Graduate Calendar entry for the Graduate Modules course

All MSc students in the Department of Biology must complete a module class. All students choose from the same set of modules. Students are required to complete three month-long modules for each half credit. Students who have taken BIOL5710 may take BIOL5720. Both classes are graded. 


COVID-19 NOTICE:

Although we have returned to normal university operations, some modules may be offered on-line.

For in-person modules, all students are required to comply with health and safety requirements on campus, and should be considerate of others' health concerns. Non-compliance may be reported under the Code of Student Conduct.


BRIGHTSPACE NOTICE:

In some previous years, we used BrightSpace in addition to this website.  So far, none of module instructors have indicated that that want to use Brightspace this year. However, this could change. 

For now, you can ignore the BrightSapce pages for this course, but please be aware that you might select a module that will use BrightSapce at some point moving forward.


Dalhousie course registration info:

The modules course is no longer offered under the X/Y designation. The "old" course numbers were replaced by the new course numbers 5710, 5720 and 5730. Although this course no longer has the X/Y designation, it is still run over both the Fall and Winter terms, and students must be registered in BOTH terms to receive credit.

Students taking modules for the first time must register for BIOL5710 in BOTH the Fall and Winter terms. Successful progress will result in a grade of IP (in progress) for the Fall session of BIOL5710.  A final grade for BIOL5710 will assigned at the end of the Winter term.


Overview

Graduate Modules introduce students to a diversity of topics and ways of thinking, and greatly enhance the educational experience of our graduate students. The course is comprised of 3 modules selected from an offering of 15-20 modules on a wide variety of topics. Each module consists of about 8-12 hours of lecture, discussion or equivalent. The format and method of evaluation is up to the individual instructor. Students are assigned a letter grade for each module, and grades for three modules are averaged to give an overall grade for the class. Graduate Modules 1 (BIOL 5710) is a required course within our Graduate Program. Students who have completed this course may take an additional three modules for Graduate Modules 2 (BIOL 5720).


Guidelines and procedures

A numbered list of modules with contact information for the involved instructors will be sent to students in an e-mail and posted on this web site.

Students are required to take 3 modules.

Students should take all 3 modules in the same year.

Students must submit a completed Module Inquiry Form to each instructor whose module they are interested in taking. This information allows instructors to coordinate an acceptable meeting time for the module. Submitting this form is not a commitment, so students may contact more than three instructors.

Students electing to take a module offered by the Oceanography program, or by the Agriculture program, must contact the instructor responsible for the module of interest and coordinate with them.

Student must also submit a completed Module Selection Form after they have decided on a final set of 3 modules. This form is submitted to the Biology module coordinator (Joseph Bielawski: j.bielawski@dal.ca).

We strive for paperless administration of the Graduate Modules class. Submission of all forms should be made via e-mail, if possible, to the module coordinator (Joseph Bielawski: j.bielawski@dal.ca). Make certain that the subject line of all e-mail correspondence contains the phrase "MODULES COURSE"

Submission dates for the Module Inquiry Form and the Module Selection Form are given on the "time-line" page.


Faculty of Agriculture modules

Modules offered through the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture may also be taken for credit within the Biology module program.  As a biology student you must register for BIOL5710 and follow the procedure and time-line for this course.  Biology students should NOT register for their modules course (ARGI5705/5710).  To get credit for an agriculture module, you must contact the instructor of that module in September and get permission just as you would for any other module in biology.  The agriculture modules can be found at this link.  (Note: Unlike Agriculture, the Biology program does not offer modules offered over the summer. You cannot take a summer module via the Faculty of Agriculture.)

Graduate students in the Faculty of Agriculture are welcome to take biology modules as well. Such students should be aware of the time-line for the biology program, and obtain the appropriate permissions.


Oceanography modules

Graduate students may take oceanography modules for credit in BIOL5710. As a biology student you must register for BIOL5710 and follow the procedure and time-line for this course. To get credit for an oceanography module, you must contact the instructor of that module in September and get permission just as you would for any other module in biology. Your best strategy will be to begin by contacting the modules coordinator for the oceanography department.

Some notes about the oceanography modules program: (1) their modules are typically offered over the winter, and it is up to you to coordinate with them, (2) unlike biology, their modules are offered via a special topics class (OCEA 5240); do NOT register for OCEA 5240 if your are a biology graduate student, (3) the option for an incomplete (INC) is NOT available for biology modules; biology students are expected to take all 3 modules in the same academic year, (4) course information can be found via this link and this link.

Graduate students in oceanography are welcome to take biology modules as well. Such students should be aware of the time-line for the biology program, and obtain the appropriate permissions.

 

Acknowledgements

This website is a modification of a template (Pristine 1.0) designed and freely distributed by Matt Dibb (www.mdibb.net).  The template was obtained from open source templates (http://www.oswd.org/).

The template was modified, and the content was provided by, Joseph P. Bielawski (current modules coordinator); all errors and omissions are mine alone.

The contents of this website are copyrighted, Copyright © Department of Biology at Dalhousie University; all rights are reserved.