[Until 1 October 2012: SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE HONOUR SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY

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For candidates who embarked on the Honour School in or before October 2009, taking Part IA in or before 2010, Part IB in or before 2011, and Part II in or before 2012

A

1. The subject of the Honour School of Chemistry shall be the study of Chemistry.
2. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this school unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.
3. The examination in this school shall be under the supervision of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Board, which shall prescribe the necessary regulations.
4. The examination in Chemistry shall consist of three parts: IA, IB, II.
5. No candidate may present him or herself for examination in Part II unless he or she has been adjudged worthy of honours by the examiners in Part I (Part IA and Part IB).
6. The name of a candidate shall not be published in a class list until he or she has completed all parts of the examination, and has been adjudged worthy of honours by the examiners in Part I (Part IA and Part IB) and Part II of the examination in consecutive years. The Examiners shall give due consideration to the performance in all parts of the respective examinations.
7. The examiners shall be entitled to award a Pass to candidates in Part I (Part IA and Part IB) who have reached a standard considered adequate but who have not been adjudged worthy of honours.
8. A candidate who obtains only a pass, or fails to satisfy the examiners, may enter again for Part IB of the examination on one, but no more than one, subsequent occasion. Part IA and Part II shall be entered on one occasion only.
9. A candidate adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I (Parts IA and IB) and worthy of Honours in Part II may supplicate for the Degree of Master of Chemistry, provided that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
10. A candidate who passes Part I (Parts IA and IB) or who is adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I (Parts IA and IB), but who does not enter Part II, or fails to obtain Honours in Part II, is permitted to supplicate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry (pass or unclassified Honours, as appropriate); provided that no such candidate may later enter or re-enter the Part II year or supplicate for the degree of Master of Chemistry; and provided in each case that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
11. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge based on practical work. The examination shall be partly practical: this requirement shall normally be satisfied by the examiners' assessment of the practical work done by candidates during their course of study: provided that this requirement may be satisfied, in the case of a supplementary subject for which the faculty has so prescribed in the Course Handbook, by the assessment by the examiners of the supplementary subject examination. Exceptionally, the examiners may require a candidate to take a practical examination.

B

1. In the following, ‘the Course Handbook’ refers to the Chemistry Undergraduate Course Handbook, posted annually at the start of Michaelmas Term by the Faculty of Chemistry on the website at:

http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/teaching/UndergradHandbook.pdf

2. The examiners will permit the use of any hand-held calculator subject to the conditions set out under the heading ‘Use of calculators in examinations’ in the Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations and further elaborated in the Course Handbook.

3. Supplementary Subjects

(i) Candidates may offer themselves for examination in one or more Supplementary Subjects, provided that no more than three Supplementary Subjects may be offered in total.
(ii) Candidates awarded a pass in a Supplementary Subject examination may not retake the same Supplementary Subject examination.
(iii) Supplementary Subjects may be offered in all or any of the years in which candidates take any Part of the Second Public Examination.
(iv) The Supplementary Subjects available in any year will be published, together with the term in which each subject will be examined, in the Course Handbook in the academic year in which the courses are delivered. Regulations governing the use of calculators in individual Supplementary Subjects will be notified in the Course Handbook.
(v) Where a Language Supplementary Subject is available, entry of candidates for examination in Language Supplementary Subjects shall require the approval of the Chairman of the Chemistry Academic Board and the Director of the Language Centre or their deputies. Approval shall not be given to candidates who have, at the start of the course, already acquired demonstrable skills exceeding the target learning outcomes in the chosen language.
(vi) In determining the place of candidates in the Class List the Examiners shall take account of distinction in any Supplementary Subjects which have been offered.

Parts IA and IB

In the Part IA examination, one compulsory three-hour paper will be set in each of Inorganic, Organic, and Physical Chemistry, covering the fundamental aspects of material from Years 1 and 2.

In the Part IB examination, there will be one compulsory three-hour paper in each of Inorganic, Organic, and Physical Chemistry, covering material in the core courses of Years 1-3. In addition, there will be at least six two-hour Option Papers: candidates must sit three of these, in any combination from those advertised; the papers will examine the content of the Option courses, but will also require knowledge of core course material. The Option Papers will offer a choice of two questions from at least five.

Heads of the three main Sub-departments of Chemistry, or their deputies, and the IT Training Officer, shall make available to the Examiners records showing the extent to which each candidate has pursued an adequate course in laboratory work and in IT. Only that work completed and marked by 5 p.m. of the Friday of the fourth week of the Trinity Term in which the candidate takes Part IB shall be included in these records. The Examiners will require evidence of satisfactory laboratory work during the course over a period of three years in respect of two of the three divisions, Inorganic, Organic, and Physical Chemistry, and in IT, and over a period of two years in respect of the remaining division, with the following exception: in the case of candidates who have passed an examination in a Supplementary Subject before they take Part IB of the Final Honour School, evidence of satisfactory laboratory work during the course over a period of three years will be required in respect of only one division, and in IT, and over a period of two years in the other two divisions. Only one Supplementary Subject may be set against laboratory work in this way.

Satisfactory completion of a prescribed minimum amount of laboratory work (allowing for a Supplementary Subject where taken) is an absolute requirement for passing Part IB.

Candidates may be examined viva voce at the Examiners' discretion in Part IB, but not in Part IA.

Candidates are not permitted to enter their names for examination in Part IA until they have entered upon the fifth term from their matriculation.

Candidates are not permitted to enter their names for examination in Part IB until they have entered upon the eighth term from their matriculation, or before sitting all the papers set for Part IA in a previous year.

Part II

Candidates, who must have been judged worthy of Honours by the Examiners in Part I (Part IA and Part IB) in a previous year, must present a record of investigations carried out under the supervision of one of the following:

(i) any professor, reader, university lecturer, departmental demonstrator, or senior research officer who is also an official member of the Faculty of Chemistry;
(ii) any other person approved by the Chemistry Academic Board.

In case (ii), a co-supervisor as defined under (i) must also be approved, and so must the proposed project. Applications for project approval, including the names of the supervisor and a co-supervisor and a short project summary (not more than 250 words), should be sent by the student to the Chemistry Academic Board, c/o Chemistry Faculty Office, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, South Parks Road, by Friday of the first week of Hilary Full Term preceding the intended Part II year. Students who are uncertain whether their intended Part II supervision is in category (ii) above should consult their College Tutor or the Chemistry Faculty Office.

Candidates shall be examined viva voce, and, if the Examiners think fit, in writing, on their investigations and matters relevant thereto. The Examiners may obtain a report on the work of each candidate from the supervisor concerned.

A candidate intending to offer Part II shall give notice to the Chemistry Faculty Office not later than the Friday of the fourth week of the Hilary Full Term. The candidate shall at the same time give notice of the subject of his or her investigations together with evidence (a) that it has been approved by his or her supervisor and (b), if it is to be carried out in a laboratory, that the person in charge of the laboratory considers that it is suitable for investigation in that laboratory.

A candidate for Part II is required to send in, not later than noon on the Friday of the seventh week of the Trinity Full Term, a record of the investigations which he or she has carried out under the direction of his or her supervisor. Such record, which should conform in length and format with guidance which the examiners may give, should be addressed ‘The Examination Schools, Oxford, for the Chairman of the Examiners in Part II of the Final Honour School of Chemistry’ and should be accompanied by a signed statement by the candidate that it is his or her own work.

Candidates for Part II are required to keep statutory residence and pursue their investigations in Oxford during a period of at least 38 weeks in three terms, i.e. from the third Thursday before Michaelmas Full Term to the third Tuesday after Michaelmas Full Term; from the second Tuesday before Hilary Full Term to the Wednesday following Palm Sunday (i.e. the Sunday before Easter Day); and from the Monday following Easter Monday to the third Saturday after Trinity Full Term; provided that the divisional board shall have power to permit candidates to vary the dates of their residence so long as the overall programme requirement is met.]

SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE HONOUR SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY

For candidates embarking on the Honour School in or after October 2010, taking Part IA in or after 2011, Part IB in or after 2012, and Part II in or after 2013

A

1. The subject of the Honour School of Chemistry shall be the study of Chemistry.
2. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this school unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.
3. The examination in this school shall be under the supervision of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Board, which shall prescribe the necessary regulations.
4. The examination in Chemistry shall consist of three parts: IA, IB, II.
5. No candidate may present him or herself for examination in Part II unless he or she has been adjudged worthy of honours by the examiners in Part I (Part IA and Part IB).
6. The name of a candidate shall not be published in a class list until he or she has completed all parts of the examination, and has been adjudged worthy of honours by the examiners in Part I (Part IA and Part IB) and Part II of the examination in consecutive years. The Examiners shall give due consideration to the performance in all parts of the respective examinations.
7. The examiners shall be entitled to award a Pass to candidates in Part I (Part IA and Part IB) who have reached a standard considered adequate but who have not been adjudged worthy of honours.
8. A candidate who obtains only a pass, or fails to satisfy the examiners, may enter again for Part IB of the examination on one, but no more than one, subsequent occasion. Part IA and Part II shall be entered on one occasion only. Marks obtained at Part IA will be carried over to Part IB.
9. A candidate adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I (Parts IA and IB) and worthy of Honours in Part II may supplicate for the Degree of Master of Chemistry, provided that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
10. A candidate who passes Part I (Parts IA and IB) or who is adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I (Parts IA and IB), but who does not enter Part II, or fails to obtain Honours in Part II, is permitted to supplicate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry (pass or unclassified Honours, as appropriate); provided that no such candidate may later enter or re-enter the Part II year or supplicate for the degree of Master of Chemistry; and provided in each case that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
11. Candidates will be required to complete a core practical requirement: provided that this requirement may be reduced for candidates who have passed one or more supplementary subjects. Details of the requirements and the eligible Supplementary Subjects shall be prescribed in the Course Handbook. Exceptionally, the examiners may require a candidate to take a practical examination.

B

1. In the following, ‘the Course Handbook’ refers to the Chemistry Undergraduate Course Handbook, posted annually at the start of Michaelmas Term by the Faculty of Chemistry on the website at: www.chem.ox.ac.uk/teaching/UndergradHandbook.pdf
2. The examiners will permit the use of any hand-held calculator subject to the conditions set out under the heading ‘Use of calculators in examinations’ in the Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations and further elaborated in the Course Handbook.
3. The syllabus for Parts IA and IB shall be published in the Course Handbook.
4. Supplementary Subjects
1. (i) Candidates may offer themselves for examination in one or more Supplementary Subjects, provided that no more than three Supplementary Subjects may be offered in total.
2. (ii) Candidates awarded a pass in a Supplementary Subject examination may not retake the same Supplementary Subject examination.
3. (iii) Supplementary Subjects may be offered in all or any of the years in which candidates take any Part of the Second Public Examination.
4. (iv) The Supplementary Subjects available in any year will be published, together with the term in which each subject will be examined, in the Course Handbook in the academic year in which the courses are delivered. Regulations governing the use of calculators in individual Supplementary Subjects will be notified in the Course Handbook.
5. (v) Where a Language Supplementary Subject is available, entry of candidates for examination in Language Supplementary Subjects shall require the approval of the Chairman of the Chemistry Academic Board and the Director of the Language Centre or their deputies. Approval shall not be given to candidates who have, at the start of the course, already acquired demonstrable skills exceeding the target learning outcomes in the chosen language.
6. (vi) In determining the place of candidates in the Class List the Examiners shall take account of distinction in any Supplementary Subjects which have been offered.

Parts IA and IB

In the Part IA examination, one compulsory two and a half hour paper will be set in each of Inorganic, Organic, and Physical Chemistry, covering the fundamental aspects of material from Years 1 and 2.

In the Part IB examination, there will be two compulsory two and a half hour papers in each of Inorganic, Organic, and Physical Chemistry, covering material in the core courses of Years 1-3. In addition, there will one three-hour Option Paper, which will examine the content of the Option courses, but will also require knowledge of core course material. The Option Paper will offer a choice of three questions from at least twelve, and ten minutes reading time will be allowed.

Heads of the three main Sections of the Chemistry Department, or their deputies, and the IT Training Officer, shall make available to the Examiners records showing the extent to which each candidate has pursued an adequate course in laboratory work and in IT. Only that work completed and marked by 5 p.m. of the Friday of the fourth week of the Trinity Term in which the candidate takes Part IB shall be included in these records. The Examiners will require evidence of satisfactory completion of the core practical requirement, or the reduced requirement in the case of candidates who have passed one or more Supplementary Subjects. In determining the place of candidates in the Class List the Examiners shall take account of the marks reported for the core practical requirement.

Satisfactory completion of the prescribed core practical requirement, (or of a reduced core requirement if a Supplementary Subject is passed), is an absolute requirement for the award of Honours at Part IB and for progression to Part II. Satisfactory completion of a smaller core practical requirement will be required for the award of a Pass degree at Part I. The details of these threshold requirements shall be published in the Course Handbook.

Candidates may be examined viva voce at the Examiners’ discretion in Part IB, but not in Part IA.

Candidates are not permitted to enter their names for examination in Part IA until they have entered upon the fifth term from their matriculation.

Part II

(i) any professor, reader, university lecturer, departmental demonstrator, or senior research officer who is also an official member of the Faculty of Chemistry;
(ii) any other person approved by the Chemistry Academic Board.

Heads of the three main Sections of the Chemistry Department, or their deputies, shall make available to the Chemistry Faculty office not later than the Friday of the fourth week of the Hilary Full Term records giving notice of the subject of investigations for each candidate working in their section, together with evidence (a) that the subject has been approved by the candidate’s supervisor and (b), if it is to be carried out in a laboratory, that the person in charge of the laboratory considers that it is suitable for investigation in that laboratory. Candidates doing their project outside the Chemistry Department are responsible for ensuring that the subject of their investigations is submitted to the Chemistry Faculty office not later than the Friday of the fourth week of the Hilary Full Term.

A candidate for Part II is required to send in, not later than noon on the Friday of the seventh week of the Trinity Full Term, a record of the investigations which he or she has carried out under the direction of his or her supervisor. Such record, which should conform in length and format with guidance which the examiners may give, should be addressed ‘The Examination Schools, Oxford, for the Chairman of the Examiners in Part II of the Final Honour School of Chemistry’ and should have included a Declaration of Authorship signed by the candidate that it is his or her own work.

Candidates for Part II are required to keep statutory residence and pursue their investigations in Oxford during a period of at least thirty-eight weeks in three terms, i.e. from the third Thursday before Michaelmas Full Term to the third Tuesday after Michaelmas Full Term; from the second Tuesday before Hilary Full Term to the Wednesday following Palm Sunday (i.e. the Sunday before Easter Day); and from the Monday following Easter Monday to the third Saturday after Trinity Full Term; provided that the divisional board shall have power to permit candidates to vary the dates of their residence so long as the overall programme requirement is met.