Student blogs

I thought it might be interesting for you to hear what type of assessments we are given in the Master’s of Toxicology. We receive quite a variety of assessments, and the number of assessments we are given depends on the course we are taking.

Traditional Exams

When I say ‘traditional exams’ I refer to exams where you go to the physical location for a set amount of time and write out the exam paper. In the programme we’ve mostly had this type of exam at the end of each course. These exams usually consist of short and long answer questions. Sometimes multiple choice questions are also included, and in total you need around 60% correct to pass, and 80% correct to pass with distinction. The boundaries of a pass or pass with distinction are dependent on the course you are taking.

Usually we are given 4 hours to complete in-person exams, but you do not usually need to use all this time.

Home Exams

Home exams that we’ve received throughout the programme are usually essay questions based on the material we’ve seen in class. For this, we are allowed to use online resources, and should reference any material we use in our answer. It is also graded as pass or fail, however if we do not receive a passing grade then feedback will be given to us and we must make adjustments to the text and hand it back in within a certain time period.

Usually the question is given to us in advance, and we need to submit our answers by the end of the course to Canvas.

Literature summaries

Occasionally, we are given a paper to read, understand and summarise on a topic that we have been studying in the course. This is usually a one-page assignment to solidify the concepts we’ve been learning.

Presentations

The Master’s in Toxicology consists of many, many presentations, almost always in groups. These groups are assigned during the course, and we must divide the work between ourselves. It is possible to meet the group during university hours (they will allocate time during the day to work on it) or choose a time outside of university to work on it. In this situation it is a group grade so everyone needs to present and answer questions in order to pass the assignment.

Reports

Reports are required for certain courses, and are also usually group assignments. It is similar to the home exams, in the sense that if we do not pass on the first try, we are asked to make adjustments and hand it back in.

These are the types of assessments to expect during the programme. It consists of a lot of group work for the reports and presentations, but the exams are individual. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section!