Subject: PG
Cert and PG Dip awards on MRes programmes
Background
At its January meeting, the PDQ
Team was informed that Curriculum Sub-Committee had requested that the position
concerning the PG Certificate and PG Diploma as exit awards on MRes programmes
be clarified.
At its meeting on 12 January,
CSC returned to MRes proposals from the Department of Human Sciences. The proposers were congratulated on the
quality of the revised documentation, which fully aligned with the University's
concept of an MRes [as approved by LTC and Senate in November
2005].
It was noted that the proposed
Programme Regulations made no mention of the award of PGDip\PGCert, in line with
the Sub-Committee's recommendation to Learning and Teaching Committee at its
last meeting that such awards should not be available as alternative\exit awards
for an MRes. That recommendation had not been carried forward to Senate,
however, and its status was unclear.
CSC asked that this matter be
clarified and the outcome reported to the proposers, and to those recently
submitting other MRes proposals.
Explanatory Note
The PG Cert and PG Dip are
normally available as exit awards on taught Masters programmes for students who
complete only part of the requirements for the Masters degree, either by choice,
or as a result of failure in the assessments for the higher volume award. The awards are invariably made in the
same subject as the Masters programme: for example, the PG Dip awarded to
students who exit from the MSc in Mobile Communications is the PG Dip in Mobile
Communications. In the case of the
MRes, however, whereas the full title of the degree conveys appropriate
information about the level, nature and subject of study (eg Master of Research
in Human Biology), ‘PG Cert’ and ‘PG Dip’ combined in the title with the subject
discipline (PG Dip in Human Biology) could give a less than accurate impression
of the studies undertaken. The
difficulty is highlighted by the fact that the same award title would be
available for students on an MSc in Human Biology who might have followed
advanced studies in the discipline without a research skills/training
focus.
Recommendation
Learning and Teaching Committee
recommends to Senate that the lower volume awards should be available to
students on MRes programmes, but the awards should be styled as the PGCert or
PGDip in Advanced Studies in [the subject named in the relevant MRes
title].