BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS DEGREE
The appropriate degree will be awarded to a student who has successfully completed an approved Programme in accordance with these Regulations.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

SEMESTER
A semester will normally comprise 15 weeks, 12 weeks of which will be assigned to teaching, 1 week to revision and 2 weeks to examinations.

COURSE
A course is defined in the General Regulations as a separately examinable portion of a programme.  In these Regulations the word ‘course’ without an adjective, shall refer to a portion consisting of four hours of formal instruction a week for a semester. Not more than three, but normally at least two, of those hours shall be lectures. This definition is extended by the introduction of the terms course, supporting course, co-requisite course, double course, Half course, pre-requisite course and industrial training course. The Departmental Board responsible for a subject may designate, in the Special Regulations for that subject, certain courses as core courses and other courses as supporting courses.

Core courses are courses which are considered to be essential for qualification in a particular subject while supporting courses are courses which are considered to give the student all the relevant interdisciplinary knowledge for studying the core courses.

A double course may consist of either eight hours of formal instruction a week for a semester or of four hours of formal instruction a week for the two consecutive semesters of an Academic Year. In the former case not more than six, and normally, at least four of those hours will be lectures, while in the latter case, not more than three and, normally, at least two of those hours shall be lectures.

A half course shall consist of two hours of formal instruction a week for a semester.

A project course is a course in which a student is required to carry out, under the direction and supervision of a member of the academic staff, private studies or investigations related to a particular topic within a subject. In the Special Regulations for the subject of which it forms a portion, each project course shall be assigned a weighting based on the amount of time it occupies compared with a course. Weighting shall be in multiples of half courses.

An industrial training course is a course in which a student is required to work for a specified institution for a period of not less than four months an not more than ten months in one Academic Year. The student shall work under the direction and supervision of a member of the academic staff and delegated members of the specified institution for that period.

A pre-requisite course for a particular course is one that the relevant Departmental Board requires a student to pass prior to the start of the  Academic Year in which he/she intends to study the particular course. A co-requisite course, for a particular course, is one which the relevant Departmental Board requires a student to take at the same time as, or at an earlier time than that course. Passing a co-requisite course cannot be made a condition for passing a course.    

A practical course is a course in which a student is required to carry out, under the supervision of members of the academic staff, a set number of prescribed laboratory experiments.
(Through these regulations two half courses are equivalent to a course and a double course is equivalent to two courses).

PART
A Part is essentially a year of study. In the Special Regulations for each subject, each course shall be designated as a Part I, II, III or IV course, with the Part corresponding approximately to the level of maturity required for study of the course.

FULL-TIME STUDY
In each year, other than the Industrial Attachment period, in order to be regarded as a full-time student, a student shall register for and attend a minimum of 12 courses.

In those years a full-time student shall receive between 24 and 30 hours of formal instruction a week. During industrial attachment a student may register for failed courses which he/she is eligible to resist.

ENTRY REGULATIONS
In order to qualify for normal entry to a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree Programme in the Faculty of Applied Science, a prospective student must satisfy the Entry Regulations specified in the General Regulations and in so doing, must also meet the following Faculty Requirements:-

Having obtained a Pass at ‘A’ level in at least two of the following subjects or their recognized equivalents:-
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Physical Science and:-

Have obtained a Pass at ‘O’ level or ‘A’ level in a third subject chosen from those listed in Section 3.1.1. and
Have obtained a Pass at ‘O’ level or ‘A’ level in Mathematics.

NOTE: There are restrictions on the combinations of certain subjects. See 3.1.4 of the General Regulations.

While the above requirements apply to entry to the Faculty as a whole, the following specific qualifications, or their recognized equivalents, are NORMALLY required by the indicated subjects for entry to first year studies in that subject:-

Entry to all programmes in Applied Science is competitive and in many cases the holding of the minimum requirements will not ensure admission.

 

All applicants satisfying departmental requirements compete on the basis of the overall points obtained from the ‘A’ level grades or points in the subjects listed in the table above. In case of equal overall points preference will be given to higher points in the core subjects.

Special Entry
In addition to the Special Entry requirements as provided in the general regulations, the following are the Faculty requirements:

Special Entry Requirements into Part I

Higher National Diploma (HND) holders in a subject related to the intended subject of study at NUST and with a minimum of Grade C at'A' level or an equivalent qualification in the subject of intended study may be admitted into Part I of that intended subject.

This will include diplomas from;

a)  Teachers colleges;
b)  Polytechnic colleges;
c)  Technical colleges;
d)  Any other equivalent institution.

Applicants who have obtained a first degree at NUST or any other recognised institutions in an appropriate science subject.

Special Entry Requirements into Part II
Holders of HND or equivalent in the subject of intended study, e.g. Computer Science, with at least 2 years of work experience.

Holders of degrees with enough subject content to fulfil first-year requirements of the subject of intended study from a registered institution (transcripts must be provided for the determination of content studied).

Examples are those who studied one of the following subject combinations and wish to do one of the other subjects in the combination; Maths/Physics/Computer Science, Biology/Chemistry/Environmental Science     

Sponsored Candidates
Applicants with HND diplomas related to their subject of intended study with teaching and/or technical experience at tertiary institutions who are sponsored (or Sponsorship supported or sourced)  by their institutions may be  admitted into Part I or Part II provided they meet the requirements.

Subject to interviews, their experience may also determine their admission into the appropriate part (Part I or Part II) of the intended subject of study.

Candidates applying for entry into Part I and Part II may be subjected to an interview/test.


STRUCTURE OF DEGREE PROGRAMMES AND SELECTION OF COURSES
Except in the case of special entry when a lesser period may be allowed, the Bachelor of Science Honours Degree Programme requires full-time study over a period of four years. Normally a student will be required to complete the programme in not more than five years from the date of the first registration for the programme.

Bachelor of Science Honours Programmes in the Faculty of Science are offered in the following subjects:-

• Applied Biology and Biochemistry
• Applied Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Applied Mathematics
• Applied Physics
• Radiography
• Sports Science and Coaching
• Environmental Science and Health
• Forest Resources and Wildlife Management
• Statistics and Operations Research.

In Special Regulations for each of these Departments, there shall be a list of courses available for a programme in that subject. This list shall include all supporting courses for the Programme, including those taught by other Departments. The list shall contain at least 12 Part I courses; at least 12 Part II courses; a Part III industrial training course lasting two semesters, or a Part III industrial training course lasting one semester plus at least 6 Part III courses taught during one semester; and at least 12 Part IV courses.

A Bachelor of Science Honours Programme in a particular subject shall consist of either an industrial training course of 2 Semesters and at least 36 other courses or an industrial training course of 1-semester duration and 42 other courses. The courses are to be chosen from those listed in the Special Regulations for that subject, including all core courses listed for that subject.

Normally, in any year of the programme, a student shall study 12 courses. At least 8 of the courses shall be core courses in his or her chosen subject.

In the second and subsequent years, a student may study courses whose pre-requisites he/she has satisfied, subject to the conditions in Section 4.2.

A student shall study an industrial training course.

 

 In Part IV of a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree Programme a student must take at least one project course examined by a dissertation, the weighting of that course being that of at least 2 courses but not more than 6 courses.     
                                               
When a student needs no more than 6 courses to complete the degree programme and he/she has already completed four years of full-time study he/she may study the remaining course(s) in a further part-time year.

SELECTION OF COURSES
For each Part II or higher-level course all prerequisites and co-requisites that apply to that course shall be listed in the Special Regulations for the relevant subject. A student shall not be admitted to a course unless he/she has passed all pre-requisites for that course prior to the start of the Academic Year in which he/she intends to study that course.

Subject to the restrictions imposed by 4.9.3 a student may, in the second and subsequent years, study course(s) whose pre-requisites he/she has satisfied, including approved courses offered by other departments. These courses from other departments may be additional courses or may replace up to a total, during the entire programme, of at most six courses from the list of his/her chosen subject.

Note that it may be possible to allocate weightings different from one, half and two to a course from another Faculty. The weighting will depend on the structure of the course, although normally a course will only be approved if it is fully compatible with these regulations.

A student’s selection of a course for a degree programme is subject to the approval of the Dean of Applied Science and the Chairpersons of the entire relevant department and to the following conditions:-

The student must satisfy the entry requirements for the subjects from which other courses are taken.

The course combination is feasible in terms of the timetable.

The student must not be enrolled for more than eight full courses at any time during a semester.

The chosen courses will enable the student to complete the programme as close to the minimum period of four years as is possible.

Each course is taken in the year corresponding to the Part to which it is assigned or in a later year.

The total weighting of project courses in the Programme does not exceed six courses.

ASSESSMENT OF CANDIDATES
Courses other than Industrial Training Courses, Practical Courses and Project Courses:-

Each course shall be assessed by course work assessment and formal examination.

Each formal examination shall be held during an examination period at the end of a semester, normally that of the semester in which the course is completed.

The formal examination for a course shall be of three hours duration while that for a half-course shall be of two hours duration. A double course shall have a four hour formal examination.

Courses may contain a practical component. Where there is a practical component, that component shall be assessed by coursework assessment only and the practical assessment mark will constitute between 15 and 25 per cent of the overall assessment for that course. The weighting of theory coursework assessment mark to formal examination mark shall conform to the bounds laid down in the General Regulations. However, the total contribution from the practical assessment mark and the theory coursework mark shall not exceed 40 percent of the overall mark for that course.

Project Courses
The assessment of project courses shall be based on dissertation and oral presentation by the student. Normally a dissertation will be submitted at the end of the revision period of the semester in which the course is completed.

Industrial Training Courses
Each Industrial Attachment Course shall be assessed by continuous assessment and by the assessment of a final report, written by the student. The continuous assessment mark shall constitute 50% and the final report mark shall constitute 50% of the overall assessment. The coursework assessment shall be based on an assessment of the student’s professional performance by his supervisors and on reports written by the student at the end of each phase of the Industrial Attachment Course. The final report will normally be submitted not later than the end of the month following completion of the industrial training course.

PRACTICAL COURSES
The assessment of practical courses shall be based on the submission of laboratory reports. Students must write the reports in a prescribed manner on each laboratory experiment performed during the semester in which the course is being offered and present the reports to the academic supervisor for grading. Marks obtained from all the laboratory reports will be used for compiling the final overall mark for the practical course.

DETERMINATION OF RESULTS OF COURSES
Courses other than Industrial Training Courses, Practical Courses and Project Courses:

The appropriate Departmental Panel of Examiners shall determine for each coursework and each student a theory coursework assessment mark, a practical assessment mark (where appropriate), a formal examination mark, an overall theory mark and an overall mark for the course and shall determine whether the student has passed or failed the course. The Departmental Panel shall submit the overall theory mark, the practical assessment mark, the overall mark and the results to the Faculty Board of Examiners.

To pass a course that has both theory and a practical component a student must obtain an overall mark of at least 45%, and a practical assessment mark of at least 40%.

To pass a course a student must obtain at least 35% in the Final Examination and achieve an aggregate of at least 45%.

Project Courses
For each project the appropriate Departmental Panel of Examiners shall determine, for each student, an overall mark and whether the student has passed or failed the course. The Departmental Panel shall submit the mark and the results to the Faculty Board of Examiners.

Industrial Training Courses
For each Industrial Attachment Course the appropriate Departmental Panel of Examiners shall determine, for each student, a coursework assessment mark, a final report mark, an overall mark and whether the student has passed or failed the course. The Departmental Panel of Examiners shall submit these marks and the result to the Faculty Board of Examiners.

To pass an Industrial Attachment Course a student must obtain an overall mark of at least 45%, a continuous assessment mark of at least 50% and a mark of at least 40% in the assessment of the final report.

PRACTICAL COURSES
To pass a practical course a student must obtain a final overall mark of at least  45%. The overall mark for the course will be determined solely from the marks obtained for the written laboratory reports submitted during the period of the course.

REPEATING OF COURSES
A student may repeat only a course that he/she fails except that if a student is allowed to repeat Part I and is unable to register for sufficient courses to be  regarded as a full-time student, he/she may repeat one or more of the Part I  courses previously passed, provided that he/she is registered for all Part I courses that he/she failed. Normally a student will only be allowed to repeat a course once.

If a student fails a course but passes the practical assessment for that course, he/she may, when repeating that course, be exempted by the relevant Departmental Board from attending the practical component of the course and allowed to rewrite the formal examinations at an appropriate time.

Where a student is so exempted, the practical assessment mark for the course will be carried forward to the assessment of the repeated course.

If a student fails a practical course of a Part, he/she will be required to repeat the course at an appropriate time as recommended by the Departmental Board.  
    
A student may be allowed to repeat the industrial training course if he/she has failed the course but has obtained at least 40% in the overall mark for that course. If he/she has passed the continuous assessment, then in repeating thecourse he/she shall only be required to submit a new version of his final report. In that case the coursework assessment mark will be carried forward for the assessment of the repeated course.

PROCEEDING AND DISCONTINUING
Each Degree Programme is divided into parts which are, essentially, years of study. In each Part, a student will normally study at least 12 courses, at least 6 in each Semester.

In order to proceed from Part I to Part II a student must have: Passed all Part I courses for which they were registered or Passed at least 75% of the Part Icourses that include at least 8 Part I core courses and requisites (if any) for at least 6 Part II core courses.

A student who, in the first year, passes at least 50% of the courses but is not permitted to proceed to Part II may be permitted to repeat Part I. In  repeating Part I a student may, for each course that  he/she failed, either repeat that course or an  alternative Part I course and may study any Part II  course whose pre-requisites he/she has satisfied.

A student who fails a practical course in his/her chosen subject (if appropriate) will not be permitted to proceed to Part II. He/she will be required to repeat any failed practical course during the long vacation.

In order to proceed from Part II to Part III a student   must have:

Passed all Part I and Part II courses and all full practical courses in his/her chosen subject (if appropriate), and pass on aggregate

or

Passed at least 75% of the registered courses in Part II including at least 8 Part II core courses and full practical courses (if appropriate), in his/her chosen subject

or

satisfied the pre-requisites for at least 8 Part III courses if appropriate, or at least 6 Part IV courses, in his/her chosen subject.

A student who, having been permitted to proceed to Part II, but not permitted to Industrial Attachment (Part III) course at the end of the following year may be permitted to repeat Part II.

A student who fails any practical course in his/her chosen subject if appropriate, in Part II will not be permitted to proceed to Part III. He/she may be allowed to repeat the failed practical course during the long vacation.
         
A student who obtains less than 45% in the overall mark for the repeated practical course will be required to discontinue.

In order to proceed from Part III to Part IV a  student must have passed his/her continuous assessment component of his/her  Industrial  Attachment course and obtained an overall mark of at least 45% in the Industrial Attachment Course.

A student who obtains less than 40% in the overall mark for an Industrial Attachment Course will be required to discontinue.

A student whose progress is delayed by failure in pre-requisite courses may be permitted to repeat the pre-requisite courses as a Part-time student. If the courses are passed at the next sitting the student will be allowed to resume his/her full- time studies and the repeat year will not count towards the five years. Otherwise, he/she will be required to discontinue.

AWARDING OF A DEGREE AND CLASSIFICATION OF THAT DEGREE
To be eligible for the award of a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree a student must:

Pass each core course listed for his/her chosen subject.

Pass all Part I and Part II courses, all practical courses if appropriate, part III Industrial Training Course and all Part IV courses, (including a project course)

Each Departmental Board shall, having recommended that a student has passed his/her programme, recommend the division in which he/she has passed that Programme. In classifying the pass the Board shall consider the weighted aggregate mark for all Part II courses, the industrial attachment course and all Part III courses if appropriate, and all Part IV Courses.     
          
Courses shall be weighted as follows:-

Part II        30% of the weighted aggregate mark
Part III       20% of the weighted aggregate mark of the Industrial attachment course.
Part IV       50% of the weighted aggregate mark.

The Bachelor of Science Honours Degree Certificate and the student’s transcript shall record that the student has been awarded the Bachelor of Science Honours Degree, with the subject of specialisation enclosed in parentheses, and the classification accorded to the Degree.

NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS
A list of results shall be published in accordance with Section 16 of the General Regulations.