Master of Arts in Criminology

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

Looking for a security studies Master’s in Birmingham? Our MA Security Studies is open to graduates from all subjects.

The subject of security has considerable contemporary relevance, both nationally and internationally. A long and diverse list of issues have been characterised as security threats from warfare to global warming.

On this Master's you will consider events such as these across a range of different perspectives discussing their implications for security at the international, national and local levels as well as their relevance to different actors such as the state and the individual.

For example, the ongoing Syrian civil war and the breakdown of the Syrian state may represent a security risk for the UK by giving groups likes ISIS the space to operate and potentially attack the West. However, if we alter our focus we quickly become aware of a range of different insecurities felt by civilians displaced from their homes and struggling to survive as a result of the conflict.

The launch of our Eastside Jazz Club has helped consolidate the integral role that Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has to play in a major UK city that enjoys a thriving jazz scene. While Birmingham’s jazz scene has been established over many years, our bespoke venue promises an exciting future for Jazz in the city.

Our Jazz Department is based around the Club, where student musicians share a platform and get invaluable side-by-side performance experience with the best on the scene, whom we welcome to our stage on a regular basis.

This course meets with the needs of the modern jazz performer – it places emphasis on practical work, with the majority of time dedicated to one-to-one lessons, small group coaching and private practice. You'll study modules that have been specifically and skilfully designed for jazz musicians, and as part of your learning we encourage you to explore in depth the relationship between improvisation and composition, which is central to developing your individual voice. You will graduate as a versatile, professional musician who is knowledgeable about the entrepreneurial opportunities available to you, and aware of the commercial realities for musicians joining today’s UK jazz scene as a portfolio musician.

Delivered by performers, band leaders and composers who enhance their teaching with professional experience, insights and connections, the course hones both your performance and professional awareness.

With individual specialist tuition throughout all four years of the course you will get the individual attention you need to prepare for a successful career in the music profession.

As well as having our own club that has taken its place on Birmingham’s vibrant jazz scene, our students enjoy professional experience opportunities with external gigs that familiarise them with the industry – for example through our partnership with Cheltenham Jazz Festival – one of many ways we prepare you for the future.

What's covered in this course?

The BMus (Hons) Jazz course is a specialist course for performers in jazz. Its main aim is to prepare students for a career in the music profession in the field of jazz. At the heart of our course's philosophy is the ideal of the informed musician; someone who is able to combine both advanced skills and musical knowledge in the advancement of their musical career. The BMus (Hons) Jazz course therefore aims to develop the specialist skills, the theoretical, historical and practice-based knowledge and to encourage the individual creativity required for you to become an independent learner, a critical thinker and a reflective practitioner.

You will be taught by performers, band leaders and composers, who are ideally placed to share their professional experience, insights and connections. With their guidance, you will hone both your performance skills and your professional awareness.

The global luxury sector continues to grow, with increasing profits for both well-established and new brands.

The MA Luxury Jewellery Management course addresses the specific challenges and opportunities of the luxury jewellery industry and is the perfect choice for you if you see your future career with premium, high-end and luxury jewellery brands.

What's covered in this course?

You will learn global business strategy and leadership supported by ethical, responsible and sustainable practices. In developing skills to adopt appropriate codes of conduct to improve global operations, you will learn how to promote intercultural communication to enhance business culture and preserve cultural heritage in the luxury jewellery industry. These emerging and significantly important skills are key for managers of luxury jewellery business all over the world.

You will investigate the DNA of brands; designing and creating marketing plans and effective campaigns, with regard to the multicultural aspects of the audience. You will integrate innovations of new technologies, such as additive manufacturing, to embrace the change, meanwhile preserving and enhancing the artisanship’s heritage of the luxury jewellery industry.

The course is global in its outlook and reflects business systems, standards and practices from around the world, drawing upon international case studies and fostering intercultural fluency amongst students. These aims will develop your confidence and ambitions to explore a breadth of careers within a global luxury jewellery industry. Where possible, your learning will be supported by an international field trip, factory visits, exhibitions visits, guest speakers, live projects and simulated practice requiring actual problem-solving.

MA Luxury Jewellery Management is based on the philosophy that management education should provide a thorough grounding in the disciplines related to the functional aspects of management, and the interaction with contextual forces that impact on organisations. This knowledge and understanding is then further contextualised to provide integrative strategic themes. The impact of globalization on business in all disciplines is a coherent theme throughout the course.

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.

This cutting-edge new BA (Hons) Film and Screenwriting degree course will develop your skills across key film studies and screenwriting debates and conventions. You will be taught by noted film scholars and established practitioners, who will provide their knowledge of international film and screenwriting perspectives.

The course is part of Birmingham City University’s Film Futures suite, designed to develop graduates with the theory, practice and industry trends that will enable them to succeed in a rapidly changing film environment.

What's covered in this course?

The course considers a wide range of script to screen traditions from theory, practice and industry perspectives.

Not only will you gain an understanding of Hollywood cinema conventions (from silent cinema to modern blockbuster spectaculars), but you will apply these storytelling techniques to a variety of production scenarios. As well as looking at American film and screenwriting genres (such as rom-com, thriller, science fiction and horror case-studies), you will also be introduced to other international traditions of cinema that range from European cinema, documentary to smartphone filmmaking and beyond.

A key focus of the course will be on the aesthetic and creative aspects of film and screenwriting, with consideration being given to techniques of storytelling, narratology and screen adaptation. You will have ample opportunity to collaborate with Filmmaking and Film Studies students on the production of short film projects, while modules on film festival programming and film entrepreneurship provide core skills relevant to the film industry.

Developed in partnership with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), our MMus in Orchestral Performance are for advanced level string players considering professional orchestral auditions and on the brink of a professional career.

In addition to one-to-one specialist tuition, you will spend a significant amount of rehearsal time in the CBSO alongside one or more dedicated host players who will act as mentors. You may also be offered opportunities to play at the back of the section to gain further experience. In addition to developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, you will expand your knowledge of orchestral repertoire, learn how to prepare for rehearsal in the most efficient way, develop strategies that will help you to integrate within your section, and build confidence in preparing for orchestral auditions.

You will also participate in additional performance activities within the Conservatoire’s String Department and the wider Conservatoire, including performance classes, masterclasses, orchestra and chamber music.You'll have full access to our superb £57 million facilities, including our Concert Hall, 150-seat Recital Hall, our black box performance space known as The Lab, and more than 70 practice rooms, ensemble rooms and workshops; all acoustically designed to provide a music-making environment that is world-class.

Looking for Birmingham psychology courses? Our BSc (Hons) Psychology degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society and allows you to take a year-long industry placement.

Make sense of the real world through gaining a deep understanding of how the core and specialised areas in psychology contribute to our understanding of contemporary issues, as well as looking at the role of brain function across multiple psychological perspectives.

You’ll apply scientific reasoning and evaluate patterns of behaviour, gaining key transferable skills in communication, teamwork and problem-solving.

What's covered in this course?

You will explore scientific approaches to understanding the mind, brain and behaviour. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical and scientific underpinnings of the discipline of Psychology and how these underpinnings change across the core curriculum topic areas. Explore how the six core areas in Psychology can explain factors that influence the mind, brain, behaviour and experience, and of the complex interactions between these.

You will develop knowledge and understanding of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. Our Psychology department works in partnership with the nationally recognized Advance HE to continually develop the quality of both our staff and the course, focusing on self-development, contemporary learning practices and integrating practice within the community.

The applied nature of our BA (Hons) Business Economics degree prepares you to work across all areas of the economy, especially the private sector.

Specifically, your degree combines the study of economics, with a wide variety of applicable business-related theories/models such as E-business, sustainability and innovation among others.

In this course the focus lies on three key pillars: it is applied enabling you to make sense of the impact of policies; it centres on enhancing your employability; finally, it provides you with a global outlook critical to sustainable growth within an organisation. The international focus of the course is derived through a variety of means including the student body, the teaching team and the use of international teaching materials. In addition to this you’ll also have the opportunity to gain industry experience by going on a professional placement, or to travel overseas to study abroad at one of our partner universities.

Economics is a major social science which studies the economy and its impact on society and the natural environment. Economics draws on and influences other social sciences and it is also a core business discipline, which is integral to understanding organisational behaviour, strategy and corporate performance. This course will equip you with a firm foundation of economics through a unique pluralist approach, which will bring to life diverse economic ideas and empower you to understand the relevance of competing economic theories and their application to business decision-making.

In order to do this effectively, this course equips you with a vast analytical toolkit, which includes mathematical and statistical analysis, critical thinking and the use of business tools and techniques to provide a richer understanding of the challenges contemporary businesses face within both the UK and International economies. During your study here you will have the chance to access to our Trading room and to work on a live client project with our Business Advice Centre. Finally, you will also gain critical communication and IT skills with our expert teaching team that has industry experience.

Do you want to be a design thinker? Is your goal to use a design strategy to transform businesses, cultures, and lives? Alternatively, do you want to develop your own design business? If your answer is yes, then this course is for you!

This course invites designers and non-designers to apply design thinking and business-speak to create innovative and purposeful outcomes. On this course, you sharpen your strategic edge through expanding your entrepreneurial and business capabilities. If you are a non-designer, you learn to be a creative thinker.

You bring the knowledge from your past education and practice, combine them with the subject knowledge of design management, and create solutions that are not just aesthetically pleasing but also functional, viable, and purposeful. The course brings excellent networking opportunities for you to facilitate knowledge building and collaborative learning.

On this postgraduate course, we teach you the interdisciplinary issues that design managers work with, such as business, marketing, technology, and art. Immersed in practice, you acquire the skills and the confidence to manage and lead a project. You are encouraged to push the boundaries and to put forward new, improved ideas that are innovative and purposeful.

Design thinking, design strategy, creativity, research, and problem-solving are applied extensively to all the modules. You undertake projects individually and in a team, where you learn communication, management, and interpersonal skills. You work with industry partners with the utmost professionalism. You pursue an industry-based inquiry, which may be a placement. And, you acquire and apply people management, client management, and project management tactics while working on industry projects and teams.

Are you interested in understanding business concepts and how to use IT to serve business needs?

Our Business Information Technology degree gives you the skills to make IT work for businesses.

Business Information Technology bridges the gap between IT and Business to drive innovation and growth in the modern global organisation. It embeds a systems philosophy of connectivity, to offer an in-depth understanding of business concepts and how to use IT to serve business needs. It will also provide essential skills that will facilitate communicating and discussing technical and business ideas effectively with technical and non-technical audiences.

What's covered in this course?

You will work collaboratively with tutors, researchers and businesses, applying practice-based skills to real-life case studies and live project briefs which will develop your problem-solving and analytical skills. Learn how to think like a coder, to influence the design, development and use of information systems and technology in organizations.

You will also gain an in-depth understanding on how organizations can harness the data to improve decision-making. In a summary, this course will give you the skills and knowledge to make IT work for businesses.

Develop your technical, research, design and organizational ability, and leave with the skills employers want.

Work in our advanced software development and computer programming labs, using dedicated facilities for systems analysis, networking, e-commerce and business intelligence – all of which reflect advanced professional practice.

Our LLM in International Human Rights will expose you to the fundamental aspects of the field and provide you with the opportunity to critically examine the impact of the international human rights standards on national constitutions and laws, with particular focus given to the conflict between international standards and national provision.

The LLM International Human Rights also provides you with an opportunity to assess how international human rights law offers protection to different categories of vulnerable groups.

Additionally, our LLM provides an opportunity to acquire, or build upon existing skills gained from your undergraduate course - enhancing employment opportunities in the legal profession and providing a basis for progression to doctoral studies.

Professional Placement option

For our International Law LLM degrees, 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.