Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

The School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition teaching staff are looking forward to welcoming our new students who are joining our BSc programmes.

Purchase your lab coat & safety glasses pack from Bear Essentials shop, located on the ground floor of the Student Union Building 9.00am-4.30pm or at abdnshop.com.

The below items are essential kit for wearing during your time spent in the Science Teaching Hub:

• Lab coat single (Bear Essentials cost - £25.99)
• Safety Glasses/over-spec safety glasses single (Bear Essentials cost - £5.25)

Bear Essentials also offer a package deal for £28.99 which contains:

• 1 x full coverage 'Howie'-style lab coat Kingsmill fabric (65% polyester, 35% cotton) treated with a dirt and water repellent finish
• 1 x 'Portwest PW33' safety glasses OR 1 x 'Portwest PS31' over-specs safety glasses
  
  
• Earpiece £5.99 - only available at Bear Essentials

Reading lists for all Medical Sciences courses are published on MyAberdeen course pages.

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area or through our public interface.

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list.

For Level 3 and 4 courses, students are expected to read more widely from published literature. Additional references will be provided by lecturers and will be accessible through the University library or freely available online.

Assessment methods vary across Medical Sciences courses and may include coursework, online tests, and end-of-semester exams. Full assessment details, including weightings and deadlines, are provided on MyAberdeen. Staff may also highlight this information during teaching sessions and recorded materials.

You must check your University email account and MyAberdeen announcements at least twice a week to avoid missing important information about assessments and deadlines. If you are unsure how your course grade is calculated, refer to the introductory information on MyAberdeen.

Honours courses at Level 4 do not usually have exams during the December exam diet. Exams normally take place at the end of the academic year in April or May.

Any changes to assessment formats or timings will be communicated through MyAberdeen or email with sufficient notice.

Practicals

Almost all practical classes take place in the Science Teaching Hub. Human-based practicals may take place in alternative spaces e.g. Aberdeen Sports Village, Cruickshank Botanic Gardens, Sports Physiology Lab in the Rowett Institute, Foresterhill. Some advanced practicals may take place in various research buildings in Foresterhill Campus.

Please note that ALL Medical Science students should possess a clean, white lab coat to use in classes.
This should be a 'Howie' style lab coat - elasticated cuffs, fastening all the way up to the neck with popper fastenings. Older lab coats that are open at the collar or those with button fastenings should be avoided. If a practical has a special exemption where a lab coat is not required, students will be informed. However, you should assume you need your lab coat for practicals and bring it with you. If you do not bring a lab coat, you may not be admitted to a lab class. All students must also purchase safety glasses.

Guidance on approved examples of lab coats and safety glasses and where they can be purchased are provided in the link below:

• Guidance on approved examples of lab coats and safety glasses

Students are expected to attend all practical sessions in person on campus. Video resources and other materials on MyAberdeen will be available to  help students prepare for in-person practical classes. We also use an online learning platform, Lt, for some practicals and assessments.

Honours projects

All Honours projects in Medical Sciences take place in the second half-session, after the Christmas break. Both lab- and non-lab-based projects are available. We have a strong history of offering projects involving a diverse range of approaches and formats so there will be plenty of choice for all students.

The full list of Honours projects will be published early in the new academic term. There will be scheduled sessions in compulsory courses where the project allocation process will be explained and any safety requirements discussed. Students will be given several weeks to discuss project choices with potential supervisors, and will then submit choices. Student project allocations are usually released during December.

Dr Derryck Shewan is responsible for coordinating Honours projects in Medical Sciences.

Honours projects - non-lab-based projects:

If you undertake a non-lab-based project there is likely be more flexibility in how your regular supervisory meetings operate e.g. whether they are in person or online. Your supervisor will discuss this with you.

Industrial placements

The coordinator of industrial placements in Medical Sciences is Dr Ian Fleming. He provides regular updates to those students intending to undertake an industrial placement during BT3006 - Working Out? Placement & Career Skills.  This course is compulsory for all students intending to undertake a placement. 

Your first class will be your School Induction. This will help you prepare for the year ahead and provide you with useful advice on your course, as well as School contacts and information on getting the most out of your academic experience.

School Induction

Monday 14 September 2026, 9.00am - 12.00pm, Fraser Noble, FN1

This information can also be found on MyMBChB.

Medical Admissions
Email: medadm@abdn.ac.uk

Reading lists will be available through MyMBChB at the start of term. 

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area or through our public interface.

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list.

Clinical Skills

Throughout your medical training, you will develop and demonstrate a wide range of clinical and practical skills required for graduation and future medical practice. Becoming competent in these skills requires regular practice, feedback, and reflection as you progress from beginner to confident practitioner.

You will attend small-group teaching sessions in the Clinical Skills Centre throughout your course, particularly in the early years. These sessions are designed to provide a supportive environment where you can develop communication, examination, and procedural skills before applying them in clinical settings with patients.

As part of your training, you will work with Patient Partners. These are volunteers from the public who support teaching sessions by acting as patients during communication and examination activities. Although they are simulating conditions and symptoms, they should be treated professionally and respectfully as patients during sessions. Patient Partners provide an important opportunity to practise and improve your skills in a safe learning environment.

In some sessions, students may also take part in peer examination activities. This helps you understand the patient experience while broadening opportunities to practise examination techniques. If you would prefer not to participate in peer examination, you will be able to notify the Clinical Skills 1 team in advance. Further information will be provided closer to the time.

Anatomy

The aim of Anatomy 1 is to develop your understanding of the three-dimensional structure of the human body through the study of human tissues, anatomical models, and radiological imaging. The course also develops your ability to interpret structural relationships within the body and apply this knowledge in clinical contexts. You will also study surface anatomy as part of the course.

Your Gateway to Medicine Induction will help you to prepare for the year ahead and provide you with useful advice on your course, key contacts and information about your meeting point at NESCol. The Induction will give you opportunity to meet your new classmates before your first class at NESCol on Monday 24 August 2026 at 9.00am.

Gateway to Medicine Induction

Sunday 23 August 2026, 5.00pm, Suttie Centre Lecture Theatre

This induction will not be on your timetable so please make sure to add it to your own calendar.

Your first class will be an induction to the BDS programme and Institute of Dentistry. You will meet your Year Lead, Miss Jayne Wotherspoon, and members of the Institute Administration Team. This will help you prepare for the year ahead and provide you with useful advice on your degree programme, as well as Institute and School contacts and information on getting the most out of your academic experience.

School Induction

31 August 2026

This information will also be found on MyBDS.

Although the BDS Dentistry programme commences the week prior to Welcome Week, there will be time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Welcome Week to join in events.

BDS2 Year Lead
Miss Jayne Wotherspoon
jayne.wotherspoon@abdn.ac.uk

Institute of Dentistry Administration Team
iod-admin@abdn.ac.uk

The BDS Dentistry teaching timetable is found within our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called MyBDS. We do not use MyTimetable.

All lecture material and resources will be available online through MyBDS, either via the timetable or our curriculum resource pages and in some cases from both. Students may be required to work through resources ahead of a live teaching session, for example, watching podcasts or accessing essential reading.

Students will also have opportunities to learn through other formats in MyBDS such as quizzes and discussion boards.

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area or through our public interface.

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list.

Written and practical assessments take place in the Aberdeen Dental Hospital and Institute of Dentistry building or at other locations on the Foresterhill campus. 

Our Assessment and Progression Handbook will provide specific details on every course within the BDS programme. This will be available on the MyBDS homepage under the Assessment and Progression tile.

All clinical skills teaching, dental laboratory teaching, and patient clinics are mandatory and take place at Aberdeen Dental Hospital & Institute of Dentistry. In addition to treating patients at Aberdeen Dental Hospital, towards the end of the BDS4 and throughout the final year of the BDS programme, students will go on short visits to our partner outreach dental centres and may have the opportunity to observe timetabled specialist treatment clinics.

Your first class will be your School induction. This will help you prepare for the year ahead and provide you with useful advice on your course, as well as School contacts and information on getting the most out of your academic experience.

School Induction 

Friday 18 September, 10.00am, Polwarth Building, Lecture Theatre

You can also join this induction online here.

There will also be in-person welcome meetings with your programme coordinator.

PGT induction materials can be found in Blackboard for those who miss the in-person school induction.

Postgraduate Teaching Academic Lead: Professor Amudha Poobalan
PGT teaching support: pgt-mmsn@abdn.ac.uk

The Reading List Service is the library's designated service designed to support you in finding and engaging with your course reading lists. Through Leganto, you can access reading lists that are relevant, interactive, and accessible through your course area or through our public interface.

Please visit the Library website to find out how to access your reading list.

For our PGT courses, written assessments will be submitted and marked via MyAberdeen.

Assessments may include essays, online exercises, presentations and timed assessments online.

This will vary from course to course, and there will be specific details in every course guide at the start of term.

Some courses include practical classes, fieldwork, or placements. Most practical teaching takes place in the Science Teaching Hub on the Old Aberdeen campus. Students are required to purchase a lab coat and safety glasses before attending their first practical session.

Most laboratory-based research projects are carried out within the research facilities at the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Rowett Institute.

Some research projects have previously involved collaboration with National Health Service (NHS) staff. Due to ongoing pressures within the NHS, there may be fewer NHS-based project opportunities available during this academic year.

Several programmes also offer placement opportunities. These may be based on campus, within the local area, with remote partner organisations, or occasionally outside Aberdeen.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to campus to start your research journey with us. As a Postgraduate Research student you will have the opportunity to attend a University wide induction in addition to your school induction.

The University of Aberdeen Orientation programme has been designed to take you through all of the essential information you will need for your student life. You can get started now by working through the interactive modules.

There are a series of modules that you can work through before you arrive. Once you have registered you can access the remaining modules and complete your mandatory training programme through your bespoke PGR training platform on our virtual learning environment.

There will be a school welcome event for Postgraduate Research students. This will provide an opportunity to meet Postgraduate coordinators and PhD supervisors. There will also be time to answer any questions you may have. Further details regarding the welcome event will follow in due course.

As a PGR student you may have the opportunity to audit Master's courses to augment your research training. Please discuss this with your supervisor and check out the postgraduate taught pages above.

The PGR College also offers a comprehensive training programme to support your research journey.

The PGR College training and development programme offers academic, professional, and personal development through a number of training workshops, resources and opportunities, all intended to support the PGR community at the University of Aberdeen.