Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences (Genetics) with Placement (Thick - Sandwich)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

You only have to turn on the news or open a newspaper to see how differently the nations of the world are governed. What is democracy and democratisation? How has US foreign policy changed in the last 20 years? What is globalisation?

Politics is an exciting and dynamic subject, simulating debate and offering insight in how the ever-changing world around us works. It’s also a degree that can demonstrate your intellectual acumen and understanding of world affairs, which will be an asset in so many fields of work.

As well as providing a foundation in the approaches and theories of politics and international relations, through this degree you will develop your understanding of the importance of politics in a globalising and integrating world.

Whether you’re studying modern Africa, imperialism or Trump’s foreign policy, you’ll not just learn about politics, you’ll be analysing politics using the tools of political science and philosophy to help deepen your understanding and critical thinking.

Opt for a placement year and you'll gain work experience that is highly valued by employers. Brunel students have secured placements in the Environmental Audit Committee, the House of Commons, Directorate of Gender Affairs, HM Treasury and the Competition Commission, to name only a few.

You can also opt to take part of your degree abroad in one of our partner universities in Europe, or participate in an exchange programme to China or the USA to study politics in a different part of the world whilst experiencing a new culture.

Brunel is a dynamic university choice for your politics course. You’ll be taught by politics experts who are often called on to comment on radio and television. The Brunel campus has hosted the filming of BBC’s Question Time and is a political hub during local and national elections.

Brunel politics graduates enter diverse careers. Many of our former students go into politics and the civil service and some are currently at GCHQ and military intelligence. Others work in the public and private sector like the NHS, international banks, business consultancy, law, NGOs and the media. Whichever route you chose, an international politics degree with Brunel will set you up for a successful future.

Do you want to report on news from the most interesting and important parts of the world? Are you committed to a career in journalism but need the professional skills? If so, this one-year journalism postgraduate course provides excellent preparation for working across all platforms.

From the moment you start Brunel’s International Journalism degree, you will learn to deliver high-quality video, audio, online and print journalism geared towards global audiences.

Course content is designed to equip you with digital, multi-platform journalism skills and advanced understanding of the context of journalism in the fast-changing world of news media.

You will study a synthesis of practical and theoretical skills modules contextualising different forms of journalistic practice, within a framework of technological, political and cultural change. This is challenging, employment-orientated study on a leading journalism course at a London university that focusses on international reporting.

You will benefit greatly from our academic’s research strengths and excellent links with the journalism, broadcasting and publishing industries, with the option to seek a work placement during your time on the course.

Additionally, alumni and industry guest speakers will bring further insight and inspiration about what it means to work within global media.  

You will also get plenty of hands-on training and practice in the University’s well-equipped media suite that mimics the recording and broadcast facilities used within the industry.

International Journalism MA will appeal to a broad range of candidates with an interest in journalism across all sectors, including print journalism, online journalism, radio journalism, TV journalism and especially in areas of convergence.

The Business Computing (Social Media) BSc course looks at the ways that social media has transformed how we connect and how we do business in the 21st century. You’ll study how the internet has rapidly evolved to accommodate services and technologies which can be used by companies as commercial tools. In your final year, we’ll take a closer look at applications integral to supporting business such as Skype, Facebook and Twitter.

Through a mixture of theory and real-world practice, you’ll learn how to assess organisational problems and apply solutions. We’ll teach you how to determine a dynamic mix of processes, which allow information delivery systems and users to carry out business effectively and efficiently. You’ll come to intuitively understand how an organisation’s information systems need to adapt to the changes and developments n atural to growth and progress.

Our course is designed for flexibility, so if you’re not sure which route you want to go down, you can select modules and specialise gradually during your time with us. You can transfer between Computer Science and Business Computing up to the start of Level 2, then should you wish, you can choose a specialism up to the start of Level 3.

We know that when you graduate, you’ll be working on large projects. That’s why one third of each year of our programmes is project-based. On Levels 1 and 2, you’ll build a software solution in a team, and in your final year you’ll carry out an individual project. You’ll also have the opportunity to showcase your projects at the annual  Made in Brunel (Software Innovation) event, with awards presented by the likes of Cisco, Sky and Xerox.

As part of your degree course, you’ll have the chance to take a year-long work placement between your second year and third year. We’ll support you in finding that all-important paid professional experience, in the UK or abroad. The feedback we’ve received is that those who have taken a placement are much more likely to find a job for which their degree was a formal requirement as it gives you a competitive advantage. Recent graduates have gone on to work for well-known names such as Accenture, Toshiba, Microsoft, British Airways, O2, and Barclays.

Our programmes are accredited by the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT, for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP).  The accreditation also allows you to apply for professional membership of the BCS after you have successfully completed your degree. 

The department has been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze, recognising our dedication to the advancement of gender equality in STEM subjects. We now have an ongoing three-year action plan to further implement strategies and improve our practices. As part of this endeavour, Brunel’s  Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides our female students with invaluable help and support from the industry.

This conversion course has been tailored to provide you with a firm foundation in the core areas of psychology as defined by the British Psychological Society (BPS). These include biological, cognitive, social, developmental, social psychology, individual differences and statistics and research methods.

You’ll also develop analytic expertise and research skills, creating a solid basis for further advanced study within the discipline (e.g. PhD, ClinPsyD, DEdPsy).

Our academic experts use a wide variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars and self-directed learning to provide you with a comprehensive learning experience. You’re fully supported throughout the whole degree process including having a personal tutor and receiving one-to-one specialist academic supervision to complete the empirical research project that will demonstrate your depth of knowledge of a specialist area in psychology.

You’ll qualify for membership of the BPS – a mark of quality and an essential entry qualification for postgraduate professional training in psychology to practise as a health professional.
This course is now available to study fully online, which means you can earn your conversion master’s from wherever you live and work. Studying online, you’ll still benefit from connecting to fellow students, professionals, and academics worldwide, through our innovative online learning platform.  

Our Computer Systems Engineering BEng degree is a modern course that has been developed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to design and build hardware and software for computer systems.

You will be introduced to computing and engineering and gain knowledge on computer hardware and software. You’ll learn about programming and computer architecture and then progress to advanced computing technologies. In your final year, you can choose specialist subjects like embedded systems, intelligent systems and the internet of things.

Access is available to modern technical facilities including computer, electronics, and power and control laboratories where you’ll work on your experiments. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in dedicated computer clusters.

Our BEng computer systems engineering course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). This professional engineering institution ensures that your engineering degree meets the academic requirement to qualify as a professional engineer. This accredited BEng degree in computer systems engineering can be studied full-time over three years, or four years with a placement year. The BEng degree meets the educational requirement to become an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).

We encourage the placement year option. This time in industry helps you to further prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you decide to go on an engineering placement year, you will have the opportunity to work in an engineering or technology company.

Our Chemical Engineering BEng degree is an innovative course that has been developed to equip you with a broad range of knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the chemical and biochemical industry.

The course has been developed according to the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) accreditation guidelines. This innovative approach means modern subjects are taught and delivered through flipped classrooms, problem-based learning and virtual reality.

Throughout your studies, you’ll have access to a new, modern laboratory with equipment and rigs for your experimental work. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in the purpose-built computer laboratories.

Our BEng chemical engineering course can be studied full-time over three years, or four years with a placement year.

We encourage the placement year option. This time in industry helps you to further prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you opt for the placement year, you could find yourself making a difference in the real world working in energy, pharmaceutical or consumer goods.

Brunel Engineers is an annual exhibition that showcases our engineering talent at its finest. It’s a great way for you to network with key engineering professionals and show them the innovative, creative and enterprising work you have produced during your time at Brunel.

National salary surveys consistently place chemical engineers at the top of the engineering pay scales, meaning you will be studying for a lucrative and successful career with our degree.

The Human Genome Project is having a huge impact on the field of science and genetics. How will it provide new insights and therapies for the treatment of genetic diseases? If you’re interested in the field of genetics and the treatment of genetic diseases then this specialist course is perfect for you.

At Brunel, we understand that your specialist knowledge should be built on a sound grounding of all the areas of biomedical sciences. This means that your first year will cover areas such as the human body, biochemistry and research skills. As you continue through your degree you will study specialist areas that will teach you how the role of various genetic mutations alter cellular processes and biomechanical pathways in normal metabolism, and also how these pathways may be altered during specific human disease.

And if you change your mind about your specialist area, don’t worry. The flexibility of our course at Brunel means that you can switch to another specialist pathway in the second year or even take the general Biomedical Sciences BSc.

The Royal Society of Biology has awarded its accreditation to all of Brunel’s undergraduate Biomedical Sciences courses. This means you can be confident that your degree will prepare you for the working world – and your prospective employers will know this too. You'll receive a one year’s membership as an Associate Member once you graduate, integrating you into the sector with access to key contacts and up-to-date knowledge.

In your final year you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to our research programmes in cellular and biochemical pathways, the regulation of gene expression, DNA repair and immunological responses to microbial infection. This will give you first-hand experience of real-world laboratory research and prepare you for your future career.

The Brunel Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences with Business Studies BSc is a unique joint honours programme that combines a strong foundation in the sciences behind sport and exercise with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the business administration and management processes sought by professional organisations.

For the sports science portion of your degree, you’ll study how the human body works on physiological, biomechanical and psychological levels and how this can be applied to improve athletic development and performance and prevent injury. You’ll develop the skills to monitor, evaluate, and enhance sport and exercise performance in laboratory and field settings and to design and conduct experiments.

The business element of your course will focus on key business disciplines including management, organisational behaviour, marketing, change management, entrepreneurship and small business ventures.

In today’s fast-growing sport and exercise market, the skills and knowledge of both the sports sciences and the world of business that you’ll gain from your Brunel degree will make you a preferred job candidate to employers across the industry.

You'll also have the opportunity to carry out a placement as part of your degree, that will give you the chance to put the theory you’ve learned into practice. Our Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences with Business Studies BSc offers two placement options: you can choose to carry out two placements during the summer vacations within the three year degree, or a one year placement between years two and three, as part of a four year degree.

If you can get lost in a book for hours on end, and enjoy writing or even drama, English is a natural choice. Storytelling is part of every culture and reveals much about a person’s lived experience, values and aspirations within a given time.

Taking the English BA at Brunel is an opportunity to uncover the richness of English literature history – its periods, genres and diverse storytellers – through a set of underlying themes.

Your journey will commence with a module on ‘Reading Resilience’ to help equip you with the required skills and competencies relevant to literary studies, so you can approach any topic with confidence.

After a first year of modules that pass through modern literature and formative texts to help develop your critical reading, your exploration in English is very much down to your own interests and choices.

In years two and three a wealth of optional modules await you, covering every period and genre from Shakespeare to Jane Austen, postcolonial writing to the women’s movement, with plenty of choice in contemporary and genre fiction like comedy, science fiction and horror.

Throughout your literature degree you will be encouraged to express your own thoughts and creativity in your coursework and seminars, which will help you to grow as a critic and writer.

An English degree will equip you with personal skills employers’ prize in graduates – not just exceptional written and verbal communication, but also the ability to communicate collaboratively in a team towards an agreed goal.

As part of your English BA you will learn to participate and present confidently in seminars, communicate your ideas effectively in writing, and to critically evaluate relevant themes within texts that frequently cross into other disciplines such as history and politics.

Opt for a placement year and you will gain hands-on work experience while you study which will further increase your attractiveness to employers when you graduate.

Outside your classroom, you can look forward to events and activities organised by the Brunel Centre for Contemporary Writing, including the annual Hillingdon Literary Festival: a free weekend of literary performances from internationally renowned authors, writing workshops and lively debates right here on campus.

The Brunel Business Finance MSc aims to give graduates a comprehensive knowledge of the theories and practices of business financial operations within the context of modern financial markets.

You’ll study the design and processes of corporate financial systems, analyse financial and investment decision-making, and examine how firms interact with financial markets and institutions.

You’ll learn about valuation, optimal capital structure, mergers and acquisitions, derivatives, finance microstructure and taxation as well as the econometric and mathematical techniques necessary to undertake empirical investigations and data modelling.

Crucially, you’ll develop your problem-solving skills and ability to critically evaluate and deliver midterm and long-term strategic solutions. 

Throughout the course you’ll have access to a variety of professional databases used in business and finance including Datastream, Bloomberg, Bank Scope, Osiris, Reuters 3000 Xtra and Thomson One Banker.

You can choose to study one year full-time, two years full-time with a year's work placement or 16 months full-time with a 6-12 week work placement.

In a financial marketplace that is becoming more complex, sophisticated and global, the advanced skills and knowledge that you’ll gain from your Brunel MSc will make you a sought-after job candidate to employers across the sector.