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  • Principles of Protein Structure (Distance Learning) (Postgraduate Certificate)
  • 2013/2014 entry
  • Contact us
  • Assessment
    • One written paper, which may be taken at an exam centre close to you, and coursework.
  • Attendance
      • By distance learning, 6–12 hours a week.
      • October–July, examination in September.
  • Duration
      • One year part-time.
  • Entry requirements
  • Fees and funding
    • Fees (2013/14)
      • Home/EU students: £2700 pa 
      • Overseas students: £3825 pa
  • Location
      • Distance learning.
      • No need to attend College other than to sit examinations, and these can normally be arranged in your locality for a fee to you of £100-£200.
  • Teaching

    • Students interact with their tutors and fellow students through email lists, submit written assignments by email, and attend online tutorials in real time using a chat-room-based interface. Much of the course involves examining interactive models of protein structures embedded in Web browsers. Students also have access to the electronic journals in the Birkbeck e-library.

Study at Birkbeck | Postgraduate study | Postgraduate courses, 2013/2014 entry: browse by study mode - Distance learning courses | Principles of Protein Structure (Distance Learning) (Postgraduate Certificate)

Principles of Protein Structure (Distance Learning) (Postgraduate Certificate) - 2013/2014 entry


  • Overview

    • The twenty-first century has been described as 'the century of biology', with advances in molecular biology already making an important contribution to enormous gains in health and quality of life over much of the world. And proteins are fundamental to all biology. Structural biology is the science of how the shapes of molecules such as proteins affect their function, and our understanding of it has contributed to the design of drugs against devastating diseases including cancer and AIDS. This programme explores the structures of proteins at different levels, before applying this knowledge to an understanding of their function in health and disease.

      Read our programme blog about recent research in structural molecular biology.

  • Why study this course at Birkbeck?
      • An innovative course taught entirely using the internet. You study part-time in your own time, wherever you are in the world. Many of our students have fulltime jobs or extensive family responsibilities.
      • Taught within the Department of Biological Sciences which, with University College London, is part of the leading research-based Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology. Several of the department’s world-class researchers contribute to the course.
      • May be taken as a stand-alone certificate course or as part of our acclaimed internet-based MSc in Structural Molecular Biology.
  • Course structure

    • The programme introduces the structure of proteins, and how that structure is related to both a protein’s sequence and its function. It provides a background to the discipline of structural molecular biology

      You will learn:

      • how protein structures are built up
      • how the structure of proteins contributes to functions that are common to all living things, as well as differences between them
      • how knowledge of protein structure has led to the development of drugs against diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS
      • how to use software to manipulate and explore 3D models of protein structure, and to view models of molecules in motion.
  • Study resources
    • Students interact with their tutors and fellow students through email lists, submit written assignments by email, and attend online tutorials in real time using a chat-room-based interface. They also have access to the electronic journals in the Birkbeck e-library.
  • Further study opportunities

    • This programme may be taken as a stand-alone Postgraduate Certificate or as part of our MSc Structural Molecular Biology. The programme has a modular structure, and you gain 60 credits on completion of the Postgraduate Certificate. To gain the MSc Structural Molecular Biology, you must earn 180 credits, part of which will involve independent study towards a dissertation or project.

      Several of our successful students have gone on to complete research degrees at Masters’ or doctoral level. At Birkbeck, we offer opportunities for further research for the PhD/MPhil in Biological Sciences.

  • Careers information

    • Our successful students go on to research careers in academia or in the pharmaceutical or biotech industries. Many such students were already working in these industries and have gained promotion or moved to more senior positions since graduating.

  • Further details

    • On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

      • demonstrate a detailed knowledge of protein structure
      • explain the importance of protein structure in molecular biology
      • understand basic bioinformatics and have learned to use some fairly simple bioinformatics tools with understanding
      • recognise and understand how complex protein structures are made up from simpler components

      Technical requirements

      There are some basic technical requirements for this programme. All correspondence will be electronically based. You will need:

      • regular access to a computer (PC, UNIX or Mac operating systems) with a modern, Java-enabled browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera
      • fast, frequent and reliable access to the internet
      • some familiarity with installation of simple software packages and with transferring/downloading data
      • familiarity with email.
  • Apply now