Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Finance and Investment with Professional Placement

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

Our Master's program gives you the tools and techniques necessary to undertake research at the forefront of your chosen gemmological area.

Based in custom-designed facilities within Birmingham’s Assay Office, in the historic Jewellery Quarter, you will have access to equipment more commonly seen in research laboratories, and, through our network of contacts, potential access to a greater range of tools.

What's covered in this course?

This course encourages you to investigate gemmological questions and theories, by way of literature-based peer-reviewed research and practical testing.

You'll be supported throughout your studies by our experienced tutors, with a wealth of knowledge and experience between them - all recognised industry professionals.

As well as learning important skills for your future career development from our practical modules, you’ll learn valuable research techniques and analytical skills, which will stand you in good stead with future potential employers.

You will also benefit from the extensive network of gemmologists through our contacts in various organisations across the globe, including laboratories, museum, auction houses and various other related sectors.

Professional Placement option

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree.

The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

Future Media is a postgraduate MA program that does what it says:

• Future is finding your future and exploiting future developments in the digital marketing and advertising industry.
• Media is acquiring your digital media skill-set amongst evolving trends and emerging technologies.

The MA Future Media program combines agency practice with industry insights and academic methods. It's been a proven pathway to success for our graduates since 2012 and is now a winning formula for the 2020s.

What's covered in this course?

Our courses ensure you gain real-world experience and knowledge so you can hit the ground running when you graduate. In your year on the program, you’ll be planning digital marketing and advertising campaigns with digital agencies, developing brand and product promotions with clients, making mobile, social and virtual content with leading industry professionals and building new user journeys with emerging technologies and state-of-the-art resources.

You’ll tackle challenging briefs in diverse teams with industry partners to build your proficiency: MA students tend to choose broad, strategic and creative roles. Either way, we’ll give you the tools you need to realise your ambitions.

Professional Placement option

The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.

This will allow you to complete a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

If your ambition is to gain a senior site management role within the construction industry, our Construction Management BSc will set you on the right path.

In the UK, the construction industry employs over two million people and there’s never been a better time to gain exposure to every aspect of the built environment in Birmingham, as it is currently undergoing a huge and exciting regeneration period.

What's covered in this course?

Our Construction Management course matches the needs of the industry, preparing you to be able to manage a construction project from inception and design through to occupation by developing your skills in management to enable you to deliver projects safely, on time, on budget and to the highest possible quality.

The complexity of construction projects requires construction professionals who have expertise in construction management and can work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds and construction disciplines.

You will learn about the immediate and long-lasting effect which construction activities have on the environment, and discover sustainable and environmentally sound construction methods and innovative management practices. This course has social innovation embedded in its core. You will learn through creative social problem solving, working with our industrial partners to develop your intellectual and practical competence, as required by professional bodies such as CIOB and RICS.

After completing this course, you will have a broad range of knowledge of the legal, technical, managerial, economic, social and environmental aspects of construction projects, and be able to confidently manage both commercial and civil engineering projects.

Looking for a highly-prized English Literature degree course that you can tailor to your individual interests and career aspirations?

The BA (Hons) English Literature course will support you in developing your critical faculties, instilling in you the power and responsibility of informed reading and analysis, whilst deepening your appreciation for literature.

You will develop your writing, close-reading and research skills and learn to express your arguments coherently and persuasively. In the School of English, you will be taught by respected academics and practitioners offering a diverse range of modules.

You will study literature from all of the major periods, movements and genres. You will also have the opportunity to study cinema, art and philosophy. Your degree will allow you to tailor your studies to your individual interests and career aspirations with both a local and global outlook.

What's covered in this course?

English as a discipline continues to be relevant to the lives we lead and is central to a wide range of contemporary and social contexts. It is this fact on which the School has built its philosophy and approach to English as a subject, which has interdisciplinary reach beyond its own boundaries.

Understanding how language works in practice, engaging with multiple forms of communication, examining how language and literature engage with societies and cultures past and present, and the place of English in a global context, are all vital aspects in understanding how the discipline connects with the wider world, enabling you to focus on the production, interpretation and negotiation of meaning and to understand the world from a variety of perspectives.

You will benefit from student-focused and research-informed teaching in a friendly and supportive learning environment where you will be taught by respected academics and expert practitioners who encourage a community of experimentation, innovation and inclusivity.

Our graduates are characterised by their extensive subject knowledge, critical thinking and intellectual curiosity, reflected in the skills and abilities that enables them to adapt to a wide range of career paths and employment opportunities.

Want to study a criminology Master’s in Birmingham? Our MA Criminology degree is open to graduates from all subjects.

Our MA Criminology course has been designed for both recent graduates and practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of the debates surrounding crime and the criminal justice system. It offers an exciting opportunity to study both theoretical criminology and the more applied aspects of criminology and criminal justice issues.

The course has three formal stages:

• The Diploma stages consist of three taught modules, a proposal module that is delivered through work groups and a practice-based module involving reflection upon work or volunteering experience.
• Those proceeding to the Master's stage will be required to complete an extended project to be determined individually.
• It is possible to complete your studies at any of the Certificate, Diploma or Master's stages.

Get practical preparation for a career in sports journalism with our BA (Hons) Sports Journalism degree course. You’ll get the chance to develop the skills to cover a range of sports stories for print, digital, TV and radio, including covering live matches and competitions, interviewing key figures and running collaborative liveblogs. You’ll also explore the global impact of sports journalism on audiences. Students will be armed with mobile reporting kits to work as real reporters from day one.

We pride ourselves on teaching creative, contemporary journalism underpinned by traditional values and skills. That means learning the core media and communication skills that every working reporter needs before you specialise in an area that interests you.

You’ll be challenged academically – often by some of the industry’s leading names – and you’ll be expected to undertake meaningful work experience placements in media environments, and work on live stories, learning how to craft a story in a way that engages the audience.

By the time you graduate, you’ll be a thinking journalist with a specialism in sports. You’ll also be adaptable to the changes that the industry faces. Birmingham City University's journalism graduates have gone on to work for Sky, BBC, Trinity Mirror and the Express & Star. Others have scooped prestigious awards at the Midlands Media Awards while still studying.

What's covered in this course?

BA (Hons) Sports Journalism is delivered by industry experts from broadcast, print and digital and provides a strong foundation for a future professional career with a range of sports outlets. You’ll be able to use your own mobile reporting kit when you arrive, allowing you to work as a real reporter from day one.

Our Live Newsroom modules will get you to the heart of the action, covering a range of stories, preparing coverage for our award-winning Birmingham Eastside website and other partner outlets. You’ll get the chance to apply practical mobile reporting skills in a real-world environment for platforms including TV, radio, print and digital. Our strong links with key journalism organisations means you’ll also get the chance to work on live projects throughout the course.

Teaching is delivered in industry-standard facilities, as well as on location at matches and events thanks to our focus on mobile reporting. Our newsroom media hub also allows for collaborative work as part of the wider University journalism community.

By tackling real stories, you will quickly develop a sense of the impact they can have. There will be a chance to undertake placements as well as embed yourself within communities and sports organizations to tackle key issues in real depth.

The focus on innovation and entrepreneurship will encourage you to think critically about the journalism landscape. This will allow you to be one step ahead of the game and spot the next big move in the world of sports journalism.

Whatever your interests, our Musicology course gives you the unique opportunity to pursue your own research project within a lively and exciting Conservatoire environment.

Our flexible course enables you to mould a programme of study to your own needs and aspirations, and may be approached as preparation for a research degree in music.

It is important that a musicologist also develops complementary skills and/or knowledge outside their specialism which will help equip them for a future career: professional musicologists typically find themselves, amongst other things, teaching, managing and administering; some even maintain parallel careers as professional performers or composers.

Therefore, we provide you with a choice of Professional Development Options (shared across our postgraduate programmes) alongside your musicological work to give you the opportunity to develop and/or expand your interests across a range of complementary areas.

The Conservatoire team—which comprises a large number of research-active staff—has a vast array of expertise, allowing us to supervise a wide range of projects, and we are particularly keen to attract those interested in pursuing Masters-level research in our specialist areas.

Business Operations Management is a very popular management subject and leads to highly valued roles within the global job market due to the increasingly high value placed on it by industry.

It exists in every business no matter the size and industry, and it plays a key role directly affecting business performance and global economics. For example, as retail businesses transform their practices in the digital era with online shopping, the logistics industry is currently experiencing huge growth which is forecast to continue well into the future.

Professional Placement option

For our Global Business Operations degree, you will have the opportunity to take the Professional Placement version of the course, which is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.

This will allow you to complete a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability and transferable skills. The placement experience will allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.

Want to study a Master’s in management in Birmingham? Our MSc Management and Entrepreneurship course is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

The Management and Entrepreneurship MSc is a challenging but highly rewarding pathway that will provide an innovative gateway into starting your own business, as well as helping you develop a legitimate business plan that you can use to start your company. Our Management and Entrepreneurship course teaches you the fundamental skills and attributes you need to become a successful entrepreneur.

You will work in internationally diverse student teams, collaborating to deliver effective and professional reports, reflecting the professional practice of international management. Throughout the course, the course team will give you the support you need to realise your potential, and we look forward to working with you to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills for the career of your choice.

What's covered in this course?

At Stage One you’ll become adept at strategic and tactical business decisions, developing core skills in key areas, including finance, people management, operations and marketing. You will examine the key challenges faced by global businesses, to fully appreciate the complexity and dynamics of leadership and management practice. This will see you broaden your skills in organisation, communication and working with others, particularly within an increasingly culturally diverse business context.

Stage Two develops your specialist knowledge, understanding and skills via the New Venture Creation module which specifically focuses on the applied aspects of entrepreneurial activity. In parallel, you will also learn about strategic management and develop your skills in research practice to prepare for your major project.

The Stage Three module of Entrepreneurship in Practice is a lecture and seminar series of specialist topics giving real-world practical insights into entrepreneurship practice. You will explore critical issues faced by entrepreneurs, such as entrepreneurship capital, buying a business, succession planning and start-up marketing. You will be given the option to develop your business concept into a substantial piece of research and business plan via the Entrepreneurship Project module. You will be able to self-appraise and reflect on your entrepreneurship skills at all three stages of the course.

This course aims to provide you with a comprehensive program of study of international finance, providing you with the knowledge and professional skills including digital skills to develop a career in banking or another financial institution dealing with international operations.

You will develop a broad vision and understanding of the changing role and nature of finance within the context of a global marketplace. You will become competent in dealing with international investment and financing transactions, international payments and exchange rates. In addition to traditional areas of international finance, the course will provide skills in areas including responses to international financial crises and cryptocurrencies.  This course is offered for local as well as international students.

Birmingham City University is a modern practically oriented and student-oriented university. You will be taught by highly qualified academics with industrial and professional experience and actively involved in research.

Professional Placement option

For our MSc International Finance degree, you will have the opportunity to take the Professional Placement version of the course, which is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.

This will allow you to complete a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability and transferable skills. The placement experience will allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.