What are synoptic oral exams?

Synoptic oral exams are carried out near the end of your third and fourth year. These exams are designed to test your core chemistry knowledge from throughout your degree and explore how you can problem solve using this knowledge.

Year 3 synoptic oral exams

In the synoptic vivas you will demonstrate your skills in practical application of chemistry to problem-solve without pre-prepared aids. As well as applying your personal integrated knowledge and understanding, you will show your ability to use the language of chemistry – developed in tutorial discussions and lab vivas – to verbally communicate your thinking and to discuss chemistry.

You’ll be timetabled to attend three separate 10-minute oral exams over the course of the three days. We will send you details of your assessors and the date and time of your sessions. In each viva, two academic staff assessors (both from either the inorganic, organic or physical section) will ask you questions based primarily on year 1 core chemistry. At the start of the viva, you can indicate your favourite year 1 module and the opening question will then be based on material from that module.  Subsequent questions can be from other modules. The topics will cover concepts and ideas that you should be familiar with from either lectures, workshops or labs in year 1 but may be extended to include core material from year 2, if the assessors think it appropriate and things are going well.

The synoptic nature of each of these vivas is such that the questions will range across material from all year 1 modules within each of the inorganic, organic or physical chemistry sub-disciplines. The assessors will evaluate your understanding of the concepts and ideas you should be familiar with from your learning in year 1.

Year 4 synoptic oral exams

In year 4 a single oral exam of up to 45 minutes will be conducted by the two independent markers of your MSci project report. The examiners will have read your report and part of the viva will focus on your project where it is expected you will be able to demonstrate advanced understanding. In addition, the examiners will tease out synoptic themes that transcend classical sectional boundaries to illustrate how inorganic, organic and physical aspects of chemistry are interlinked and interdependent. The scope for questions will include all core chemistry (i.e. 1st year and 2nd year), irrespective of it having originally been presented in a formally ‘inorganic’, ‘organic’ or ‘physical’ setting. The examiners will test your understanding of concepts and ideas you should be familiar with from either lectures or labs, and depending on how you cope with these may again extend into more advanced territory.

Preparing for the synoptic oral exams

As these exams are designed to test your core chemistry knowledge and explore how you can problem solve using this knowledge it is not straightforward for you to ‘revise’ specifically for them.

The best preparation is undoubtedly to stay focussed throughout your degree studies on developing your core understanding of chemistry and practicing applying these ideas in problem solving situations. Working through questions in core text books is a good way to do this.