Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Computer Science with Placement (Thick - Sandwich)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

The games design industry, in the UK and worldwide, is growing and there is a demand for skilled and well-educated professionals to take gaming to its next level. Brunel’s Digital Games Theory and Design MA course will give you a comprehensive understanding of digital games and the techniques and principles used in their design.   

You will engage in, and experiment with, practical games design and develop a comprehensive and critical understanding of the advanced academic study of games and their theoretical, artistic and technological perspectives. You will also engage in the practice of making games and explore the factors that shape the games industry.  

No previous experience with programming or an art background is required for this course, just a passion for games. You will learn how to create your own practical designs, how to communicate your ideas to an audience, how to create games design documents, and you’ll also explore games studies. 

You will have opportunities to make connections with other games design cohorts and industry experts. And we will encourage you to participate in extracurricular activities such as game jams and game-related networking events. These are all activities that introduce you to the broader social culture of the digital and creative world and are vital to being successful in the games industry. 

The course is run by staff who are seasoned games designers, internationally published scholars and pedagogical experts. They will share their enthusiasm and understanding of the nature of the video game industry, the importance of networks and the skills needed to create innovative games for the future.   

The Brunel Automotive Engineering BEng gives students with a passion for motor vehicles the specialised expertise they need to become professional engineers in the fast-moving automotive industry.

Along with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering, including maths, engineering science and design, you’ll gain an in-depth knowledge of the technical workings of current and future automotive systems.  

You’ll study all aspects of automotive development and manufacture from vehicle design and performance to engine and transmission systems to materials, structures and safety.

You’ll also get hands-on practice troubleshooting engineering problems that inevitably arise during the construction and testing processes.

Your education will profit, too, by your access to the work done at our Centre for Advanced Powertrain and Fuels (CAPF). One of the largest and most active engine research groups in the UK, CAPF focuses on minimising pollutant emissions and improving fuel efficiency while maintaining performance levels.

In your final year, along with studying specialist topics taught at master’s degree level, you’ll take part in a major group project to design, manufacture and test an automotive product, typically aimed at low-carbon use. This will give you valuable experience working in a team-based environment and on-the-job opportunities to develop your leadership and management skills, competencies sought by employers.

A current project concerns the use of mechanical kinetic energy recovery to help eliminate the feel of turbocharger lag in future fuel-efficient road vehicles.

Throughout your studies you’ll have use of our modern, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, which comprise our motorsport workshop, and 24-hour access to industry standard specialist software for engineering design at dedicated computer clusters on campus, so you’ll have the opportunity and equipment to explore ideas and tackle problems.

Our automotive engineering BEng course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). We offer two study options. You can choose three years full-time or four years full-time with a one-year professional placement that will allow to put what you’ve learned to use in real-world situations.

If you start on the full-time course, you can transfer to the professional development option, which includes the placement, at any time before the end of Level 2.

In the rapidly evolving automotive industry, demand for engineers with the technical and managerial skills to excel is on the rise. Your Brunel BEng will give you these and equip you to play leading roles in industry and public service.

Mathematics is a fundamental subject that is critical to our understanding of the world. Through the study of mathematics you’ll advance your problem solving skills, develop your reasoning and increase your analytical thinking. This is why mathematics forms a basis to so many careers. Yes – it is a discipline in its own right, but it is also the thinking behind countless commercial, industrial and technological activities. Mathematical models underpin engineering, the applied sciences, computing and many aspects of management today.

With the Financial Mathematics MMath you’ll study for a further year and bring your BSc degree to master’s standard. This means you’ll be able to get that competitive edge when you apply for jobs without having to go through the application process again after Level 3.

Two-thirds of your course is shared with the MMath in Mathematics. This covers several application areas – finance, statistics, operational research (i.e. how maths can be applied to commercial and industrial problems) and numerical analysis. The remaining third covers the key principles of finance.

Follow the five-year ‘Professional Placement’ degree programme and you‘ll benefit from our extensive experience in helping students to find well-paid work placements with blue-chip companies. Our sandwich students find that their mathematical and transferable skills are in demand in many sectors, both in the UK and abroad.

Areas recently offering placements include: accountancy, aviation, banking, defence, finance, insurance, IT (software development, network management and design), management (public and private sector), marketing and telecommunications.

This programme will meet the educational requirements of the Chartered Mathematician designation, awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, when it is followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for taught master's degrees.

By specialising in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), you will learn how to understand the user experience (UX), and to use the insights you gain to help build systems that better meet the user’s needs. 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 natural to growth and progress.

Featured modules include software development and management, usability engineering and process modelling, e-business, and social media. Other Web 2.0 technologies and simulation modelling also feature.

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.

Opt for a one-year work placement while you study to gain real-world technical and soft skills which will set you apart from the competition after you graduate from your Computer Science degree.

• All of our undergraduate computing courses come with the option of undertaking a year’s placement out in the industry. This means that you have the opportunity to experience a real working environment and develop your softer skills like presenting, negotiating and working to a specific brief and tight deadlines.
• A dedicated placement tutor from the Professional Development Centre will work with you to help secure your work placement, which could be in market, product or research development areas. Previous students have taken their placement year in companies such as Microsoft, BMW, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, and Xerox.

The Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics MSc is a dynamic master’s programme, allowing you to gain hands-on experience as you delve into present-day medical understanding and try to create real advances in disease treatment and prevention.

You’ll choose a specialist biomedical area and will learn about the molecular mechanisms leading to major human diseases and their current treatments. You will also work towards identifying medical advancements and possible innovative therapeutic approaches using technological developments.

The specialist areas to choose from include cancer biology and therapy; genomic technologies; vaccine and immunisation; or radiation, toxicology and pollution.

You’ll identify areas where there are knowledge gaps in current medical understanding. Throughout the course you will be encouraged to address these gaps by looking at existing research and literature and conducting your own research.

At Brunel we recognise that strong practical skills in all fields of biomedical sciences are important to employers. For this reason we have a large practical element to the course. You’ll gain experience of different modern laboratory techniques and consider the legislative and ethical aspects linked to the discipline. You’ll learn computational skills and be trained on critical analyses of the molecular problems leading to human disease and to identify intervention opportunities. In addition, you’ll receive training in statistics and bioinformatics which are fundamental to the biomedicine sector.

In our 'Scientific Communication' module you’ll learn how to disseminate medical information to a range of audiences. Your writing skills will be developed to target a diverse range of audiences, from medical practitioners through to the general public. You will learn to write your research findings in an academic style and a journalistic style - skills which will be invaluable in a range of biomedical careers. 

Working with and for young people in the developing world offers an exciting career full of challenges and rewards. Our Children, Youth and International Development MA is a varied course with a global perspective which will help equip you for roles in international development organisations, government ministries and global agencies.

You will acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enable you to critically evaluate research, policy and practice in the area of children, youth and development. You will also discover the differing disciplinary perspectives on childhood and youth by studying modules from related disciplines.

As you journey through the course, you also will acquire the skills necessary to design and undertake your own research.

Opt for the 'Applied Learning' module and you will have the opportunity of a short placement (one or two days a week for ten weeks) with an organisation that works in the field of children, youth and international development.

Examples of the ‘Applied Learning’ placements previously undertaken include:

• Action Aid – on a campaign targeting exploitation in the garment industry
• Anti-Slavery International – on a project to eradicate caste-based bonded labour
• Basti RAM – planned lessons for a Global Citizenship project
• BookAid International – helped build up an evidence base for Book Aid’s international programmes
• Commonwealth Secretariat – on the CS’s Youth Programme in Uganda
• International Refugee Trust – development of the online classroom about refugees
• National Deaf Children's Society – developed international exchanges for deaf young people
• Oxfam – mobilised UK school children to get involved in Oxfam campaigns
• Project Hope – several placements including designing a survey on youth experiences, and developing leaflets to help South African adults to identify signs of mental illness
• The Mouth That Roars – helped children in London and Saudi Arabia to create videos through which they communicated their everyday lives to each other

Additionally, an Erasmus agreement exists between the Brunel MA and the MPhil in Childhood Studies at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

The agreement allows two students from the MA to spend their second term (January to May) at the Trondheim centre. Erasmus students do not pay tuition fees at NOSEB and are entitled to a grant (€375/month) to cover any additional costs.

The Brunel Sport and Exercise Psychology MSc provides graduates the first stage of training towards becoming a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited sport and exercise psychologist.

You’ll examine the key psychological factors that affect both sports performance and exercise participation and learn how to assess client needs and formulate tailored programmes for them.

In your sport specialisation, you’ll learn techniques and strategies to help athletes of all levels, ages and genders develop the mental skills needed to tackle inhibitions and achieve peak performance, as well as to overcome the emotional consequences of serious injury or prolonged loss of form.

These mental skills are equally applicable to coaches wanting to build positive team dynamics and referees dealing with the stresses of the job.

In your exercise specialisation, you’ll focus on applying psychology to increase exercise participation and motivational levels among the public and to encourage people to adopt more active lifestyles.

On completion of the course, you can progress to Stage 2 training, which leads to chartered psychologist status with the BPS and registered practitioner status with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Throughout your studies you’ll be able to take advantage of our modern physiology and biomechanics laboratories and some of the best sports facilities in the UK.

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.

The world relies on computers and so do most businesses and organisations. Mathematics is the language of computer science so if you have the skills for both you’ll find a whole range of careers available to you in most sectors.

On this single honours course you’ll develop your mathematical and statistical knowledge and apply these skills to solve problems in computing, business and other areas.

Approximately two-thirds of the course is devoted to mathematical and statistical areas. The mathematics subjects on this course focus particularly on aspects of modern algebra that relate to computer science and also include a considerable amount of numerical analysis of mathematical problems. You have the opportunity to specialise in Level 3 so as an example, you may choose modern encryption methods as used in internet transactions.

Follow the four-year Professional Placement degree programme and you‘ll benefit from our extensive experience in helping students to find well-paid work placements with blue-chip companies. Our sandwich students find that their mathematical, computer science and transferable skills are in demand in many sectors, both in the UK and abroad.

Areas recently offering placements include: accountancy, aviation, banking, defence, finance, insurance, IT (software development, network management and design), management (public and private sector), marketing and telecommunications.

This programme will meet the educational requirements of the Chartered Mathematician designation, awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, when it is followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for taught master's degrees.

The Brunel MA in Law, Policy and Practice is a unique interdisciplinary programme that focuses on key legal and regulatory developments from an international perspective.

This programme offers a detailed analysis of the theory, law, policy and practice in two contemporary and fast-growing areas: migration and ethics, governance and compliance. Both pathways have an emphasis on policy and practice, as applied in the specific areas to form two options of a coherent MA.

You can choose to study full-time (one year) or part-time (two years) and to begin your course either in September or January. 

The two pathways are:

Ethics, Governance and Compliance

The Ethics, Governance and Compliance pathway is focused on international regulation and compliance from an interdisciplinary perspective. This is an innovative programme offering an overview of how modern markets operate – from the perspective of law and also finance, business, economics and management.  It provides an in-depth understanding of the challenges that modern businesses face, especially in the financial services sector. This pathway is designed to offer a combination of practical and theoretical knowledge, complemented by a unique set of skills that are essential for succeeding in an environment where compliance, ethics and good governance are becoming increasingly important.

Migration Law, Policy and Practice:

The Migration Law, Policy and Practice pathway is the first programme in the UK that offers multi-disciplinary, theoretical and practical insights into arguably the biggest challenge of our society today, namely migration. 

The programme will go beyond examining the relevant legal frameworks.  It will provide critical insights on policy and current practice related to migration and refugee rights. This pathway offers a unique opportunity for acquiring specialist cross-disciplinary knowledge from world-known experts and current leaders in the European migration response. You will learn about law and policy as well as acquiring invaluable practical experience and the opportunity to experience fieldwork. 

In 2020 Brunel was awarded a three-year EU grant with partners for its ITFLOWS research project to predict and manage migrant flows.  The MA in Law, Policy and Practice is at the cutting edge of migration law.  This research project consolidates Brunel's worldwide reputation as an important hub for migration and refugee studies within our Brunel Law School.