Final Honours Scheme (FHS)

CEBM Academic Lead

OVERVIEW

The FHS for undergraduate students runs in years 2 and 3 and aims to teach the method of critical scientific enquiry and so facilitate thinking and adaptable doctors or research scientists. Students are required to complete an option module, a research project and an essay at various time points over the two-year period. The information on this page relates specifically to the research project element of the FHS.

The research projects are a compulsory component of the course for Medical Students and Biomedical Students. Each student must have a clearly defined topic, which is solely his/her responsibility. Projects should consist of original experiments and/or data analysis carried out by the candidate alone or in collaboration with others (where such collaborations is, for instance, needed to produce results in the time available).

Work for a research project is intended to occupy the student for a total of 8 full weeks, or an equivalent period (e.g., 16 half-time weeks). Timing should be agreed between supervisors in discussion with the student(s) before the project begins. Work can start as early as week 1, Trinity Term (24 April 2023) for Biomedical Sciences students and week 3, Trinity Term (8 May 2023) for medical students. Data gathering and/or data analysis should occupy the student for 8 full weeks, or an equivalent period (e.g., 16 half-time weeks). Students have a complete academic year to complete and write-up their projects, but students will be fairly heavily occupied with lectures, seminars and tutorial teaching from October onwards.

If you have a question about the scheme, please contact the department's FHS Academic Lead, Dr David Nunan. The central divisional team for FHS projects can be contacted at fhscourseadmin@medsci.ox.ac.uk.

For more information about the Final Honours Scheme, click here.

PROJECT EXAMPLES

Example project outputs

Ali Anis graduation outside Radcliffe Camera

Preventing deaths from cardiovascular disease and anticoagulants: an analysis of coroner Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) questions whether lessons are being learnt

Preventing premature death is the aim of coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports. But is this system really helping us to prevent such harms? Oxford medical student, Ali Anis, examined deaths involving cardiovascular disease and anticoagulants for his Final Honours Scheme (FHS) research, to assess the state of play, now published in BJGP Open.

The student voice: Medical Student Ioan Baxter share 3rd-year research project

Ioan Baxter, a 3rd-year medical student, at Worcester College, writes this blog, detailing his research project, as part of the Final Honours Scheme Research Projects Programme, completed under the supervision of Dr. David Nunan of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine.

FHS student, Harrison Ford, in a field of sunflowers

Congratulations to FHS student, Harrison France, on receiving 1st place in IUPHAR Student Research Poster Competition 2022.

22 April 2022

Final Honours student, from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Science and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Harrison France, has recently been awarded first place in the IUPHAR ( International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology) Student Research Poster Competition 2022 by the British Pharmacological Society for his research on preventable deaths involving medicines.