Extended Project

Head of Department: Maureen Odendaal. Email: m-odendaal@epsomcollege.org.uk

What is EP?

• The new Extended Project is designed to give students the opportunity to do independent research.
• There are no exams: it involves the writing of a 4000-6000 word dissertation and an oral presentation.
• It gives a graded qualification which is the equivalent of an AS level.

• The best projects are considered to be as good as a University dissertation.

What Does it Entail?

Students will choose a topic of interest to them and will pose a research question which will be answered through the medium of the dissertation. A main part of the aim of this enterprise is to teach students to think at a more sophisticated level. This entails:

• Learning the critical thinking skills of analysis and evaluation
• Learning how to think philosophically
• Gaining an understanding of important philosophical ideas such as the nature of truth, the nature of knowledge and how knowledge is used in society.
• Further to this there are many questions which we tackle such as ‘what is morality?' ‘Is the idea of right and wrong absolute or merely relative to an individual's culture?' ‘How do we decide what is right action?' ‘What is the nature of mind - Are we just material beings, or are we something ‘more'?'
• Students will write a 4000-6000 word dissertation (80% of the marks), and give an oral presentation on their work (20% of the marks)

How is the Course Structured?

The EP session will take place in an afternoon activity slot. In the Michaelmas term students will attend 9 lectures on how to write a dissertation and how to think philosophically. This latter will involve a tour of important philosophical ideas in Western philosophy. After this time is devoted to individual research. Each student is appointed a tutor and will meet with the tutor regularly to discuss progress.  Much of this work is completed in the student's own time, so a good work ethic is a prerequisite for the course. A high level of organisation in demanded for this course.

The dissertation is completed at the end of April; the students then give a short oral presentation on their topic to an audience of their peers. A question /answer session follows.

Who can do EP?

It is open to anyone with strong GCSE qualifications. You are strongly advised to take AS Critical Thinking alongside EP.

What are the benefits of EP?

This is an especially useful qualification for Oxbridge candidates, or anyone aiming at a top university. Potential medics, given the emphasis on ethics, will also benefit, not just in terms of enhanced UCAS application: it will also help future doctors to develop an ethic appropriate to their chosen profession.

Universities are very interested in EP: students who have already completed it report that it proves very valuable and is a contributing factor towards university offers being made. Students not only can talk at interviews about their own original research, they are far better prepared for the demands made on them when they eventually enter university.