BIOS4611 – Plant Science

Course content

The course is a broad introduction to plant development, function, and interaction with other organisms. The focus is on the connections from genes to genomes to cells and organs in various types of plants and understanding the evolution, development, and function of plants in such a perspective. The context is the role of plants in society, e.g. domestication, agriculture, environment, climate and gene technology.

Learning outcome

After completing this course, you

• have fundamental knowledge of various kinds of development, life cycles and physiological processes in plants as well as their evolutionary origin
• know the genetic and molecular background of development and function in plants
• have a fundamental knowledge of how plants interact with their environment and other organisms
• have a good understanding of how plant science affects society on different levels
• have theoretical knowledge of how a research project is planned, managed and reported on
• have learned how to use the knowledge you have acquired in a written assignment, eg essay, chronicle or review

Admission to the course

Students admitted at UiO must apply for courses in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may apply to take this course as a single course student.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

The courses BIOS3611 and BIOS4611 have common admission. Applicants are ranked by the following criteria:

1. Bachelor´s programme students at the Department of Biosciences and master´s programme students at the MN Faculty who have the course approved in their study plan.

2. Other program students.

3. Single course students and exchange students.

Applicants are ranked by number of credits within each group; all applicants within the 1st group are ranked before applicants in the 2nd group etc. For students who have equal number of credits within one group, admission is determined by random selection.

Recommended previous knowledge

• BIOS1100 – Introduction to computational models for Biosciences
• BIOS1120 – Fysiologi
• BIOS1140 – Evolusjon og genetikk
• BIOS1150 – Biodiversity

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with BIOS3611 – Plant Science (continued).
• 10 credits overlap with BIOS3610 – Plant Science.
• 10 credits overlap with BIOS4610 – Plant Science.

Teaching

• Lectures 
• Participation on group tutorials (Mandatory)
• Project work and a presentation, which counts 20 % and 10% towards the final mark, respectively (Mandatory)
• In-depth written assignments within topics taught in the course. The form and topic of the written assignment must be approved by the course leader, and can, for example, be an essay, chronicle, review, research application, etc.(Mandatory) 

The project work contains three phases: 1) The planning phase, 2) execution and 3) presentation of results. Mandatory course work must be approved before the student can attend the exam. 

Attendance is mandatory for the first lecture. This also applies to those on the waiting list. You will lose your seat on the course if documentation for absence is not provided to the student administration studieinfo@ibv.uio.no prior to the first lecture.

Approved mandatory course work and activities are valid for 2 years.

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

Examination

The exam consists of 2 parts:

• Part 1: Project assignment and an oral presentation which counts 20 % and 10% towards the final mark, respectively
• Part 2: Written exam, which counts 70 % towards the final mark

An essay or review must be delivered and approved before the exam. Mandatory course work must be approved before the student can attend the exam. 

 

Exam attempts 

It will also be counted as one of the three attempts to sit the exam for this course if you sit the exam for one of the following courses: BIOS3611 – Plant Science (continued), BIOS3610 – Plant Science and BIOS4610 – Plant Science. 

Examination support material

No examination support material is allowed.

Language of examination

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

This course offers both postponed and resit of examination. Read more:

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Withdrawal during an examination / Resitting an examination

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.