Master of Arts in Urban Design with Professional Placement

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

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.

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.

The Business Management course will offer you a practical-based degree applicable to a wide range of sectors. You will be able to contribute to critical debates on industry-related contemporary issues and understand the dynamic needs of business managers in the 21st century to reflect current knowledge and best practices.

You will gain specialist knowledge on a number of core functions of management, building your self-confidence to prepare you for a progressive and successful career in management. Exciting opportunities including integrated work projects and business placements in the UK or abroad are all featured in your course, therefore your career can start whilst achieving your qualification. You will have the benefit of renowned industry speakers and live projects to inspire and help you to develop.

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. Moreover, you can choose to spend a year or a full semester studying your modules overseas at a partner institution. Similarly, the Business Management course embeds the UN Sustainable Development Goals as an integral part of the course.

Our MSc Project Management course will help you gain the administrative, organisational and creative skills you’ll need to become one of tomorrow’s leading managers.

What's covered in this course?

The course will encourage creative thinking, and the development of leadership and management skills through teamwork, discussion and peer review. You’ll develop new skills to an advanced level, becoming a highly skilled manager capable of administering major projects within and across different organisations.

In addition to further academic research opportunities, career prospects are expected to keep pace with the rapid advances in project management methods and intelligent-based technologies, hence, there is expected to be continuing demand for competent, versatile postgraduates who can design and implement innovative solutions for industry.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, our BA (Hons) Marketing with Commercial Management degree gives you the practice-based skills needed to succeed in the ever-changing discipline of marketing.

This approach not only gives you the marketing knowledge needed but also the personal skills employers demand, allowing you to make an immediate impact upon graduation. This experience is further enhanced by the opportunity to undertake a yearlong placement.

Businesses value marketing more than ever due to its ability to identify opportunities, shape experiences and drive profits. It is an ever-evolving discipline, constantly responding to changes in technology and consumer behaviour.

To be successful in this exciting area not only requires a depth understanding of the core principles, but also relies on having the acumen and practical abilities to apply and adapt this knowledge in a wide variety of scenarios. This in-demand course has been designed to give you the practical and professional skills that employers seek through our practice-based learning approach

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.

The dynamic and fast-moving industry of investment offers wide variety of careers; it demands professionals with high level of finance knowledge, technical skills and the abilities that quickly adopt to new challenges.

The MSc Finance & Investment degree at Birmingham City University will equip you with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to start a graduate-level career and make a difference in the industry.

As the investment professionals of the future, you will gain knowledge as well as the essential soft skills like adaptability and lifelong learning skills. While you progress throughout the course, you will become more effective and creative in problem-solving. You will develop ways of analysing and thinking about investments that will remain with you in the years ahead when new and different investment opportunities become available.

Professional Placement option

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 Professional Placement will enhance your employability and transferable skills and allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. These skills enrich your experience and provide an added advantage in your endeavors to pursue their future professional careers in a highly competitive industry.

Public Relations shapes our world. Organisations use PR to get noticed, to change opinions, and pass on vital information that helps us to make decisions about health, education and welfare. PR is a fast-growing discipline, employing 83,000 people in a £13bn industry offering a wide range of job opportunities.

Our MA teaches you how to construct an effective PR campaign, combining theory with the practical skills needed to communicate persuasively on behalf of businesses, charities, public bodies, community groups and activists.

What's covered in this course?

The MA in Public Relations combines theory and practice, providing real intellectual challenge with a sharp focus on real-world events and firmly grounded in extensive industry links. We recognise that most applicants are looking to build a career in PR and our emphasis is on employability.

We look at techniques for raising awareness, listening to stakeholders and influencing ethical policies. We will develop your strategic planning and help you to engage with a wide range of tactical devices, including building expertise in using a range of social media platforms and tools. You will also learn techniques that will build your confidence as a presenter and a communicator.

The MA explores the ever-changing media landscape while critically examining PR’s impact on society.

Realise your potential as a creative practitioner and train to be a professional voice coach at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. You will gain highly specialised knowledge in a range of professional contexts and develop advanced expertise as a voice coach, teacher or performer.

Through reading, discussion, reflective writing and practising as a coach or teacher, you will relate theory and practice and learn the ways of thinking and working of a professional voice practitioner. Through full engagement with the opportunities the course provides, you will be prepared for work as a voice practitioner in private practice, in Further or Higher Education, in business, in theatre, performing arts and media.

Do you want to study a Master's in human resource management? Our International Human Resource Management course is ideal for people who want to qualify professionally with our fully accredited CIPD Masters course.

This full-time Master's course is ideal for those pursuing a career in HR, as, upon successful completion of this course you will be eligible to upgrade to a Chartered Member of the CIPD.

What's covered in this course?

We have an experienced teaching team who combine real work experience of human resource management with academic qualifications, bringing a strategic and conceptual view to the topics covered. Sessions are interactive and we encourage you to work together on case studies, and incorporate role-playing activities to develop practical HR skills. We invite guest speakers to deliver on relevant modules. Where appropriate to the individual topics covered during the course, implications for sustainability will be identified that relate to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

On completion of this course you will be able to make a valuable contribution within the HR field of management in your current or future workplace, having acquired both the core knowledge and the necessary skills to deliver excellence professionally and with the ability to act in the role of strategic partner.

In keeping with these aims, you will possess the professional knowledge and behaviors required to achieve Chartered Membership status with the CIPD, which is the most widely-recognised professional body in the field of HR.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will have developed critical understanding of the international context of organisations and the implications for HRM. You will explore the contexts in which HR operates and the impact which internationalization both strategically and at the level of specific HR practices. In particular, managing and leading expatriates.

Throughout the course you will be asked to reflect on your personal and professional development as an aid to demonstrating the core knowledge and behaviours required to gain organisational commitment and support from stakeholders.