Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Journalism

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

If you have a passion for photography, this course gives you the knowledge, skills and techniques you need for a successful career in the field, whether your dream lies in fashion, advertising, animation, scientific and medical, or local studio photography.

Gain the practical skills and theoretical knowledge of both traditional and digital photographic formats on a course that includes darkroom techniques; medium- and large-format photography; studio photography; stop-motion techniques; and event and location photography.

See your images come to life collaborating on projects with students from other degrees such as fashion, animation, art and graphic design. Every day is different, whether working on location or in our airy, open-plan studios at Alexon House, formerly home to a leading UK fashion house.

Why choose this course?

• Explore the ways a professional photographer works alongside other professions in the creative industries such as fashion designers, art directors, graphic designers and animators
• Learn from leading professionals in photography and design who exhibit internationally and work with clients including The Sunday Times, Mack Books and international design magazines such as Eye Magazine
• Amass a professional-standard body of work and a network of contacts through events, exhibitions and industry-based opportunities
• Learn how to use social media and other digital platforms to promote your work
• Develop your personal communication and entrepreneurial skills so you enter the world of work with confidence
• Take the course over four years and include a year’s placement in industry, building your experience and creating contacts for the future
• If you need to step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the undergraduate course

The growth and commercialisation of sport and rapid development of digital and social media tools makes sports journalism an exciting and fast-moving branch of the industry. This specialist course gives you the skills you need to be a 21st-century sports journalist.

Learn the core practical skills of journalism and how to apply them to a sports specialism using traditional research and writing as well as new and developing media forms.

Sharpen these skills with an in-depth understanding of the political, social, historical and economic sporting environment - as well as the legal and ethical frameworks journalists work within - adding depth and authority to your reporting.

You benefit from studying with a team of industry specialists in both sports reporting and general journalism, across a range of platforms, and have opportunities to hear from leading academics, sports participants and masterclass speakers from the worlds of both sport and media.

Why choose this course?

• Gain core communication and multimedia skills that are highly valued across a range of graduate industries
• Put your skills into practice via real-life sports reporting assignments
• Explore opportunities for work experience within radio, television, print and online journalism
• Develop a portfolio of work and contacts while honing your skills through regular news days
• Report from your first year for our news website and present your own show on our community radio station, Radio Lab
• There’s the option to take this course over four years and benefit from a fee-free industry placement (see below) where you gain experience, build your CV and make contacts for the future
• If you need a step into the full degree, you can start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate course

Combining practical design skills with creative problem-solving and reflective insight, this inspirational course offers a thorough grounding in contemporary and evolving forms of visual communication across a wide range of platforms, from digital to print, moving image to illustration.

Our degree course explores all contexts where graphic design is found such as digital content; interface design; web and social media; editorial design; print and publishing; moving image; visual identity; typography; and graphic illustration.

Working in creative teams, you learn about materials and methods in a cluster which includes Illustration, Animation, and Advertising and Branding Design. You also study studio practice; collaborative enterprise; context and meaning; and professional practice. This winning combination allows you to develop practical design skills as well as the ability to work collaboratively and show entrepreneurship.

We foster a reflective, outward-looking approach to design challenges; for example, by exploring the ways digital media has created new possibilities for producing, distributing and publishing graphic design work. We also believe a sense of responsibility is essential for a contemporary designer so ethics, sustainability and inclusion are fundamental themes running through the course’s context and debate.

Why choose this course?

• Study in small, lively and committed groups, in spacious, well-equipped studios
• Gain a solid knowledge of the cultural, critical and creative contexts of contemporary practice including how social media has transformed the role of the graphic designer
• Work on live briefs, submit for national competitions and participate in collaborative projects with leading design practitioners
• Learn the team skills required for exhibition curation and group collaborations
• Understand the standards you’ll need to reach to enter the world of professional employment
• Take the course over four years and benefit from a fee-free year in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need a step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry into the degree course on completion

This course offers you the opportunity to develop a particular strength in the management of international business issues, with a particular focus on aviation management.

You will focus on strategic areas of international business, intercultural competencies, financial management aviation strategy and management all framed by the lens of developing patterns of world trade and the global market place.

As the business world morphs to accommodate the dynamic economic environment of today, this course introduces non-specialists to a range of business functional areas so that you become knowledgeable and effective managers.

You'll develop a deep understanding of organisations and their external context. You also learn how to manage yourself, and others, in a supportive and academic environment.

The course focuses on developing an awareness of business operations in an international environment, the aviation strategy and management governing international business and investments, finance and cultural awareness in global contexts.

This professionally accredited course provides a direct route to a professional qualification in accounting, opening up a rewarding career in accountancy or in an accounting role in business.

The course gives you a comprehensive knowledge of the main ideas, concepts and principles of accounting and finance, as well as the skills to apply your knowledge to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments.

Using the latest technology, you begin by studying business practice and the business environment in which accountants operate before proceeding to corporate and business law; data analysis; and the advanced study of management accounting, taxation, financial management and auditing.

The course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Association of International Accountants (AIA).

Why choose this course?

• ACCA awards exemptions from its F1 to F9 papers for students successfully completing relevant course units – the maximum ACCA exemptions available at undergraduate level
• Graduates successfully completing relevant course units are also eligible for exemptions from the AIA’s Foundation level and Professional level 1 papers
• A professional qualification in accountancy is a gateway to a range of careers in accounting, finance and banking at professional accounting firms; small and large private-sector companies; and not-for-profit organisations
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry (see below) when you can gain experience and make contacts for the future
• If you need a step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the undergraduate degree

In following this Master’s course, you develop the essential knowledge, attributes and professional skills you need to pursue or further your career in operational forensic casework.

The forensic industry is highly competitive, requiring skilled professionals across diverse fields including pathology, toxicology, drug analysis, fire-debris analysis, wildlife crime, microbial forensics, forensic genetics and document analysis. This course prepares you to meet the needs of the industry and enter a career in areas related to civil and criminal investigation as well as wider science- or research-based positions.

On the course, you develop your theoretical understanding and practical experience alongside your skills in analysing and evaluating your findings. You also learn how to communicate these findings to a variety of audiences, including other scientists, the court and the media. Units may include forensic chromatography; evaluation and presentation of evidence; forensic spectroscopy; and biological advances.

Why choose this course?

•  Learn from staff with experience in operational forensic casework. Develop your practical skills through hands-on experience in our exceptional laboratory facilities, including a Scenes of Crime Laboratory.
• Study a course informed by the latest research, ensuring you are aware of current and emerging developments in this specialist field.
• Gain a qualification, the skills and the knowledge to meet the wide-ranging needs of the forensic and other science-based industries, making you well-placed to enter a career in a number of specialised fields.
• Develop strong research skills for form the basis of those required for study at PhD level. Benefit from the University’s strong links to external stakeholders in the forensic industry and related organisations and practice sectors.
• Take up career opportunities that could include forensic consultancies; government agencies; related industries; and research and development

This course examines key issues of media and communication, introducing principles of cultural theories and media research methods, providing a broader understanding of how different aspects of the media interconnect.

Why choose this course?

• Data Analytics Units covers a wide range of topics including programming, databases, security, project management and computer networking.
• This gives you both the underpinning theory and the ability to apply it to complex real-world problems, as well as an awareness of emerging technologies and developments.

Environmental change affects everyone on the planet and sustainably managing a changing natural environment is one of the 21st century’s most pressing challenges. This course develops your theoretical knowledge and practical skills, enabling you to begin to meet these challenges in your chosen career.

Through study of environmental sustainability and management, as well as global environmental change, you develop a comprehensive understanding of what is happening in the environment at a range of scales. You then go on to examine how the integration of environmental science, biotechnology and management methods can help environmental, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The course has a focus on how biotechnology can provide practical solutions to environmental problems, and your studies support you to develop valuable practical skills in identifying and evaluating useful technologies.

Why choose this course?

• Access the latest scientific thinking and teaching from a leading, research-active academic team with expertise in ecology, biotechnology, management and environmental microbiology
• Gain the knowledge and skills to move into a career in the environmental sector or – if you are a more experienced professional - develop your range of competencies and widen your opportunities in the field
• Develop a systematic understanding and critical awareness of the biological, ecological and socio-economic drivers of global environmental change
• Be able to evaluate methods of managing environmental change at local and global levels, including legislative, voluntary and economic management
• Hone your practical skills in our modern, well-equipped laboratories
• There is the option of a part-time pathway to better fit study around your work and family commitments
• Choose from a wide range of career paths including environmental consultancies; biotechnological research organisations; national and international government agencies and non-governmental bodies; and related business and industry. You also have the option of further study leading to PhD

Drawing on the School of Life Sciences’ established research strengths in this area, our BSc (Hons) course gives you the knowledge and skills in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences to be a professional scientist, able to work in areas where there are significant industry skills gaps.

On this course, you develop a broad range of skills in pharmacology and health sciences, studying areas such as chemistry; microbiology; biochemistry; anatomy and physiology; cell biology; and pharmaceutical sciences.

From this firm foundation, in your second and third years, your studies develop to include subjects such as immunology; pharmacogenetics; translational medicine; toxicology; and drug dispensing and delivery.

Practical laboratory work enables you to apply and develop your skills, while your final-year independent project and dissertation allow you to research and investigate a specific subject in detail.

Why choose this course?

• Benefit from a degree that trains you in both the traditional areas of pharmacological research and new, emerging areas important for the future of the pharmaceutical industry
• Build your practical skills in state-of-the-art laboratories in our modern STEM building
• Follow a career in a field that is one of the most research-led in the UK and includes pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agrochemicals and veterinary medicine
• Gain a sought-after qualification in an area where a projected major skills gap has been identified
• Study a curriculum aligned to the areas of need identified by the British Pharmacological Society, including public health science and healthcare policy
• Gain valuable work experience through the School of Life Sciences’ strong links to the clinical and industrial sectors
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry, gaining work experience, building your CV and making contacts for the future
• If you need to step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees a place on the degree course

Models of work are constantly evolving, but one thing does not change: people still need to be recruited, trained, motivated and paid to meet an organisation's requirements. If your interests lie in effective people management, this course puts you on the right path.

You begin your journey with a thorough grounding in business before exploring the many aspects of human resource management (HRM): professional practice; leadership and motivation; creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; business systems including international business; selection and recruitment; employee relations; and employment law.

Learn from expert tutors as you carry out practical projects that emulate working as a professional manager, and develop your practical experience with an optional year’s paid work placement in a HRM role.

In your final year, study strategic HRM, examining real firms with a view to solving people problems, and carry out an independent research project.

Why choose this course?

• Develop your understanding of how HRM works with other business disciplines, knowledge that will enable you to fit into numerous types of organisation in the future - private, public or not-for-profit
• Learn from experts in their field, active within the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and in both consultancy and research
• Challenge yourself with an optional sandwich year placement after your second year.
• If you want to step up into higher education, we also offer a degree path with an initial Foundation Year (see below)
• Equip yourself with a range of subject-specific and transferable skills suited to a career in specialist human management roles or professional business and management environments, both national and international

“The University has offered me numerous opportunities to develop my skills and expand my network, and has constantly pushed me outside of my comfort zone, helping me become a real HR professional. My lecturers have always been supportive and understanding, and put great effort into communicating with us. All in all, these have been the most important three years of my life!”