Bachelor of Science (Hons) in English Literature and Sociology

at Aston University United Kingdom

Quantity surveyors manage the commercial aspects of construction and civil engineering projects, from the initial calculations to the final figures. Their aim is to minimise costs and enhance value for money, delivering projects to the required quality and on time.

Our Quantity Surveying programme, which is part of the civil engineering and infrastructure cluster here at Aston, examines the economic and operational issues related to the construction industry.

What you’ll learn
On our course you’ll gain a working knowledge of the techniques, and an understanding of the skills, required by quantity surveyors and commercial managers within the construction industry. With sustainable construction methods and technology at the centre of your learning, you’ll also learn about cost planning and estimating, scheduling projects and building engineering and management.

In addition, as you’ll be learning and living in the middle of Britain’s second city, you’ll gain invaluable, real-life experience of the challenges and opportunities faced by the people and organisations responsible for developing our built environment. To help bring this to life there will be regular opportunities for engagement with local projects through a series of guest lectures, site visits and real-life projects.

Masters of International Business provides you with the highly sought-after global mindset, skills, and knowledge that are required for doing business in rapidly changing global context and prepares you to tackle the business challenges across the world confidently.

This stimulating course will equip you with a detailed knowledge and deep understanding of today’s global commercial environment. It will explore how business is conducted across borders, examine various business functions and their role in international commerce, whilst looking at strategic management and economics in an international business context.

You’ll also develop key transferable skills which, when combined with your well-rounded business education, will enable you to embark upon a variety of different career paths and help prepare you for management positions in global companies

What you’ll learn
You will study literature, culture and history and explore the style choices of films, digital fiction, Instapoetry and Twitterfiction, alongside more traditional modes of text. We will equip you to critically engage with a variety of texts across both literary genres and periods, and you’ll be able to develop your skills as a writer through our Creative Writing module.

At Aston University, sociology is about real-life, everyday experiences. Our research-led teaching brings social theory to the study of pressing issues in the modern age, such as migration, climate change, welfare, crime, health and sexuality. We focus on key contemporary issues, social policy and decision-making, global trends and international comparisons.

On the sociology strand of the course, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of social processes, organisational dynamics and inter-group relationships. We explore the social constraints we encounter in our everyday lives and how they are reinforced by class, race, religion and gender. To understand how these issues perpetuate existing inequalities and unequal life chances, we analyse how politics is intertwined with the profit-making aims pursued by big corporations and how their combined interests dominate our social imaginations. When learning about contemporary topics such as inequality, racism, health, migration, sexuality, identity, education, the media, crime and climate change, you will be taught by experts in these fields.

If you’re seeking to deepen your understanding of human biology, diseases, infections, and the diagnostic tools and treatments we need to treat them, study Biomedical Science at Aston University, Birmingham.

Our dual Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and Royal Society of Biology (RSB) accredited Biomedical Science degree focuses on current clinical practice. It has been designed to provide you with the necessary academic requirements to allow you to apply to become a registered Biomedical Scientist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). 

It covers a range of disciplines including microbiology, physiology, and immunology, as well as common aspects of medicine and care, such as blood transfusions; and explores the impact on the human body on things like exercise, temperature, and disease.

What you’ll learn
The core subjects at the heart of the degree – structures, materials, geotechnics, transport, infrastructure, engineering and construction management – will equip you with key expertise and enhance your employability.

During the course you will study a wide range of subjects, beginning with the fundamentals of civil engineering, including construction materials, mechanics and mathematical skills.

You will spend a year in industry as part of the course before completing your studies in year four with a research project and a design project as well as the opportunity to specialise in either transport, infrastructure, engineering or construction management.

The skills you will gain are in high demand and, as a graduate, you will be able to contribute to the ongoing development of the built environment in which we live and work.

The BSc Human Resources and Business Management course draws on psychology, human resources and general management theory to develop insight into the world of work, preparing students with key skills in communication, negotiation and effective decision-making.

What you’ll learn
During your studies you will have the opportunity to gain real-world experience through your placement. You will develop a deeper understanding of psychological mechanisms that play a role in decision-making and team work, as well as how leaders can strategically bring about change processes, and why individual employees play an important role in organisational productivity. Your placement will also help you to develop key skills in decision-making, negotiation and communicating effectively.

In the first year, you will develop an understanding of the historical context within which work has developed and changed in the last century. This will equip you with an appreciation of how information technology and globalisation have altered business structures. You will also develop knowledge of key elements of business management such as economics, marketing, law and accounting.

The second year shifts focus to a deeper understanding of the issues around individual attitudes and behaviours. You will study modules on ‘Creativity in Organisations’ and the ‘Psychology of Work’, alongside continuing to develop knowledge of the wider business management issues through modules including ‘Employee Resourcing’ and ‘Digital Marketing’. In addition, you will develop skills such as data analysis, contributing to your decision-making and negotiation acumen.

At the end of your second year you begin your placement year, where you will have an opportunity to practice and apply the knowledge and skills you have so far developed.

The final year brings all of your learning together with a study of strategy and management, where the combination of human resources and business management takes focus through modules such as ‘Strategic HR and Leadership’.

You will develop specialised knowledge of employment law and the skills to use evidence to make persuasive arguments. You will draw on your placement experiences to make sense of critical HR issues like productivity, work engagement, burnout and stress at work. All this will prepare you to start either a specialised career in HR or a more general management role within organisations across a range of different sectors. On successful completion of your degree you will be able to apply for Associate CIPD membership.

There has never been a time where so much data has been available in conjunction with the tools to make the most of it. These tools constitute the field of data science. There has also never been a time with so many global challenges to tackle, from the shortage of resource and the impact we have on the environment to the strive to automate and optimise a variety of systems such as transport, energy, health and communication. There are almost limitless opportunities to use these tools in the various domains and applications for making real impact on industry, society and policy making.

This course is for you if you want to use your mathematical and numerical skills to embark on a career in data science and its application. During the course you will develop the necessary analytical and computational skills alongside an informed and critical appreciation of scientific and industrial developments in data.

What you’ll learn 

You will gain a thorough grounding in the fundamental concepts of data analytics to understand the data lifecycle, including problem formulation, data collection and cleaning, exploratory data analysis and visualisation, statistical inference and decision making. Additionally, you will have the chance to apply your knowledge in a research project on a subject of your choice.

You will be trained in a wide range of modern data science and analytics methods in the MSc in Data Analytics programme including the following modules:

Statistical Machine Learning, where you will be able to develop simple, but practical, statistical models for complex real-world data. The models can be used to automate decision making and predictions, such as detecting diseases or deciphering signals.

Algorithmic and Computational Mathematics that focuses on the in-depth study of key general algorithms, with their numerical implementation, which are the heart of data processing and modelling. This includes approximation techniques, interpolation, sampling, etc. that are practiced with hands-on coding.

Data Science Programming will teach you the use of Python and R for data analysis in scientific computing. You will learn how to use Python libraries such as: (i) NumPy and Pandas, for performing complex numerical analysis tasks; (ii) Scikit Learn, to build machine learning models; (iii) Matplotlib and R for 2D data visualisations and (iv) PyTorch, to develop deep learning applications.

All organizations and businesses need people who can problem-solve, plan and manage. With a combination of maths and the management and leadership skills needed in business, you’ll be in high demand.

What you’ll learn
The program combines economics, finance, and business-oriented modules with applied maths modules, preparing you for a high-level career in the private or public sectors.

Our joint honors program enables you to choose a combination of maths and economics modules in your second and final years and will ensure your learning experience is exciting and relevant for tomorrow’s challenges. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop key employability skills including communication, presentation, and report writing. On this course, you spend your third year in a paid professional placement of direct relevance to your studies. This placement will give you invaluable practical experience in a real work environment and further enhance your career prospects. Both Schools have strong links with major employers ranging from the biggest communication companies to the pharmaceutical industry.

Electronic engineering impacts on so many areas of every day life so it is perhaps no surprise to find that it is the most extensive and pervasive of all the engineering disciplines.

Our courses are developed in collaboration with a wide range of industry sectors to give a broad but relevant degree so teaching won’t just be standard lectures and you’ll be encouraged to discover how science fiction becomes fact. Designing your own products and working with cutting-edge equipment will be a core part of the course. Our ground-breaking, fast-track, higher level Electrical and Electronic Engineering MEng course allows you to gain an MEng qualification in four years, rather than the traditional five years, making it a more time and cost-effective choice.

What you’ll learn

The first two years of the MEng are taught alongside the BEng degree. You’ll begin by covering the fundamental principles of the field, such as digital and analogue electronics, computing, mathematics and project management, rapidly developing the analytical skills to understand and begin designing electrical circuits and systems.

In the second and final years you’ll specialise by selecting from a broad range of career-focused options, including systems analysis, data acquisition and control, digital system design, telecommunications systems, optoelectronics and signal processing. The final year is taught alongside our masters programmes and you can choose to study a broad range of modules, or specialise in one particular area, such as communications, sensing, computing or electrical power. You will also undertake an in-depth project, based on your areas of specialism.

You’ll have access to an extensive network of computer facilities throughout your course, including high performance PCs for industrial standard ECAD, Unix workstations and a large number of embedded processors for lab work. These resources are complemented by specialist electronics, telecommunications and networked laboratories and research facilities.

Study the Forensic Linguistics MA at Aston University, home of the world-leading Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, to take your linguistics skills to the next level and improve the delivery of justice through the analysis of language.

What you’ll learn
The Forensic Linguistics MA course aims to expand your linguistic analysis skills and understanding so that you can apply them to forensic texts, and in forensic and legal contexts.

You will learn from some of the world’s leading academics in the field of forensic linguistics, based at our research institute - the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics.