Master of Arts in International Relations and Global Communications

at Manchester Metropolitan University United Kingdom

MA Design Innovation considers how design acts as a catalyst for innovation, leading to new products, services and user experiences. It focusses on design thinking approaches, to address contemporary societal and business challenges to develop a rich understanding of where design can add value. It will provide you with the skills to strategically apply design to solve complex problems in the global market.

The application of design thinking is explored with the latest research and practice in design innovation, design management and design strategy, that supports you to develop a holistic view of design and creatively apply the theory in your specialist area. Design research, empathy and user-centered development are at the core of the program that reveals unmet user needs and, in turn, generate insights that lead to desirable products and services in a commercial and societal context.

The course provides a balance of theory and practices through a series of lectures, seminars, workshops, cross-disciplinary collaborations, research visits and live projects to provide you with comprehensive knowledge of design innovation while giving practical skills to excel professionally.

Graphic Design is a hands-on, ideas-driven studio-based course where you will learn a variety of approaches to visual communication. Distinctive creative personalities are nurtured and the unconventional is actively encouraged.

After developing your creative visual language in Year 1, you will be able to apply your skills to a range of personal and industry-related projects in Year 2. Your final year will see you develop a professional portfolio that reflects your personal interests and individual career aspirations.

At all stages of the course we focus on contemporary and relevant design that embraces intellectual curiosity and design as an experience. You have the opportunity to connect with industry, either through visiting speakers, live briefs or work experience.

Banking and finance are not only central to the country’s (and the world’s) economy – they also offer a diverse range of opportunities for your future. Whether you’re considering a career in personal banking, wealth management or corporate finance (to name but a few), our BSc (Hons) Banking and Finance program offers the skills and knowledge you’ll need to get started.

You’ll start off getting a good grounding in financial theory and practice, before exploring specialist areas in more depth – from retail banking and corporate finance, to risk management and the industry’s most influential institutions. You can also choose to spend a year working on a placement or studying abroad, developing valuable skills and boosting your career prospects.

Whether you take the three or four-year route – and whatever specialist areas you choose in your final year – you’ll find a practical focus throughout your studies. Not only is everything we teach rooted in real-world experience and expertise, but we’ve designed the course to give you the kind of transferrable skills employers across the industry demand.

Placement options
Our BSc (Hons) Banking and Finance degree offers the chance to spend a year getting a taste of professional life. It not only gives you the opportunity to develop your core skills and learn about how a business really operates in your industry, but also shows employers that you’re ready to get to work.

The business school Placement Team is ready to help. They offer a wide range of services, including employer presentations, advice and placement fairs. But it’s also up to you – the more proactive you are about applying for placement opportunities, the better.

From breaking news to cultural reviews, sports reporting to in-depth investigations, we’ll help you scrutinise, interrogate and report on the issues that really matter.

This degree is geared towards inquiring minds and creative thinkers seeking a career in journalism and the creative media industries. Throughout the program, we’ll encourage you to carve out your own creative identity as you express yourself through a variety of media and genres – including print, broadcast and digital publishing.

You’ll start with the core skills of interviewing and reporting, before going on to look at specialist areas like media law and ethics, magazine journalism, editing and production. You’ll also get the chance to work on live events and learn how to cover breaking news – all under the pressure of tight deadlines.

In your third year you’ll be able to focus on your own particular interests, such as sports and music journalism. You’ll also create a portfolio of original journalism, rooted in the real world – real people, real issues, real events.

Throughout it all, you’ll have access to the multimedia newsroom, TV studio and radio production facilities, getting you up to speed with all the latest technology. So, by the time you’re finished, you’ll have acquired the wide range of skills necessary to work in today’s multiplatform digital environments.

You may also have the opportunity to spend an extra year expanding your horizons, either studying with one of our partner universities overseas, or working on a placement with an organisation.

Placement options

You may have the opportunity to take advantage of placement opportunities both in the UK and abroad. Students currently on placement are working in a variety of roles over a huge span of industries.

Our dedicated placement team has developed excellent links with various industries. You will be offered support through a preparation program of activities, including guidance on selection procedures, working overseas, CV preparation, interview and selection techniques.

Smart technology is the future. Machines that talk to each other, learn from their surroundings and respond accordingly – think autonomous robots – are the shape of things to come. On this MSc Engineering Smart Systems course, you’ll put yourself at the centre of these exciting technological developments, working at the forefront of Industry 4.0.

Our new interdisciplinary master's course focuses on applied skills. It will give you the ability to manage forward-thinking technical strategies, and the skills to deploy the latest digital technologies across the engineering sector.

You’ll study a range of core units, exploring the key technological and manufacturing foundations of Industry 4.0. You’ll also develop professional skills with two project management units, where you will learn the principles behind delivering innovation to industry.

In our high-tech facilities, you’ll learn to use the tools and equipment you’ll come across in the workplace. Throughout it all, you’ll have the support of our experienced teaching and research staff, who will ensure that what you learn is 100% relevant to industry. And, with technical, real-world thinking and project management skills, you will have a proven ability, ready to play a constructive role in shaping our technological future.

Placement options

The optional industry placement provides you with the opportunity to apply your academic knowledge in the workplace. Through this, you’ll gain additional specialist expertise and transferable skills through responsibilities and contributions to the employer’s business.

Following completion of the taught elements of your MSc course, you can gain additional practice credits by working for a minimum of 36 weeks and maximum 42 weeks in an industrial setting, relevant to your course.

It’s your responsibility to search and apply for advertised placement opportunities, but you’ll be supported by academic staff and the University’s Careers and Employability Service to find a placement that is suited to you and your career ambitions.

All placements are approved and monitored in accordance with the University’s Institutional Code of Practice for Placement and Work?Based Learning, including additional checks for international students on study visas.

A taught postgraduate course that conducts research into how global cultural and economic forces influence contemporary cities. The design, functioning and future of urban situations is explored in written, drawn and modelled work that builds on the legacy of twentieth-century urban theory and is directed towards the development of sustainable cities.

The MChem (Hons) Chemistry is an integrated four-year undergraduate masters degree that covers study areas like reactions and mechanisms, materials chemistry, drug discovery, computational chemistry and spectroscopy, chemical synthesis and physiochemical processes.

The program is a high-standard platform for a range of careers. It includes a research project unit, where you spend a year focusing on a major independent project that you design, carry out and present, alongside your other areas of study.

Throughout our chemistry degree, you’ll develop the kind of practical skills vital for lab work, along with a balanced understanding of inorganic, organic, physical and analytical chemistry.  You’ll also have the flexibility to pursue the specialisms you’re most passionate about – through your final project, but also within the units you study, helping you shape the knowledge, experience and skills required for the career you aspire to.

The Combined Honours program offers you an opportunity to study two subjects at degree level.

English:
English is a well-established humanities discipline, which explores the role of the written word in defining and transforming human experience. The modern discipline of English is rooted in the study of literature and the language in which it is written. Students of English can expect to study all major periods and forms of literature and to learn how to analyse literary texts by drawing on disciplines such as history, sociology and politics. The study of English develops strong critical thinking and communication skills, attributes that are highly valued in humanities graduates by employers. At the Manchester campus, the English department has access to a community of internationally renowned writers and critics through the Manchester Writing School, one of the most successful of its kind in the UK. Its Creative Director is Carol Ann Duffy DBE (Poet Laureate 2009-2019). You will develop the necessary skills in critical thinking and communication that are of value to graduates entering a wide array of career paths.

Linguistics:
If you are interested in the way in which we communicate and how it can influence people, studying linguistics will help you unravel how language is inextricably linked to who we are. You will also experience the theoretical and applied use of linguistics in social, educational, and practical environments and contexts. We have been providing professional language courses for more than 30 years and our staff are nationally, and in many cases internationally, recognized experts in their field. Our strong local, national and global links will help to enhance your study and future employment opportunities.

Graphic Design is a hands-on, ideas-driven studio-based course where you will learn a variety of approaches to visual communication. Distinctive creative personalities are nurtured and the unconventional is actively encouraged.

After developing your creative visual language in Year 1, you will be able to apply your skills to a range of personal and industry-related projects in Year 2. Your final year will see you develop a professional portfolio that reflects your personal interests and individual career aspirations.

At all stages of the course we focus on contemporary and relevant design that embraces intellectual curiosity and design as an experience. You have the opportunity to connect with industry, either through visiting speakers, live briefs or work experience.

Linguistics is a popular course taken on its own or in combination with English, TESOL or a modern language. It is devoted to the scientific study of natural language and concerned with how languages are acquired, structured and applied. Our programme offers a sound knowledge of both theoretical and applied perspectives. The core topics include syntax, semantics and pragmatics, forensic linguistics, sociolinguistics, and phonetics and phonology, as well as media and intercultural communication.

Critical thinking and argumentation are transferable skills that are valuable in the job market and sought after by all employers.

If you take Spanish as a major or equal subject you will have the opportunity to spend your third year abroad in Spain or Latin America. If Spanish is your minor subject, the course will be three years with no period of residence abroad. You will also have the option to study Spanish from beginners level.

Placement options

• If Spanish is your major or equal subject, you will have the opportunity to spend Year 3 studying in Spain or Latin America and we will assist you in choosing from a wide choice of partner universities where you can study.