mean in practice for you, as a student in this Department?
It means you CANNOT do the following:





Cut and paste from electronic journals, websites or other sources to create a piece of
work.
Use someone else’s work as your own.
Recycle essays or practical work of other people or your own (this is self-plagiarism).
Employ a professional ghostwriting firm or anyone else to produce work for you.
Produce a piece of work based on someone else's ideas without citing them.
You CAN do the following:



You can quote from sources providing you use quotation marks and cite the source (this
includes websites).
You can paraphrase (take information from a piece of work and rewrite it in a new form)
but you must still mention the source.
In the case of joint work (e.g. a group project) individuals may use the same data, but
the interpretation and conclusions derived from that data must be their own.
It doesn’t matter if you didn’t mean to plagiarise, at UCL any form of plagiarism is an
offence which will be punished. Ignorance is not an excuse.”
(Inclusion of the above sections is not plagiarism, as it has been enclosed in quotes and fully
attributed to someone else in another UCL Department. That is allowed!)
The most common form of plagiarism consists of downloading large sections of essays from
the internet without including the necessary quotation marks or specific references. When
teaching staff mark work of an essay/report nature, they are encouraged to check for webplagiarism by using a search engine such as that supplied by www.google.com. UCL also
uses the ‘Turn-It-In’ ® software system, which all Departments will be able to use to check
all work using databases of past work from students and the Internet.
UCL requires the following statement to appear in this handbook:“You (students) should note that UCL has now signed up to use a sophisticated detection
system (Turn-It-In) to scan work for evidence of plagiarism, and the Department intends to
use this for assessed coursework. This system gives access to billions of sources worldwide,
including websites and journals, as well as work previously submitted to the Department,
UCL and other universities”
The Department also considers the undisclosed “borrowing” of the results of laboratory
experiments from other students in order to write up a detailed report on an experiment
18
that has not been fully completed by the borrowing student to be especially serious in that
the whole practical course is judged by continuous assessment. If you work in a partnership
with someone on an experiment or a group you may all use the same raw data obviously
but it is expected that any report you produce will be in your own words, analysis and your
own layout. Just changing the odd word here and there is not sufficient to avoid being very
heavily penalized for plagiarism.
Of course, it is educationally very healthy if students discuss their courses together but the
mere copying of homework without contributing to the dialogue serves little purpose in
either understanding the subject matter or preparing a student for examinations. Again the
writing-up of homework solutions must be done independently in your own fashion. (The
feeling of deja-vu, especially when ‘errors’ and the same ‘odd’ steps in a solution are copied
blindly, can be very strong for a marker looking at lots of work.)
Cases of suspected cheating are first investigated by a Departmental Disciplinary Panel. In
accordance with the Examination Regulations, all serious cases must then be passed on to
the UCL Registry, which will decide whether the case should be dealt with at UCL or
Departmental level. Penalties that can be imposed by the College can be very serious students do get expelled and do not complete their degrees - as outlined by the Registrar’s
Division at the start of this section.
Students should be aware that a future employer requiring references about a student,
normally seeks information from a Tutor regarding a student’s “honesty and integrity”. We
find it impossible to give a good reference for a student who has been caught resorting to
plagiarism of any kind.
9. ASSESSMENT AND PROGRESSION IN THE DEGREE
For all students in years 1 to 3, the pass mark for a module will be 40%. For lecture
courses, a continuous assessment mark from homeworks is combined with that obtained in
the written examination to determine your final mark for each course.
The pass mark in the MSci fourth-year modules is 50%.
9.1 Examination results
Marking and second marking of exam scripts takes place in May and early June. Provisional
examination results are agreed in late June at a meeting of the Departmental Board of
Examiners. The results must also be ratified by the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical
Sciences (MAPS) and the UCL Board of Examiners before they are made official, typically in
late July. The Faculty will inform students of their provisional progression in their degree, or
degree award, as soon as possible. Confirmed marks will be released in late July through
Portico by the Registry after full ratification of the results has occurred. Students can access
this website using their UCL computing username and password.
9.2 September Referrals and Deferred Assessments
At the moment, students who fail a module may be offered the chance of a September
Referral, provided a mark of between 30 and 39% has been obtained overall (taught or
practical modules alike) and at least 30% has been obtained on the written examination.
Referrals are not offered to students if they are unable to accrue sufficient units to progress,
less than 3.5 (yr1) or 7 (yr2).
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A referral consists of study of the failed exam paper during the summer vacation (books and
notes may be used in this task) followed by the sitting of that paper under exam conditions
in September. No choice of Section B questions will be allowed in the exam, students will be
told which ones they should attempt on the day of the exam so must be prepare to answer
any section B question. If the candidate achieves a mark greater than 55% in the re-taken
paper, then a pass at 40% will be recorded for the module. For a practical referral, an
alternative form of assessment will be used. Students are not normally allowed to count
more than three modules (1.5 cu) passed on referral towards the criteria needed to
progress to the next year of study (see below).
September referrals usually will take place during the first week of September, typically over
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Students are expected to attend the referrals as
scheduled, the Department will only consider requests to reschedule for documented
medical reasons.
A student who is unable to attend a written examination for certain reasons, (e.g.,
certificated illness, bereavement, etc.) may apply for ’Deferred Assessment’ in that
module. If supported by the Board of Examiners and approved by the Registry, UCL
regulations say that this deferred assessment should be in the same form as the
original assessment. The student will then write an unseen exam, of the same format
as the original exam, in September, during the referral period. No more than 4 units
for the BSc, and 6 for the MSci degree, may be taken by deferred assessment
during the period of study for these degrees.
The September Referral Scheme and Deferred assessment scheme is not allowed to
graduating students. In any case, a student who experiences any debilitating
symptoms or illness in their graduating year should submit an extenuating
circumstances form to their Programme Tutor.
9.3 Yearly progression and degree classification
In order to satisfy UCL requirements for the award of a BSc degree, 12 course units must be
completed of which 11 must be passed for honours. ‘Completed’, in this instance, means
being registered for a module, attempting and submitting module coursework etc. and
attended associated Problem-solving tutorials and the exam. Attendance at lectures and
classes may also be relevant. A failure to attend and attempt sufficient teaching elements of
a module can be grounds for non-completion, this will affect your course unit total and could
stop the award of your degree. For the award of an MSci degree, 16 course units must be
completed of which 14.5 must be passed for honours. Again all components of a module
must be attempted exactly as for the BSc. The MAPS Faculty Tutor will not allow progression
into the 2nd year of the course unless a student has passed at least 3.5 course units in year
1, while the transfer from year 2 to year 3 requires 7 units. Exceptions are only considered if
there are serious mitigating circumstances.
A BSc honours degree normally requires passing at least 3 advanced (standard year 3)
course units in the final year of the programme, whereas an MSci honours degree normally
requires a pass in 1.5 units of project work and at least 1.5 units more in masters (standard
year 4) level modules in the final year of the programme – we strongly recommend that you
take at least 2.0 M-level course units in your final year.
20
In the algorithm used to calculate class of degree, the aggregated mark in each year is
computed in the following way. In Y1 the best four modules will be weighted equally and
the worst four half-weighted. In Y2 and Y3 the best six are weighted equally and the worst
two half-weighted. In Y4 all modules are weighted equally.
The final honours classification is then determined by the weighted mean of a student’s
performance for each year, the weighting factors being 1:3:5 for the three-year BSc degree,
and 1:3:5:5 for the MSci degree.
In addition to the course unit module programme, in Physics and Astronomy we operate a
further element of assessment in Communication Skills. This takes the form of modules
PHAS1901 and PHAS2901 which are taken in years 1 and 2. They are formally of zero
course unit value, but are weighted into the calculation of honours. For a BSc degree, the 12
course units contribute approximately 95% of the overall credit, and the communication
skills assessment the remaining 5%. For an MSci, the communication skills element is
approximately 3%, and the 16 course units contribute the rest of the credit.
The award of honours is then determined as follows:
Degree Class
First
Upper Second
Lower Second
Third
Weighted Mean
70%
60-69.9%
50-59.9%
40-49.9%
Students who fail to meet the criteria for an Honours degree will, if they have completed 11
units of which at least 10 have been passed, and with at least two at advanced (standard
Y3) level, be considered for the award of an Ordinary (unclassified) degree.
Borderline cases are reviewed at the meeting of the Exam Board Meeting, at which time
relevant information, including performance in all units, may be taken into account. You
should make sure that your Programme Tutor is aware of any mitigating circumstance which
may have affected your performance in exams or work throughout the year. You will be
required to provide written documentation supporting your claim. These matters will not be
discussed openly at the Examiners meeting.
Students who present extenuating circumstances should be aware that allowances made are
almost always marginal, and important only to those students near borderlines.
9.4 Progression in Theoretical Physics
In addition to the above, for a student registered for the Theoretical Physics programme
to be allowed to progress into the 2nd year of the programme, normally an average of 60%
or more in the mathematical modules PHAS1449, PHAS1245, PHAS1246 and PHAS1247 is
required. Students not achieving this will be transferred to the Physics programme.
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9.5 MSci progression rules
The following are additional criteria which are normally applied for determining progression
to the 3rd and 4th year of an MSci programme.
Before confirmation of entry to the 3rd Year of an MSci programme, a student should have
passed at least 7 course units, with a weighted mark of at least 60% (50% for students who
started their first year in 2012-13 or earlier), as compounded from all available elements of
the 1st- and 2nd-Year work. If the criteria are not satisfied, the student is transferred to the
relevant BSc programme.
Before confirmation of entry to the 4th year of an MSci programme, a student must have:
• registered on a 4-year degree course at least before the end of term 2 in year 3;
• Taken all appropriate 3rd-year modules of a 4-year MSci programme;
• Been awarded at least 11 course units or greater, which should normally include all core
courses;
• Achieved a weighted mark of greater than 60% (55% for students who started their first
year in 2012-13 or earlier), as compounded from all assessable elements of the 1st, 2nd and
3rd year work.
If you do not fulfil the required criteria to proceed at the end of the 3rd year, you will be
considered for graduation with the award of a BSc Honours degree. Note that, unless there
are medical or other extenuating circumstances, you are not allowed to resit 3rd year units in
order to meet these criteria.
If a student has any extenuating circumstance which has affected their study during the
year or their performance in examination an extenuating circumstances form should be
completed by the student and passed to the Programme Tutor as soon as is possible along
with supporting evidence which is normally required, i.e. medical notes.
That form and others are available on the departmental Moodle page (as well as on UCL’s
main website): “Departmental Programme Tutor’s Page”. All students are registered to be
able to access that area and can find other forms and departmental handbooks there, also
engage in Forums with other students.
10. DATA PROTECTION ACT
The Data Protection Act (1998) states than an individual has the right to see any personal
information held about them by any organization, and to stop information about them being
published without their permission. You do not have the right to see your exam scripts, but
can request a transcript of examiners’ comments made about them.
When you enroll in the Registrar’s Division you will be asked to sign an enrolment form
which contains a clause for Data Protection allowing UCL to hold your personal information
“for the purposes of administering your Student life”. When you become a user of the UCL
I.T. system you will sign a disclaimer, in the contract, agreeing that UCL may hold
information about you for this purpose, and that UCL may monitor your use of I.T.
equipment.
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11. PRIZES
At the end of each academic year outstanding performances of undergraduates can be
rewarded by being nominated for receipt of a prize from UCL and the Department. The
prize-giving ceremony is very informal and usually takes place at a Gala Evening near the
end of October. Prizes are normally awarded in the form a cheque which may be used for
any purpose.
OLIVER LODGE PRIZE
HALLEY PRIZE
C.A.R. TAYLER PRIZE (Best
WOOD PRIZE
HUGGINS PRIZE
DAVID PONTER PRIZE
CORRIGAN PRIZE
SESSIONAL PRIZES
3RD YEAR PHYSICS
3RD YEAR ASTROPHYSICS
SESSIONAL PRIZE
BURHOP PRIZE
HERSCHEL PRIZE
BRIAN DUFF PRIZE
WILLIAM BRAGG PRIZE
TESSELLA PRIZE
(Best performance 1st year Physics) £50
(Best performance 1st year Astrophysics) £50
nd
2 Year Essay) £25
(Best performance 2nd year Physics) £75
(Best performance 2nd year Astrophysics) £75
(Most improved performance, 1st to 2nd year) £75
(Best performance in experimental work, 2nd year) £50
(For Merit 1st or 2nd year) £30
(Best Performance in 3rd year Physics) £75
(Best Performance in 3rd year Astrophysics) £75
(For Merit 3rd year) £50
(Best performance 4th year Physics) £100
(Best performance 4th year Astrophysics) £100
(Best 4th Year project in the department) £75
(Best overall undergraduate) £150
(Best use of software in final year projects) £250 (may be
split into two prizes)
SET AWARD NOMINATION FOR BEST PHYSICS STUDENT
In addition to the above prizes, following the recommendation of the Exam Board Chair, in
June each year, and subject to approval by the External Examiners, an outstanding
graduating student may be nominated for the Faculty Medal (Mathematical and Physics
Sciences, UCL).
12. UCL’S GREEN POLICY
The majority of waste generated by UCL is capable of being recycled. From 1 August 2008 a
new waste management strategy was implemented that emphasises recycling.
From now on we ask that all food and polystyrene wastes which are not recyclable are
separated from other wastes which are. Non-recyclable wastes such as food, waxed paper
and polystyrene must be put into bins with black bin liners. This goes to landfill. Waste that
can be recycled must be put into bins that have clear bin liners. We can recycle paper, card,
glass, cans and most plastic. Broken glass must be boxed and clearly labelled. It is now
being reused as hardcore and can include clean Pyrex glass.
In addition, the department reuses furniture wherever possible, making use of the UCL
furniture pool. When furniture is broken and reuse is not possible, we recycle metal
furniture.
Energy efficient lighting has been installed in many rooms across UCL. Don’t forget to
switch off lights when you have finished using a room. Radiator thermostats should not be
23
turned up above setting 3 (red dot) as this overrides the thermostat. Always turn radiators
down first before opening windows and close windows when you leave a room.
As well as UCL-wide initiatives, individual departments are setting up their own Green
Teams. The Bartlett has a group of Green Champions who meet periodically to exchange
ideas about how best to encourage others to be more environmentally friendly. UCL’s policy
is now to use recycled paper for all UCL business and departments are expanding this to
include other stationery items such as envelopes and labels. In addition, the Internet and email are being used more frequently to convey information rather than hard copies of
documents being provided.
This initiative is strongly supported by the Provost and staff and students are all being
encouraged to follow it.
Details of UCL’s Carbon Management Plan can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/greenucl/.
24
APPENDIX 1 - Module selection on PORTICO (UCL Student Information
Service)
The following section has been supplied by the UCL Registry
“UCL operates a Student Information System which is known as PORTICO.
Access to Portico is available to everyone across UCL – both staff and students alike – via
the web portal www.ucl.ac.uk/portico. You will need to logon using your UCL userid and
password, which are issued to you once you have enrolled. These are the same as the ones
used for accessing UCL restricted web pages, intranet, UCL email and the Windows Terminal
Service (WTS). If you do not know them, you should contact the Information System
Helpdesk as soon as possible (www.ucl.ac.uk/is/helpdesk). Please remember that passwords
automatically expire after 150 days, unless they have been changed. Warnings are sent to
your UCL email address during a 30 day period, prior to your password being reset.
- You can read your UCL email on the web at www.webmail.ucl.ac.uk
- You can change your password on the web, at any time, at
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/passwords/changepw.htm.
Passwords cannot be issued over the phone unless you are registered for the User
Authentication Service, see www.ucl.ac.uk/is/helpdesk/authenticate/. We strongly advise
that you register for this service. If you have not registered for the User Authentication
Service you will need to visit the IS Helpdesk in person or ask them to post a new password
to your registered home or term-time address. More information can be found at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/helpdesk/.
As a student you can take ownership of your own personal data by logging on to Portico.
In Portico you can:
 edit your own personal data e.g. update your home and term addresses, contact
numbers and other elements of your personal details;
 complete online module registration – i.e. select the modules you would like to
study, in accordance with the rules for your programme of study (subject to formal
approval & sign off by the relevant teaching department and your parent
department);
 view data about courses/modules - i.e. information on courses/modules available
either in your home department or elsewhere to help you choose your optional
modules / electives.
 See and print out your personal timetable.
 view your own examination results on-line in late July.
Any continuing student requiring official confirmation of their results, or any graduating
student
requiring
additional copies of their transcript, should
refer to
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/exams_and_awards/qualifications/transcripts
for
information on obtaining an official transcript. If you have any comments or suggestions for
Portico then please e-mail: portico_web_feedback@ucl.ac.uk
(a) On-line module registration for most students in years 2, 3 and 4.
You can choose your modules in accordance with the rules for your programme of study.
This is not necessary for 1st year students, only students in later years where option courses
have to be chosen Note that Portico now includes timetabling information, but you
should check with the teaching department concerned to ensure that your choice
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of any optional/elective module does not clash with any of your other modules.
Also, many departments have specific procedures for approving module selections/signing
students up so you should ensure that you familiarise yourself with these.
You can access the Module Selection screen in Portico via the option ‘Select your
modules/course components’ in the Student Academic Details container. Clicking on this
option opens the following screen:
The top of the screen shows any compulsory modules which you have to take. To complete
the module registration process you should select any optional/elective modules as listed at
the bottom of the screen. Clicking on the ‘Select’ button next to the appropriate rule, which
will open the optional/elective selection screen.
(b) Selection screen – optional modules
If the rule specifies choosing a module from a defined list (an optional module), you will be
presented with a screen as follows:
26
Click in the ‘Select’ box next to the appropriate module to choose the module(s) you wish to
take. To view further details about the module, click on the module name. The rule in the
header above the list of modules states how many modules/credits you should choose. You
must enter the correct number and then click on the ‘Submit Selections’ button to return to
the main screen. To return to the main screen without submitting any selections, click on
the ‘Cancel Selection’ button.
(c) Selection screen – elective modules
If the rule specifies choosing ‘any undergraduate’ or ‘any postgraduate module’ (an elective
module, subject to approval), clicking on the ‘Select’ button next to the appropriate rule on
the main screen will open the following screen:
As with the optional module selection screen, the rule in the header will state how many
modules/credits you should choose. You should input the appropriate module code(s) in
the module box and insert an ‘A’ in the ‘Occ’ (Occurrence) field. Alternatively, you can use
the ‘Search’ button to find a module. Use the ‘Submit Selections’ button to enter the
modules, or the ‘Cancel selections’ button to return to the main screen without submitting
anything.
(d) Validation/Confirmation of selections
Once you have completed all of your selections, ensure that they comply with any
‘Overarching rule’ indicated in the ‘Overarching’ column on the main screen and then click
on the ‘Submit Selections’ button on the main screen.
Once you have submitted your selections, you will be presented with a final screen, where
you can either undo your last change or you can confirm your selections by clicking on the
‘Confirm Selections’ button. Note that once you have clicked on this button you
cannot go back – you will then need to contact your Programme Tutor to make
any amendments to your selections. Following your confirmation, you will be
presented with a screen that confirms you have completed the module registration process,
listing the modules you have selected.
All of your selections are subject to the approval of the teaching department for the module
and your parent department. You will receive an automatic email to your UCL email address
27
if any of your selections are rejected and you must ensure that you respond to this by
contacting your Programme Tutor, whom you should also contact if you wish to amend a
selection at any time. You can check on the approval status for each of your modules by
clicking on the ‘View Module Selection status’ option in your Student Academic Details
container. “
Any continuing student requiring official confirmation of their results, or any graduating
student requiring additional copies of their transcript, should refer to the information at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/registry/current/examinations/transcripts/.
Revised 7 August 2014
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