Teaching and learning

A measure of excellence

Our Faculty of Life Sciences is one of the best in the country for both research and teaching quality. Decide to study with us and you will be joining a dynamic community of scientists working at the cutting edge of research.

Teaching staff ¦ Teaching methods ¦ Example timetable ¦ Assessment

Thinking of studying Optometry?

Teaching and learning in Optometry

Teaching staff

Your teaching is undertaken by specialist academic staff. We have over 200 members of academic staff involved in teaching. These range from individuals who are actively undertaking research (principal investigators) to academic members of staff who have chosen to specialise in teaching and learning at HE level (teaching-focused lecturers).

Teaching methods

Our degree courses are modular, split into course units. The way you learn will vary depending on the required outcome of each course unit. Teaching and learning methods include:

+ / - Tutorials
+ / - Lectures
+ / - Practicals
+ / - eLearning
+ / - Fieldwork
+ / - Final year projects

Example timetable

You have around 17 hours contact time per week. If you are interested in seeing what a typical first year will hold in store for you, see:

Faculty of Life Sciences Typical First Year Timetable

Assessment

Each module/unit is assessed separately and the scores combined to give your result for the year. We combine different types of assessment to measure your performance. You are likely to be assessed using several of the following methods:

  • multiple choice and essay style examinations
  • debates
  • discussions in seminars
  • coursework essays
  • online discussion groups
  • reports written in the style of scientific research papers
  • oral presentations
  • online multiple choice questions
  • laboratory based exercises