Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Students in Combined Studies usually attend the same lectures and tutorials as those in other Honours schools. The types and methods of teaching are varied and will depend on the Areas of Study you choose. For detailed information about teaching, learning and assessment for your course units please use the links below to access the various Schools intranet pages.
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
School of Environment and Development
School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures
School of Psychological Sciences
During the first year of study all students in the centre will also take a course in academic skills specifically designed for Combined Studies students.
Choosing your options
A meeting of all students is called in the second semester of the first and second years in order to outline options for the following year, to update information and to provide essential instructions on enrolment for course units.
It is inevitable with the simultaneous provision of so many course units that timetable clashes will sometimes prevent a student from taking a particular unit. Often, however, a unit missed in one year may be taken in a subsequent year. Students are permitted in their second year to select any 20 credits from the relevant first year lists, and in third year any 20 credits from the relevant second year lists once they have fulfilled the 40 credit requirement of each of area of study.
Feedback and assessment
In general, students can expect to be examined in their course units either at the end of the first semester or at the end of the year. Combined Studies students sit the same examinations as their single honours peers.
First year examinations are normally 'Pass / Fail', allowing students to progress into second year without marks being carried forward. Second year examinations contribute 25% of the marks considered at the end of the final year which will determine the final degree classification. All marks are received, results determined and eventual classifications arrived at by the Examinations Board of Combined Studies. Full details of examinations and assessment procedures are published in the Combined Studies programme handbook.
The University of Manchester is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Feedback, and acting on feedback, is therefore part of the active learning process throughout a student's course of study. The methods of feedback will vary according to assessment type, discipline, level of study and the needs of the individual student. The University Feedback Policy is published online. You can find out more about what feedback you can expect from individual course units in School Programme Handbooks. Please use the Related Links above to access the Schools Intranet websites.
Plagiarism Guidance
Plagiarism and academic malpractice guidance is available in the Combined Studies Programme Handbook and also by clicking here. This guidance will be discussed with all Combined Studies students in the compulsory first year course-unit. The University reserves the right to submit any work handed in by students for assessment to electronic systems for detecting plagiarism or other forms of academic malpractice. This includes the JISC plagiarism detection service (Turnitin UK).