SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE HONOUR SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE

[1] A

1. [2] 1. The subject of the Honour School of Materials Science shall be the study of Materials Science.
2. [3] 2. No candidate shall be admitted to the examination in this school unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.
3. [4] 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. [5] 4. The examination in Materials Science shall consist of Part I and Part II, and shall be partly of a practical nature. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge based on practical work: this requirement shall normally be satisfied by the Examiners' assessment of the practical work done by candidates during their course of study.
5. [6] 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.
6. [7] 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 The name of a candidate shall not be published in a class list until he or she has completed all parts of the examination and has been adjudged worthy of Honours by the examiners in Part I and Part II of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. [8] 7. The examiners shall be entitled to award a pass to candidates in Part I who have reached a standard considered adequate but who have not been adjudged worthy of Honours. [9] For candidates who embark on the Final Honours School on or after 1st October 2012: To achieve Honours at Part I normally a candidate must fulfil all of the requirements under (a), (b) & (c) of this clause. (a) Obtain a minimum mark of 40% averaged over all elements of assessment for the Part I Examination, (b) obtain a minimum mark of 40% in each of at least four of the six written papers sat in Trinity Term of the year of Part I of the Second Public Examination, and (c) satisfy the coursework requirements set out in Section B, Part I below.
8. [10] 8. A candidate who obtains only a pass, or fails to satisfy the examiners, may enter again for Part I of the examination on one, but no more than one, subsequent occasion. Part II shall be entered on one occasion only.
9. [11] 9. A candidate adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I and worthy of Honours in Part II may supplicate for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Materials Science, provided that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
10. [12] 10. A candidate who passes Part I or who is adjudged worthy of Honours in Part I, 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 Materials Science (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 Engineering in Materials Science; and provided in each case that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.

[13] B

1. [14] 1. In the following, ‘the Course Handbook’ refers to the Materials Science and Materials, Economics & Management Final Honours School Course Handbook, published annually at the start of Michaelmas Term by the Faculty of Materials and also posted on the website at: http://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/teaching/ug/ughandbooks.html
2. [15] 2. Candidates are restricted to models of calculators included in the Course Handbook published in the academic year preceding the Part I examination.
3. [16] 3. Supplementary subjects or the completion of an approved course of instruction in a foreign language
   1. [17] (a) As an alternative to offering Engineering and Society coursework, candidates may either offer themselves for examination in a Supplementary Subject or complete an approved, assessed course of instruction in a foreign language, as permitted under clause 3.(c) of the regulations for Materials Science Part I. A candidate who wishes to offer a Supplementary Subject must have the proposal approved by the Chairman of the Faculty of Materials or deputy. Where an approved course of instruction in a foreign language is available (including a Supplementary Subject in a foreign language), entry of candidates for such examinations shall require the approval of the Chairman of the Faculty of Materials 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.
   2. [18] (b) Candidates for Supplementary Subjects or a Foreign Language course may offer themselves for examination in the academic year preceding that in which they take Part I.
   3. [19] (c) 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 when the availability of these subjects is published in the Course Handbook.

[20] PART I

[21] The examination will consist of:

1. [22] 1. Four general papers of three hours each on the fundamental principles and engineering applications of the subject in accordance with the schedule below. The questions set in these papers will be normally such that candidates may reasonably be expected to answer a high proportion of them.
2. [23] 2. Two options papers, each of three hours, containing a wide choice of questions in accordance with the schedule below.
3. [24] 3. In addition to the written papers, the Examiners shall require evidence of satisfactory completion, over a period of five terms subsequent to the sitting of the First Public Examination, of each element of coursework in Materials, as detailed below. In the assessment of the Materials coursework, the Examiners shall take into consideration the requirement for a candidate to complete satisfactorily the coursework to a level prescribed from time to time by the Faculty of Materials and published in the Course Handbook. The coursework elements shall be:
   1. [25] (a) Materials Practical Classes [26] Candidates shall be required to submit detailed reports of the practical work completed over a period of three terms subsequent to the sitting of the First Public Examination. Such reports should be delivered to the Chairman of the Examiners in the Honour School of Materials Science, Part I, c/o the Deputy Administrator (Academic) in the Department of Materials (or their deputy as nominated in the Course handbook), not later than 5 p.m. on Friday of the first week of Michaelmas Full Term in the year of the Second Public Examination. The Examiners shall have the power to require a practical examination of any candidate or to require further evidence, of any kind that they deem appropriate, of a candidate's practical work and ability.
   2. [27] (b) Reports on Industrial Visits [28] Candidates shall be required to submit to the Department (to the person specified in the Course Handbook) reports on a number of industrial visits undertaken over a period of five terms subsequent to the sitting of the First Public Examination. The required number of visits, types of visits allowed, the nature of the reports, and deadlines for submission shall be specified in the Course Handbook.
   3. [29] (c) Engineering and Society Coursework [30] Candidates shall be required to submit one piece of Engineering and Society Coursework, the details of which shall be stated in the Course Handbook. Three copies of the coursework shall be submitted to the Chairman of Examiners in Materials, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, not later than noon on the Monday following the end of Hilary Full Term in the year preceding the Part I examination. The work must be the candidate's own and the candidate shall sign and present with the work a detachable certificate to this effect. [31] As an alternative to offering Engineering and Society coursework, candidates may either offer themselves for examination in a Supplementary Subject or complete an approved, assessed course of instruction in a foreign language.
   4. [32] (d) Team Design Project [33] Candidates shall be required to complete a team design project in the first two weeks of Michaelmas Full Term in the year of the Second Public Examination, and subsequently (i) to submit to the Department (to the person specified in the Course Handbook) three copies of a report on the project and (ii) to deliver to the Examiners an oral presentation on the project, both as detailed in the Course Handbook. The work must be the candidate’s own and the candidate shall sign and present with the written report a detachable certificate to that effect.
   5. [34] (e) Characterisation of Materials Coursework or Introduction to Modelling in Materials Coursework [35] Candidates shall be required to complete either a Characterisation of Materials course or an Introduction to Modelling in Materials course in the first two weeks of Hilary Full Term in the year of the Second Public Examination, and subsequently to submit to the Department (to the person specified in the Course Handbook) three copies of a portfolio of work from the course, as detailed in the Course Handbook. The work must be the candidate’s own and the candidate shall sign and present with the written report a detachable certificate to that effect. [36] Essays or reports previously submitted for the Honour School of Materials Science may be resubmitted. No essay or report will be accepted if it has already been submitted wholly or substantially for another honour school or degree of this University, or for a degree at any other institution. Resubmitted work must be physically presented at the time and in the manner prescribed for submission.

[37] Schedule

[38] (a) General papers

[39] All candidates will be expected to have such knowledge of mathematics as is required for the study of the subjects of the examination.

[40] General Paper 1: Structure and Transformations

[41] General Paper 2: Electronic Properties of Materials

[42] General Paper 3: Mechanical Properties

[43] General Paper 4: Engineering Applications of Materials

[44] (b) Materials Options Papers 1 and 2

[45] The subjects for these papers will be published annually in the Course Handbook.

[46] PART II

[47] Candidates offering Part II of the examination will be expected to carry out investigations in Materials Science or in related subjects under the supervision of one of the following:

1. [48] (i) any professor who is a member of one of the Faculties in the Physical Sciences;
2. [49] (ii) a reader or university lecturer or senior research officer who is a member of one of the Faculties of Physical Sciences;
3. [50] (iii) a tutor or lecturer in any society who is a member of one of the Faculties of Physical Sciences;
4. [51] (iv) any other person listed in a Register of Part II Supervisors to be maintained by the Faculty of Materials.

[52] Each candidate shall be examined viva voce, and, if the examiners think fit, in writing, on the subject of his or her work and on matters relevant thereto. The Examiners shall obtain a report on the work of each candidate from the supervisor concerned.

[53] A candidate intending to offer Part II shall give notice to the Registrar not later than Friday in the fourth week of Michaelmas Full Term in the year in which he or she satisfied the examiners in Part I. Such notice must be given on a form to be obtained from the Registrar, University Offices.

[54] Every candidate for Part II is required to submit three copies of a report on the investigations which he or she has carried out under the direction of his or her supervisor. The report on the investigations shall also include an abstract, a literature survey, a brief account of the project management aspects of the investigation, and a description of the engineering context of the investigation and should be accompanied by a signed statement by the candidate that it is his or her own work. The copies should be handed in to the Chairman of the Examiners in the Honour School of Materials Science, Part II, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, not later than noon on the Wednesday of the seventh week of Trinity Full Term. The report shall be word-processed or typewritten on A4 paper (within a page area of 247 mm x 160 mm, using double line-spaced type of at least 11pt font size, printed on one side only of each sheet, with a left hand margin of at least 30mm) and presented in a binder. The main report should not normally exceed 12,000 words together with a maximum of a further 1,500 words for the reflective account of the project management aspects of the investigation that must be included in the final chapter. These word counts exclude references, title page, acknowledgements, table of contents and the three Project Management Forms. All other text is included in the word count, including the abstract and the figure captions. Additionally, the main report should not normally exceed 100 pages in length (including an abstract, the text as defined above for the word limits, the three Project Management Forms, computer programs, graphs, diagrams, photographs, tables, and similar material). All pages of the report should be numbered sequentially. The report must be accompanied by a signed declaration that it is within the allowed word and page limits. Candidates seeking permission to exceed the word and/or page limits should apply to the Chairman of Examiners at an early stage. Further detailed data, computer programs and similar material may be included in one or more appendices at the end of the main report, but appendices are not included within the limits of the word or page counts of the thesis and, entirely at the discretion of the Examiners for each report, may or may not be read.

[55] Candidates for Part II will be required to keep statutory residence and pursue their investigations at Oxford during a period of thirty-seven weeks between the dates specified below, except that the Divisional Board of Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences shall have power to permit candidates to vary the period of their residence so long as the overall programme requirement is met. The divisional board may, on the recommendation of the Department of Materials, permit candidates to carry out their investigations for the required period at an approved institution outside Oxford; the board shall determine the conditions upon which applications for such permission may be approved and will require to be satisfied in each case (a) that adequate arrangements are made for the candidate's supervision and (b) that the proposals for the investigations are agreed in advance between the Department of Materials and the host institution.

[56] Periods of required residence for Part II

[57] From the fifth Friday before to the first Saturday following Michaelmas Full Term.

[58] From the second Friday before Hilary Full Term to the Saturday before Palm Sunday.

[59] From the Friday following Easter to the second Saturday following Trinity Full Term.