Bachelor of Science in Product Design Engineering with Placement (Thick - Sandwich)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

If studies of the mind and mental health interest you, this socially and culturally focused course may provide a rich alternative to more scientific studies in psychology and psychiatry.

Study this course and you will investigate psychological and psychiatric issues from an anthropological perspective, addressing issues at the forefront of debates in social policy, morality, personal identity, and mental health.

By considering cases from around the world you’ll explore how person, consciousness, and experience are shaped through cultural practices and political realities.

Examining world ethnography (including the UK), you’ll learn about selfhood, emotion, personality, and understandings of ‘madness’ and mental illness in cultural context.

Brunel students come from varied professional and academic backgrounds, many taking time out for professional development. If you haven’t studied anthropology before, you’ll be offered introductory modules in anthropological theory to help prepare you for the rest of the course.

Anthropology at Brunel is well-known for its focus on ethnographic fieldwork and you will be expected to get out of the library and undertake your own, original research – whether in the UK or overseas – and to present your findings in a dissertation.

Your fieldwork can be taken anywhere in the world, locally, previous students have explored psychic training, Pentecostal churches, and mental health charities, and internationally, students have explored subjects like funerals in Iran, Amazon neoshamanism, and autism programmes in Belgium.

Storytelling is part of every culture and reveals much about a person’s lived experience, values and aspirations within a given time. If reading is a pleasure and creative writing very much a part of you, then an English degree with creative writing might appeal.

If you’re ready to explore more widely, think more deeply and consider how you, as a reader, are placed in relation to a text and how that affects your interpretation, you’ve come to the right place.

Brunel offers one of the most highly regarded creative writing courses in the UK, with many staff members active as novelists, writers for performance, or as cultural critics.Through them you will learn and practice the fundamentals of writing in a variety of forms including poetry and film.

After a first year of introductory writing modules with options in literature to develop your critical reading, your exploration in English and creative writing is very much down to your own interests.

In years two and three a wealth of optional modules await you, covering every period and genre in literature from Shakespeare to Austen, comedy to horror and world literature, alongside further writing options in journalism and modern fiction.

Throughout your course 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.

English with Creative Writing BA will equip you with personal skills employers’ prize in graduates – exceptional written and verbal communication and the ability to work collaboratively in teams. At Brunel you will be able to develop these in abundance.

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

Outside of 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.

Our Digital Design BSc degree is a modern, hands-on course that combines digital technology and creative design. It has been developed to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills to create, design and develop interactive and engaging digital products, services and experiences, and 2D/3D graphical content.

You will be introduced to creative technologies and motion design. You’ll learn about UX design and development for the web, digital graphic design and video production. You'll also study digital photography, 3D design and 3D animation. You will then progress to skills in the design and development of more complex digital artefacts for current and future mobile, web and IoT applications involving 3D design and animation, media aesthetics, motion graphics and immersive mixed reality. In your final year, you can choose from modules in digital experiences and creative technology design with additional options in advanced animation and advanced digital graphics and motion design.

Professional and transferable skills required for working in the creative digital industries are developed throughout each year of the course.

Our modern, industry standard digital media facilities include a green screen and post-production studio, motion capture, sound and photography studios, 4K digital cinema cameras, and a dedicated render farm. You'll have independent access to exclusive PC and Mac computing workshops and benefit from the latest industry standard specialist software for graphic design and image/video editing, 3D animation, digital compositing and rich interactive content creation. There's also the opportunity for you to use our immersive virtual environment laboratory. This includes an immersive dome (planetarium) set up for Brunel by the National Space Centre in Leicester, and is one of only a few in the UK!   

There are guest lectures covering lots of different digital media topics and the visiting lecturers provide industry insight and advice on how to structure your portfolio and showreels. Speakers include creative and design directors, user experience designers, 3D graphic supervisors, as well as mobile and web developers.

Visits are arranged to design agencies, TV and photography studios, and post-production houses. There’s also the opportunity to go to conferences and this is your chance to build networks with key industry experts. In addition, you have the advantage of Brunel’s close location to London for trips to exhibitions celebrating the creative industries.

The 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 decide to go on a digital media placement year, you will have the opportunity of working in the ever-growing creative industries.

The end-of-year highlight is the BrunelDigital degree show hosted on Brunel’s one London campus. Exhibiting your creative work at this event is a great way for you to connect with leading creative technologists and showcase your talent.

Brunel’s digital design course is fully accredited and industry recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based industries. It carries the ScreenSkills Select quality mark which indicates that it is best suited to prepare you for a career in the screen industries. An added benefit as a student on this ScreenSkills endorsed course, is that you're eligible to apply for a Royal Television Society (RTS) bursary.   

The digital media courses at Brunel are the only ScreenSkills-accredited degree programmes in London and the South East.

This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.

The Brunel Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences BSc is designed for students interested in learning how sports science can be used to optimise athletic development, sport performance, as well as how it enhances health and wellbeing.

You’ll learn how the human body works on physiological, biomechanical and psychological levels and how to apply this knowledge to training methods, mental techniques and nutritional strategies that enable people to consistently perform at the upper ranges of their abilities.

Crucially, you’ll gain insight into how the mind and body respond to the demands of sport and exercise and how they react under intense conditions such as strenuous physical activity or competition.

Your studies will be supported by some of the best teaching and sports facilities in the UK that include our:

• State-of-the-art physiology, biomechanics and psychology laboratories
• World-class indoor athletics centre
• International-standard 400m six-lane athletics track with full field event facilities
• Large indoor netball hall
• Multi-use sports centre equipped with squash, basketball and netball courts, as well as a superb climbing wall.
• Members-only fitness suite featuring treadmills, cycles and rowing machines
• A weight-training area with free and fixed weights
• Grass and third-generation (3G) all-weather pitches
• Outdoor tennis courts

You'll also have the opportunity to carry out a placement as part of your degree, giving you the experience to create a stand-out CV. Our Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences 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.

Networks are what make up much of the modern-day working world as we become more connected both as individuals and as organisations. But with network connectivity (including cloud computing) comes a heightened requirement for security and privacy. On the Computer Science (Network Computing) BSc degree course, you’ll gain a good understanding of computer science and a grasp of the important elements of a computer system before specialising in network computing.

You’ll learn to specify, design, code, modify and test different types of software, from web-based systems to mobile solutions, in a contemporary programming paradigm. All of this will be done using an appropriate commercial grade development environment and associated database tools.

In addition, you’ll acquire in-depth knowledge of algorithms, design, programming and testing techniques. By the end of the course, you’ll have confidence in your knowledge of common system and network architectures and system development approaches, requirements capture, design methods, models, tools, and techniques.

You’ll become well-versed in implementing and testing systems and software maintenance. Key to this course is cultivating a reflective approach to project management issues arising from team-based software development.

Network computing graduates have a wide range of careers open to them. Perhaps you’ll start by becoming a general analyst or programmer in a consultancy firm. This is often just the first step towards setting up your own business.

Our course is designed for flexibility, so if you’re not sure which route you want to take, 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, to 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), and on behalf of the Engineering Council, for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and partially meeting the academic requirement for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). 

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.

Digital service design is the art of building customer experiences with a strong digital element. The Digital Service Design MSc is a new multidisciplinary course which has been specifically created to help graduates develop exceptional user experience design for digital products and services.

The course has been designed in collaboration with Wilson Fletcher, a leading digital design studio, to closely mirror current professional practices. In so doing, the course will help you develop a deep knowledge of both design theory and practice as well as equip you for employment in the digital sector.

You’ll work on a number of individual and group projects based on real-world briefs, which will help you develop the technical, interpersonal, creative and strategic skills needed to succeed in the digital service design industry.

You’ll be able to explore areas of design and rapid prototyping, innovation methodologies, interview and workshop facilitation, journey mapping, customer research methodologies, project management, how to develop and present actionable recommendations, and much more.

By the end of the course you’ll be able to: 

• Generate ideas and turn them into viable concepts and working prototypes
• Work in multidisciplinary teams in a studio setting and take responsibility for your work
• Problem-solve and design for both user and business needs
• Understand the skills, tools and methodologies necessary to develop compelling strategies, products and services
• Design and develop experiences, products and services of high quality with digital media at their core
• Demonstrate a critical and practical understanding of the issues relevant to digital service design and their use in the context of modern industry and commercial environments
• Have a thorough and clear understanding of the methodologies and professional skills necessary for effective digital service design in a business environment
• Reflect – critically and in-depth – on relevant aspects of the state-of the art of both the practice and theory of digital service design

Selected students may have the opportunity for a company-sponsored dissertation project.

Graduates will be equipped to work in leading digital design agencies and consultancies as well as innovative blue-chip companies that have design departments. Fields you might go into after this course include app development, copywriting and content design, digital design, digital product design, digital project management, front-end development, information architecture, interaction design, product management, research, service design, strategy, user experience design, UX architecture. 

Brunel’s Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides our female students with invaluable help and support from their industry mentors.

Our Civil Engineering with Sustainability BEng degree is a highly innovative course that has been developed to equip you with a broad range of knowledge and skills to meet the real world needs of the civil engineering and construction industry.

You will study the traditional elements of civil engineering including design, structures, materials, fluid mechanics, geotechnics and maths. You’ll be introduced to a range of sustainable infrastructure topics and then progress to specialist subjects such as water and wastewater engineering.

Access is available to custom-designed technical facilities to work on your laboratory experiments. These include fluids and hydraulics laboratories, and structures, materials and geotechnics labs. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in dedicated computer clusters.

During your studies, there is a residential field trip with hands-on experience in surveying and geology using industry standard equipment. You will also benefit from guest lectures delivered by industry professionals, as well as visits to construction sites and civil engineering development projects.

Due to recent changes to the engineering curriculum, our accreditation is currently being reconfirmed with the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM). The JBM compromises the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers. We have every expectation that our accreditation will be renewed later in the academic year.

This BEng degree in civil engineering with sustainability 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). You may wish to transfer to the MEng route of study at the end of your second year, subject to meeting the progression requirement. The MEng degree fully meets the educational requirement to become a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and involves a further year of academic study.  

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 the civil engineering sector. It could be for a contractor, consultant or government authority.

The main aim of this MSc course is to provide a more general MSc programme for Civil Engineering students and engineering professionals who wish to enhance their skills which covers all main sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering. The course MSc Civil Engineering is designed to include subjects from across the major sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering and equip our students with holistic knowledge and experience in Civil Engineering.

From the perspective of the needs of industry and government, such graduates with a broader understanding of Civil Engineering problems would be able to contribute to global challenges that require more holistic knowledge such as fulfilling UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) and addressing climate emergency. The structure of the programme includes seven compulsory modules and seven optional modules, two of which must be taken. A range of compulsory and optional modules are provided from all Civil Engineering sub-disciplines such as Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Water and Hydraulic Engineering and Project and Infrastructure Management.

Students will access our technical laboratory facilities in various fields of Structural, Geotechnical and Hydraulic Engineering during the delivery of the modules and for their MSc dissertations. The latest industry-standard engineering software packages are available for students to use in the purpose-built computer laboratories which can be also used for their dissertation works.

The aims of this MSc course are:

• Offer postgraduate education in Civil Engineering with a broad knowledge/experience from all major sub-disciplines within Civil Engineering
• Provide advanced design capabilities and required versatilities for contributing to the most complicated contemporary Civil Engineering tasks in industry

Provide a solid pathway for graduates towards their continuing professional development and potential progression to the membership/chartership of appropriate institutions such as the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and The Chartered Institution of Water and Environment Management (CIWEM).

On this Business Computing BSc degree course, you get to specialise in eBusiness, learning about how software and IT systems can support business transactions and drive sales. Through a mixture of theory and real-world practice, you’ll learn 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.

In addition to the compulsory business computing content you will learn about the underlying models and latest approaches used by companies in building successful eBusiness platforms.

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.

Perhaps history has always been an interest for you or it’s something you’ve developed an interest in by studying it at school or college. Either way, everyone on the Modern History BA at Brunel starts off on the same level playing field, without the need for a history qualification.

History is about understanding what it means to be human. Studying and analysing it will take you back into the societies of the past to help you understand contemporary issues all the more. It’s also a subject that will help to demonstrate your intellectual acumen and understanding of world affairs, which will be an asset in so many fields of work.

Your studies at Brunel will focus on the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world in the modern period, looking closely at life as it was lived then, observing differences, similarities, patterns and connections with the present day.

Along the way, you will build a toolkit of transferable skills gained through evidence gathering, analysis, problem-solving, drafting and communications, which can be applied to a wide range of industries within the public and private sector.

Opt for a placement year and you’ll be adding a year’s experience in a job role and industry sector that will help to show future employers where you might be a good fit for their organisation. Your placement doesn’t have to be related to history and you’ll get plenty of support from staff and resources in the University’s Professional Development Centre to help steer you in the right direction.

The course has established links to world-renowned archives and libraries based in and close to London,including the Caird Library (National Maritime Museum),The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum,among others. Additionally, the original WWII operations bunker used by Sir Winston Churchill on the former RAF Uxbridge site is a walk away from campus where Brunel students regularly volunteer.