Master of Science in Botany

Purpose

The programme is on the PQM of the institution. The programme serves as a research activity for students who desire to work in a research or higher academic environment with basic interest on issues affecting the immediate community such as food production, food security and biodiversity. The programme meets the national requirement as it is an Level 9 programme with 180 Credits. The programme serves to train students to independent thinking, research techniques, self-motivation and self-reliance. At the same time the students have a considerable amount of mentoring from qualified staff to assist them during this process.

Rationale

The programme provides guidance and mentoring of the students towards their chosen career path. The rigorous research work offered during the programme provides the students with adequate experiential knowledge and skills needed for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) study or workplace environment. Botany is a subject that is relevant to several important disciplines such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Medicine, Education, Sociology, Water quality and Environment. As such, graduates may work for Department of Education, Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (SANBI and ARC) Department of Water Affairs, Department of Science and Technology (CSIR), private consultancies, Medical Research Council, municipalities and universities.

This qualification consists of compulsory modules at Level 9.

Modules

• Proposal (BOT5102) 20 Credits.
• Proposal (BOT5101) 20 Credits.
• Dissertation (BOT5103) 120 Credits.
• Congress/conference participation (BOT5104) 20 Credits.

1. Gain the speciality in research methods and principles in the field of Botany.
2. Explain biotechnology with specific reference to the principles and varying research biotechnology techniques used for tissue and plant production practice.
3. Critically evaluate research problems and produce a research project in a scientific manner that will be in context of Biotechnology.
4. Understand the Scientific Method and thus be able to interpret, analyse and criticise scientific literature.
5. Detect and correct errors in their work as well as others.
6. Plan, conduct and communicate a scientific project to others.
7. Design simple experiments, collect and collate data in a scientific way, summarize data in form of tables, graphs etc. using excel.
8. Acquire knowledge on how to analyse data using both parametric and non-parametric statistics using at least one of statistical software.
9. Be in a position to interpret the results obtained from data analysis and critically make informed scientific inferences.
10. Present ideas systematically and cogently both orally and in writing, distinguish between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium approaches to studying community structure and identify appropriate situations for applying each technique, describe the processes that are involved in population growth and regulation and how these can be applied to management of natural populations, describe fundamental processes that promote species coexistence and lead to the maintenance of species diversity, explain the large scale patterns of biodiversity, describe how biodiversity is measured, apply commonly used qualitative and quantitative research methods, analyse data, ideas, patterns, principles and perspectives, analyse ecological problems and environmental issues using oral and written communication skills, analyse ecological data and draw reasonable conclusions from the data, design and execute appropriate ecological projects, analyse and interpret the results, review scientific literature and develop apposition paper on an ecological topic, critique papers from the ecological literature, evaluate experimental design, read graphs and use information from scientific papers and communicate ideas in writing and in oral presentations.
11. Recognise the spectrum of diversity, relate how various factors lead to species extinction and the case studies that represent each factor, relate the four ways in which habitat losses occur and give examples of each, present ideas systematically and cogently both orally and in writing, explain what endemic species are and why they are important, explain why most anthropogenic extinctions have occurred on islands rather than on mainland continents, explain why it is more important to sustain intact ecosystems rather than individual species, explain how different sizes and shapes of habitats can affect biodiversity, explain three types of habitat restoration efforts and give examples to support each effort, explain why biodiversity is important, that is, nature intrinsic and instrumental values, describe threats to biological diversity, that is, direct harvesting, habitat destruction and introduction of non-native species, among others, and their interactions, describe how computers can select areas for conservation, predict the expected number of species at equilibrium after habitat fragmentation has occurred, apply commonly used qualitative and quantitative research methods of the discipline, analyse and communicate the historical context, scientific basis and goals of conservation biology, analyse and interpret ecological models, graphs and scientific results pertaining to conservation biology, propose mitigation strategies for planned development, undertake conservation biology surveys, evaluate the scientific and lay literature related to conservation biology and to place individual studies within the broader context of.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be assessed in an integrated manner across the Exit Level Outcomes

• Understand the title of the dissertation and can translate this into a rigorous research plan.
• Communicate (orally and written) scientific concepts clearly to a scientific audience.
• Present a scientific report and answer questions which follow from the report satisfactorily.
• Express scientific thoughts and findings in a paper.
• Respond to questions; comments; criticism satisfactorily about his/her research work.
• Participate constructively in a conference/congress in the midst of his/her peers Dissertation.
• Undertake research work that contributes to the broad understanding of the field or discipline in which the research work is undertaken.
• Write a fluent scientific report on his or her research work which includes: an acceptable format; proper use of the language; precise communication of scientific findings; clear presentation and organization of scientific results and findings; understanding of the scope and limitations of the research work undertaken; clear understanding of the findings from the research work undertaken; understanding of the conclusions that may be inferred from the work in advancing science.