Master of Arts in Criminology with Professional Placement

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

Serious about working in games? Then enrol at the industry-endorsed finishing school for games developers and artists.

Gamer Camp: Pro (MA and MSc Video Games Development) has been created in partnership with the likes of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Codemasters, Rare and Exient.

We aim to help you become the perfect recruit for development studios within the game industry, uniquely combining professional, multidisciplinary game development practice with the latest industry insights and tools.

It's a winning formula. With mentoring from industry veterans and support from leading game development teams, our graduates are prepared for success. Recent graduates are employed by companies including Creative Assembly, Ubisoft and Codemasters.

What's covered in this course?

The course was founded by Oliver Williams (Deputy Head of the Birmingham Institute of Creative Arts) and Guy Wilday, former Studio Director at SEGA Racing Studio (SEGA Rally) and Head of Studio at Codemasters (Colin McRae Rally), currently Development Director at Sony's London Studio. It was developed in partnership with the industry to provide a ‘finishing school’ that produces work-ready graduates with the practical skills they need to be successful. Many companies recruit directly from the course, giving you access to jobs that you would not come across elsewhere.

You will get specialist skills training, mentoring and support from leading game developers, the chance to develop a working game that can be published, and experience every stage of the game development cycle. You will receive real game briefs, training and mentoring from industry partners such as Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Exient, Mediatonic, Rare and Codemasters.

Working in teams in your own game development studio, you will be provided with all the software you need for the duration of the course. You will create a fully working game for a series of platforms, culminating in the development of a working PlayStation4 game prototype for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

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.

The world of finance is rapidly changing, with new innovative financial products being developed on a constant basis. The present times have also witnessed an unprecedented number of companies failing because of poor financial management. All these challenges call for dynamic and brilliant people who can design financial solutions and make the world a better place.

The degree is designed to equip you with wider business and Finance environment knowledge. Offering you the opportunity to acquire key business and financial skills, explore innovative practices and entrepreneurial skills. The course is accredited by Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI). The course also aligns with various other professional bodies courses such as Association of Corporate Treasures (ACT), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and many others.

Delivery of the course is flexible and includes a blend of lectures, workshops, field trips and online learning. The modules, which feed into the course, are widespread, broad, covers key current topics such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help you to appreciate finance from a range of perspectives. Ultimately, decision making in finance, calls for one to exercise their judgement and intuition and this course helps you to strengthen that judgement.

The course team has, between it, years of industrial experience in the finance field as well in academia. Therefore, students with little or no background in finance are assured of getting all the help they need in order to excel in the course. You will learn a lot from course team’s knowledge and experience, as you will be regularly engaging in inquiry based and experiential learning, which has been designed to assimilate work-based scenarios.

In order to enhance your employability, extra-curricular activities such as trading trainings, conferences and field trips will be arranged throughout the academic years. Outside speakers from industry will also be invited to give presentations on how best to improve your employability. Moreover, 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. In a nutshell, the knowledge attained from the course will help you to seek a variety of employment in the sector nationally and internationally.

Looking for a business studies course in Birmingham? Our BA (Hons) Business degree offers the opportunity to take a year-long professional placement in industry.

The course upholds the values of the principles for responsible management education (PRME) defined by the United Nation. It aims to educate future business leaders for a sustainable future.

On the course, you will be able to develop a wide range of cognitive and intellectual skills, together with competencies specific to business and enterprise. The course will provide you with the opportunity to develop specialist business expertise, while helping you learn key transferable skills, all of which will help you stand out when it comes to securing employment.

You will be working with academics with specialist knowledge and industry practitioners while studying with us. Our supportive and empowering learning environment will further facilitate your learning journey by providing additional support through personal tutors, through learning mentors and study buddies.

Our Fashion Styling course focuses on your ability to develop a personal creative style, entrepreneurial abilities and a professional approach.

The course is primarily vocational and practical, and caters for those with career interests in contemporary fashion styling, visualisation and communications.

What's covered in this course?

Throughout the course, you’ll explore and use different research methods to investigate how styling is used to promote fashion through marketing, advertising, events management, publicity or public relations. You’ll learn the skills and knowledge needed for a professional career in fashion styling, with opportunities to collaborate with other fashion students and work on live projects with industry.

Based at our city centre Parkside campus, you will have access to relevant software and computer equipment, and have the opportunity to collaborate with a faculty full of creative students.

Your learning environment will encourage you to become an adaptable, flexible and knowledgeable graduate, equipped to pursue a career in the fashion industry.

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.

Study our Automotive Engineering MEng degree course and join one of the select UK Universities to take part in Formula Student events at Silverstone.

Now is a fascinating time to study automotive engineering as you’ll have the chance to be at the forefront of developments within the industry. You’ll get to work in advanced automotive workshops and laboratories equipped with industry-standard equipment, as well as take advantage of more traditional office-based facilities.

You’ll gain practical experience so that you are equipped to apply engineering science to real life situations. Plus, you’ll also have the opportunity to join our BCU Formula Student racing team.

What's covered in this course?

You’ll develop as an engineer able to make a significant contribution to this industry as it goes through an important period of transition in the UK and globally.

Our engineering courses focus on project-based activities, giving you lots of opportunity to work in teams on projects from design to implementation. This will give you practical experience of applying engineering science to real-world problems, working in multidisciplinary teams to develop your interpersonal skills, and prepare you for a key aspect of modern engineering practice.

You will develop key technical skills, enhance your creative thinking and learn from industry experts. As well as gaining knowledge and application skills in stress analysis, powertrain systems, suspension, body engineering, design and management.

You’ll be learning in a stimulating environment with lots of opportunity to collaborate with your colleagues, enhance your creativity and develop the attributes you need to stand out from the crowd.

Our automotive engineering degree is structured so that its themes have a direct relevance to the industry’s current and expected future needs, and upon graduating you will have the intellectual, technical and personal qualities necessary to successfully implement new technologies.

Throughout your course you will benefit from our strong industry links with companies such as the Morgan Motor Company, Westfield Sportscars, Siemens, and GKN.

You will also have the opportunity to join our BCU Formula Student racing team, which designs and builds a single-seater racing car each year to race in July at the IMechE-sponsored event at Silverstone.

Launch your career in the fast paced media industry, with our BA (Hons) Media Production degree. Prepare to become ‘industry-ready’ as you learn from guest speakers and industry experts. Make useful contacts and get a head start with your work placements and gain professional skills as you use our industry-standard facilities to create your media content. If you wish to make your mark in the media world, then this could be the course for you.

BA (Hons) Media Production develops the key skills you’ll need to enter the profession, alongside a range of transferable skills, which will help you gain employment in a range of careers. Previous School of Media graduates have gone onto employment in careers such as researchers, producers, editors, reporters and many more!

Highly regarded across the creative sector, our school of Media has fantastic links with industry, thanks to our blend of technical and academic studies - meaning your learning will always be relevant and up to date with current media industry practices.

What's covered in this course?

You’ll create your TV content in our four industry-standard TV studios, learning about all the important roles as you go. You’ll learn how to shoot single camera and edit on Adobe Premiere and Avid suites and develop the technical and personal skills you’ll need to operate a TV studio effectively. You’ll also learn how to develop and pitch your own ideas, a necessary skill in today’s competitive industry.

When you work in our enviable complex of six radio studios, you’ll be getting to grips with how to operate a studio, present a show, record interviews, and use digital technology to edit and mix sound. As progress through the course, you’ll put together music radio shows, short features and podcasts, with the ultimate aim of running a live radio station at the University.

A truly stimulating course, which will immerse you in the practical aspects of program-making and content creation You’ll have ample opportunity to make documentaries, dramas, music shows, and studio programs for both television and radio.

Throughout your time with us, you’ll be supported by academic staff who have years of experience in the broadcasting sector, such as award-winning former BBC producer Vanessa Jackson, and internationally recognised radio documentary producer, Sam Coley. You’ll also be taught by visiting lecturers who still work in industry, widening your knowledge and experience of the sector.

The Construction Project Management MSc prepares you for complex construction projects in a constantly changing globalised industry. Such an industry calls for skilled professionals who can deal with the challenges ahead.

What's covered in this course?

Accredited by RICS and CIOB, this course gives you a broad yet rigorous grounding in the fundamentals of organising and managing construction projects, and provides you with the knowledge and skills needed as a project manager. Our Construction Project Management postgraduates are highly sought-after and have secured positions with companies such as Turner & Townsend, Miller Construction and Acivico.

The MSc Construction Project Management course will enable graduates with degrees in surveying, construction, architecture, civil engineering and real estate to enter the construction management profession. Practitioners with extensive construction work experience but without a first degree will also be considered, subject to entrance exam and interview.

The course gives you a broad knowledge of the challenges of a changing construction industry. You’ll cover law and contract, sustainability, business management, project management and innovation. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is embedded in the course for integrated project delivery.

Our postgraduate Fashion Promotion course is highly vocational and an ideal choice if you want to work in fashion communication and the promotion of fashion companies, goods, events and brands.

The course attracts students from all disciplines from around the world, and we urge you to enrich your perspective as a global citizen, through expanding your cultural horizons in a stimulating multi-cultural environment and helping you to become a global graduate equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Your learning environment will encourage you to become an adaptable, flexible and knowledgeable graduate, equipped to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Many of our graduates go on to start up their own, or even develop existing family businesses.

Our MA Arts and Project Management course helps you explore how arts organizations, cultural spaces, and visual and performing arts projects are managed in different social and economic environments.

You will be introduced to arts policies in different regional and national and circumstances while gaining advanced organizational, planning and marketing skills. This prepares you for life as a professional project manager, a PhD researcher or to work in other career sequels.

This stimulating course offers you a specialist education in Arts and Project Management. You will be encouraged to develop your knowledge and understanding in order to be effective in managing and marketing the arts within contemporary culture.

What's covered in this course?

This stimulating course offers you a specialist education in Arts and Project Management. You will be encouraged to develop your knowledge and understanding in order to be effective in managing and promoting the arts within contemporary culture.

There is scope to work on live projects with external clients such as Selfridges and you will benefit from our close links with Ikon, Eastside Projects, New Art Gallery Walsall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the lively alternative arts scene including: The Lombard Method, Grand Union, Trove, Stryx and MSFAC.

Our academic staff team is highly experienced. Program leader, Beth Derbyshire has 20 years’ experience working in the creative industries as an interdisciplinary artist and Creative Director in Design and Brand Development.

The staff team has national and international research profiles including the artist/curator, Mona Casey who has extensive experience in the creative industries and Kathryn Burns who supports entrepreneurs and small arts businesses.

Want a career as an Architectural Technologist? Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), our BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology degree course is where the science of construction meets the art of design. The course focuses not only on the creation of the built environment, but also the structuring of space in and around it.

Much of your learning activity will be hands-on, with access to our strong industry links. You’ll also be provided with the latest CAD software, meaning you’ll be well equipped to make an impact in an important industry.

The course will develop your ability to appreciate and analyse existing design as well as create new ones, while keeping buildability, technology, procurement, contractual relations and the people involved in the process in mind. You will also explore the social, regulatory, technical, sustainable and aesthetic context of the UK and global development industry.