Advanced Certificate in Powder Diffraction on the WEB Enrolment 2000/2001 is Closed (See Enrolment 2001/2002) School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London

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The enrolment procedure involves a course-based technical information form and a college-based application form, which may be completed in either order.

Technical Information Form

Technical Information

As the Advanced Certificate is taught almost entirely over the Internet we will need further information from you about your technical experience and equipment. For this purpose you should fill in the on-line technical information form. You will receive an acknowledgement that your form has been received.

If you are having problems using this form, please email the Course Administrator who will forward a paper copy of the form for you to complete.

Technical Requirements and Equipment

The minimum equipment/know-how required to take the course will be:

• A well-supported modern machine (PC, UNIX or Mac) to which you will have access to on a regular basis and which is capable of running graphical Web browsers that support tables and client-side clickable gifs (e.g. Netscape 3.0 (or better), Internet Explorer 3.0 (or better)).
• The equivalent of a 50MHz 486 8Mb RAM computer with 14" screen to undertake the course. As some of the course material pictures are large you will need to be able to configure the display to XVGA resolution (1024 x 768 with 256 colours) or better.
• Some access to a PC running Windows 95/98/NT/2K. (This is a requirment for the academic year 2000/2001 which may be relaxed in future years.)
• Regular access to the Internet.
• A regular E-mail address and some familiarity with its use.
• Some familiarity with browsing the Web.
• Some familiarity with the installation of simple packages and with transferring/ downloading data.
• The ability to use a text editor (e.g. Notepad) to create documents.

We anticipate that most students will be using PCs running MS Windows 95/98/NT/2K. However, most of the course material can be browsed (and interacted with) using PCs running Linux or other UNIX computers or even Macs. However, the Department cannot guarantee an equal level of technical support for students not using PCs running MS Windows 95/98/NT/2K.

This list of requirements should act as a guide only as there are bound to be variations and combinations which are not mentioned above. If after reading the above you are still unsure about the level of your technical know-how or the equipment you will need then please contact Mr Martin Vickers.

College Application Form

Application

Once you have read the course details and completed the technical information form, the next step to pursue your application for a place on the course is to print out, fill in and send back by postal mail to the College Registry the Adobe Acrobat version of the college application form. (In case you wondered why the form is marked "undergraduate", college has stated that all advanced certificate courses should use this form in order to keep the number of college application forms to a minimum.)

NEW: An electronic version of this paper-based form is currently under trial by the college and is now available for making an application for a place on any college Internet-based course: to access the electronic form click here. Please let us know if you experience any problems with it.

If you are applying from overseas, you can speed matters up by faxing the completed application to the Registry. You will still need to send the original with signature by mail, which the College requires for its records, but it will process the fax. Do not forget to include a correct and detailed postal address for correspondence during this application.

Alternatively, you may contact the Course Administrator and ask for a paper copy of the application form, which will be forwarded via post. You will also receive an acknowledgement that your e-mail message has been received.

The return address for the completed application form is:

The Registry
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
United Kingdom

Tel:   +44 (0)20 7631 6390
Fax:  +44 (0)20 7631 6303
E-mail: a.rajab-ali@admin.bbk.ac.uk

The enrolment procedure usually takes about two weeks (allowing for postal delays). Application forms which are not complete will be subject to delays so please fill in the form as accurately as possible.

As the course will begin in late October you should be thinking of registering as soon as possible to ensure that you get a place on the course. Registration must be completed by 29 November 2000.

Course Fees and Method of Payment

The level of fee for 2000/2001 has been set by the college for Web-based Advanced Certificates as follows:

• Concessionary rate for self-financing students from European Union countries and students from "countries in transition" and certain "developing countries" GBP £ 342 pounds sterling
• Concessionary rate for self-financing students from other countries GBP £ 816 pounds sterling
• Full rate (industrial and institutional sponsors) GBP £ 1386 pounds sterling

Payment should be made by credit card, by cheque, or other form of credit transfer. For students outside of the UK cheques should be drawn on a British bank and should be made payable to Birkbeck College. Payment should be made before the beginning of the course, and no later than the 29 November 2000, but after you have received notification that you have been accepted onto the course.

Academic Requirements

The minimum academic qualification required to register for the course is normally the equivalent to an UK BSc (Bachelor's) in a subject allied to one of the following: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, or Computer Science.

If you are a PhD student registered at another university you are eligible if your supervisor, and university, agree to you undertaking this course. When you apply you will need to include a letter from your supervisor/university stating that there is no objection to you undertaking this course.

If you are an undergraduate student you are normally not eligible to undertake this course (for exceptions contact the course organiser Dr Jeremy Karl Cockcroft).

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