Type of course

This course is an obligatory course in the bachelor's program in biomedicine. The course is also open for students interested in doing a project at the Department of medical biology.

The course is available as a singular course, and for exchange students.

Students enrolled in the bachelor program in biomedicine will attend the course in the 6th semester (spring). It is possible to attend the course in the autumn semester for students enrolled in the bachelor program in biomedicine under certain circumstances.

Admission requirements

Obligatory prerequisites: BIO-1601 Introduction to microbiology, MBI-1000 Biomedicine in the 21st century, MBI-1002 Cell- and molecular biology

Applicants from Nordic countries: Generell studiekompetanse + Matematikk R1 eller (S1+S2) og ett av følgende fag: Matematikk (R1+R2) Fysikk (1+2) Kjemi (1+2) Biologi (1+2) Informasjonsteknologi( 1+2) Geologi (1+2) Teknologi og forskningslære (1+2).

International applicants: Higher Education Entrance Qualification and certified language requirements in English. It is a requirement that students have some prior knowledge of biology (molecular biology/cell biology), chemistry and mathematics. Participants must have taken introductory level university courses, and achieved pass grades, in these subjects.

A list of the requirements for the Higher Education Entrance Qualification in Norway can be found on the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education website - nokut.no

Application code: 9197 (Nordic applicants).

Obligatory prerequisites

Course content

The course comprises a practical/experimental study. A lab course and individual hands-on learning in lab will provide basic experience in various biomedical methods. Students will write a project description/plan together with their supervisor. Based on project description and the lab work the students will write a thesis, that contains a relevant introduction, a clear aim of the work, followed by material, detailed description of methods, results, discussion and a complete reference list. Note that the thesis must follow the accepted rules for citations and references in publications. Introduction to scientific writing will be given as a lecture and a short practical course with focus on self- and co-student assessments. The students will also give an oral presentation of their project for fellow students as part of the requirements for the course.

During one semester, the total workload for this course should correspond to approximately 16 weeks full time job, thesis writing included.

Academic supervision will be offered by researchers at the Department of Medical Biology. The student will in cooperation with his/her supervisor decide the topic of the project and which biomedical methods to use.

The contract of supervision must include a project outline describing the aim, approach and timeframe of the project. The contract of supervision must be approved in advance by the course leader for MBI-2014. The deadline for approval of the contract of supervision is 15th of December.

If you are doing a project outside of the Department of Medical Biology (IMB), you are required to have at least one co-supervisor employed at IMB.

Time frame for the project:

6th of January until 1st of June in the spring semester

Deadline for handing in the thesis will be at 12:00 pm 1st of June for the spring semester, and 15th of December for the autumn semester.

Objectives of the course

The course's overall aim is to give practical training in some biomedical methods and bring students closer to the discipline at research level.

Knowledge. After completion of the course, the student should be able to;

•Know the theoretical background for selected biomedical methods

•Collect knowledge from the literature and explain the background for the problem

•Critically evaluate the information provided in the citations used

Skills. The student should learn to:

•Perform selected biomedical methods and analyze the results

•Write and format a scientific thesis divided in required parts and with correct use of references

•With a certain degree of independence perform selected biomedical methods and writing of a scientific report

•Oral presentation of a research project

Expertise. After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Explore, problem-solving, present and discuss a targeted scientific research question within the field of biomedical laboratory science.
• Work together with scientific personnel on relevant scientific problems
• With a certain degree of independence perform selected biomedical methods and writing of a scientific report
• Critically assess a written text

Lectures/seminars for all students enrolled on the course.

• Introduction to scientific writing (lecture)
• Practical course in scientific writing (seminars)
• Practical lab course on selected methods
• Practical work in the lab related to the bachelor project

Individual academic supervision will be performed by scientific personnel at the Department of medical biology.

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Lectures about scientific writing.

Individual academic supervision will be performed by a researcher at the Department of Medical Biology.