Bachelor of Science (Hons) in International Tourism Management

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

The BA/BSc (Hons) Event Management programme is aimed to enable you to develop the necessary skills for, and knowledge, practice and understanding of, the events industry.

The skills you will acquire on this course will be particularly relevant to event management roles in the tourism, hospitality, leisure and sport.

The course begins with a general introduction to event management and progresses to specialist options and a close focus on planning, staging and managing events.

In addition to this you will become a self-directed, self-regulated reflexive learner, using an awareness of opportunities for careers or further study in the setting and monitoring of personal objectives.

You will combine academic study with real-world business practice as you work on case studies and briefs during practice weeks, and take opportunities to volunteer for events staged at the University and beyond.

The University of Bedfordshire is a member of The Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE). ATHE is the subject association for tourism in higher education in the UK. It represents universities that are leading providers of tourism programmes.

Why choose this course?

• Benefit from a course that opens up career opportunities as an Event Manager, Festival Organiser/Co-ordinator, Exhibitioner Organiser, Events Marketing Communications Manager or Conference and Events Manager, and offers access to a wide choice of further study.
• Learn essential skills for careers in the events industry, in a department with close links to local cultural, sporting and business organisations.
• Study areas including: event planning and operations; project management; international hospitality operations; visitor attraction management; sport tourism and event management; global mega events; and marketing communications through a combination of classroom-based learning and fieldwork activities.
• Develop your CV with the option of a placement in an events organisation during your final year.
• Gain additional insights through field trips to organisations like Luton Town Football Club, Twickenham and Woburn Abbey, and working on annual events hosted by your Department.
• Explore the relevant theory and research areas and learn how to apply them through practice weeks, when you will work on real-life briefs and case studies

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.

This British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited course is your first exciting step towards becoming a counselling psychologist, helping people deal with issues like bereavement, domestic violence, sexual abuse, traumas and relationship difficulties.

Psychology, Counselling & Therapies offers a unique approach, blending knowledge and practice from counselling and coaching psychology. You study classic and contemporary theories of counselling and psychotherapy - including psychodynamic, person-centred and cognitive behavioural approaches - to gain a thorough understanding of the core areas. Alongside this, you learn how to apply your knowledge to everyday, real-life situations, taking different perspectives on psychological issues and problems.

The course gives you the skills you need to move on to professional postgraduate training in a wide range of inspiring and rewarding careers across the different fields of counselling and psychology.

Why choose this course?

• Benefit from a BPS-accredited degree taught by registered clinical psychologists, practitioners and researchers
• Learn from an academic team who are members of the Research Centre for Applied Psychology
• Develop the skills needed to be an effective counsellor or therapist, from role play and peer coaching practice up to pre-practitioner level
• Explore issues, research methods and ethical considerations in counselling and coaching psychology as well as general psychology
• Gain insight into psychological practice in the NHS as well as awareness of the career paths the NHS offers
• Opt to take the course over four years and include a year’s placement in professional practice (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need a step-up into higher education, you can take the degree with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees you entry to the Undergraduate course

Economics lies at the heart of the modern world and understanding its influence is critical to both business success and effective policy-making. This course gives you the analytical skills you need to stand out as a business economist in a demanding career field.

Our Business Economics BSc (Hons) allows you to explore the global economic system – including the factors that influence income, wealth and wellbeing - and to apply your knowledge and insight to the contemporary business world. You will engage with the theory behind key economic decisions and develop your understanding of how societies, governments, businesses, households, and individuals allocate their resources.

Your studies cover the foundations of business economics including business practice, financial markets, accounting and finance, data analytics, and applied economics before moving into specific areas such as labour economics, globalisation and econometrics.

Why choose this course?

• Apply economic theory to real-world business problems, with the analytical skills and subject knowledge to discuss your ideas and conclusions confidently
• Develop your skills and experience in critical thinking, problem solving, presentation and team-working as well as in using information technology
• Put theoretical knowledge into practice in your final-year specialist project
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry (see below), building experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need to step up to higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the undergraduate degree

Criminal offending and the state’s response to it are constantly evolving, and this course explores the latest ideas, thinking and research into the subject. Benefiting from the practice and practical knowledge of highly experienced tutors and lecturers, you will reflect critically on the latest theories and the many explanations used to explain why crime occurs.

The department’s expertise is deep and wide ranging, and covers youth crime and justice, substance abuse, gang related crime, corporate crime and forensic mental health.

You will be taught by leading researchers from the Institute of Applied Social Research, whose studies on sexual exploitation, trafficking, and disability is internationally renowned and at the interface between research, knowledge, policy and practice.

Why choose this course?

• Study the social, political and cultural contexts that inform criminology, and develop a critical in-depth knowledge and understanding of the subject
•  Explore and research a particular topic of interest, and as you do this sharpen your independent study skills and become highly specialised in a particular area
•  Develop the ability to apply originality in the application of knowledge that addresses problems relating to criminal justice, crime and offending
•  Gain a wide range of new skills and qualities that are relevant to the workplace and will give you the opportunity to seek employment at a senior level
•  Benefit from the ability to take part in critical discussions, systematic reviews and the analysis of complex, unfamiliar or unpredictable criminological problems, and work to produce an understanding that is informed by current scholarship.

Criminology at the University of Bedfordshire is taught by subject experts who are all members of the Vauxhall Centre for the Study of Crime under the direction of Professor John Pitts - a key member of the Home Office gang strategy’s expert advisory group. This dynamic programme considers developments in the academic study and research evidence of criminology in the context of an increasingly globalised world.

You will have the opportunity to critically reflect on theory while drawing on a depth of practical knowledge, theory and professional expertise from the teaching team. In addition, the team have an interest in the personal development of Masters students through a system of seminars and personal tutorials. This allows both staff and students to get to know each other well and fosters a shared commitment to the subject.

The media impacts on our lives every day and shapes our understanding of the world. This course gives you the practical and analytical skills needed to work in the media industry - and the chance to specialise in a preferred area, whether it's radio, journalism or new media.

This degree provides you with both the academic skills to understand and analyse the media, and the practical skills to work within the industry as an effective communicator and analyst.

You explore the social, historical and political aspects of contemporary media (including radio, film, television, press, media institutions and new media technologies), unpacking how these ever-evolving areas work and the roles they play in modern life. Alongside this, you choose a specialist area (such as radio, online media or journalism) to develop your practical production experience.

You also produce a special project, creating a portfolio of work (ideal to show future employers) or writing a dissertation on an aspect of the media you would like to explore in more depth.

Why choose this course?

• Gives a solid grounding in how the media works, both nationally and globally
• Offers opportunities for specialisation in the area of your choice
• Your independent project helps develop your skills in research, problem solving and analysis as well as building personal confidence and communication skills
• Benefit from a course that paves the way to a career in the media industry but also in the creative industries (print and audio-visual media companies), PR and marketing, media research or teaching
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year’s placement 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 to the degree course

Economies are increasingly global. With this degree - designed to give you the knowledge and skills to manage a business effectively in the global context - show potential employers that you understand how business operates on an international scale.

Alongside traditional business skills and disciplines such as strategy, human resource management, finance, operations and marketing, you will acquire global skills via units such as international economics, global marketing, and Intercultural awareness in business.

In your final year you are supported in finding a placement which delivers invaluable international experience, as well as credit towards your degree, as you apply your learning to project work in a live setting.

Why choose this course?
This innovative and interdisciplinary course will help you to gain the skills and knowledge required in key business disciplines coupled with a broader global business perspective. The course provides you with a deeper appreciation of the roles and relationships of businesses in an international context, together with the specific operational and strategic issues, challenges and opportunities that businesses face when they start operating at an international level.

You will also gain a working understanding of foundational concepts in the key functional and operational areas, including business management, business research, marketing, finance, accounting, operations management, human resource management, interpersonal and collaborative communication skills, covering important aspects of working in an international and multi-cultural environment.

The course offers a rich learning experience

• Is highly vocational with a focus on knowledge and understanding of business organisations from a global perspective;
• Focuses on both large and small organisational contexts;
• Instils a high level of professionalism from the outset;
• Has a strong theoretical base in each unit;
• Develops interpersonal and collaborative communication skills
• Includes a supervised final year dissertation involving an individually conducted research element;
• Provides further opportunity for professional development in a work placement relevant to international business
• Has small class interactive teaching environments;
• Focuses on hard and soft management skills for the 21st century

Choose International Business at Bedfordshire and

• Learn through lectures, seminars and workshops, plus projects, research exercises, presentations, and case study analyses with a focus on using your knowledge and understanding in practice
• Study business management, business research, marketing, finance, accounting, operations management and human resource management
• Develop your communication and collaborative skills as well as a recognisable high level of professionalism, enabling you to fit in and be effective from day one
• Gain an understanding of the roles and relationships of businesses in the international arena, and the specific operational and strategic issues, challenges and opportunities that they face at an international level
• Explore opportunities for further postgraduate and professional study
• Benefit from a degree which gives you understanding of global business operations, analytical and problem-solving skills, and personal effectiveness and credibility when working across cultures in international teams – attributes which are highly attractive to potential employers

This course shares its first stage with our other related BSc degrees to give you a foundation in the subject while providing a platform for specialist study in the second and third stages.

The course is broadly based yet carries enough depth to provide credible vocational skills; because of the wide range of courses taught in the department a number of special equipment is accessible in areas such as biometrics, robotics or computer graphics, which allows you to encounter the context of use of various concepts in Computer Science.

Computer Science is a complex and wide-ranging subject, and includes the study of computation theory, the design of systems and artificial intelligence.

This course shares its first stage with our other related BSc degrees to give you a foundation in the subject while providing a platform for specialist study in the second and third stages.

You will concentrate on essential areas such as systems architecture and security, acquire practical programming, modelling and software development skills before focusing on a chosen specialist area for your final stage project.

Why choose this course?

• Learn a broad-based range of subjects but in enough depth to give you high value vocational skills
• Study in a carefully structured but flexible way, sharing the first foundation stage with our other related BSc degrees before specialising in the second and third stages
• Develop your practical skills in a variety of programming languages
• Gain confidence in the use of specialist biometric, robotic and computer graphic equipment
• Explore the latest developments in artificial intelligence
• Challenge yourself as you decide which specialist area you would like to focus on
• Benefit from studying with highly qualified specialists in dedicated laboratories using the latest hi-tech equipment

This is a course for our times, responding to the challenges of globalization. The degree will challenge those from the UK and beyond to think past their national perspectives. To get the full story you need to transcend geographical borders and traditional divisions.

Today's big stories are complex, simultaneously political, economic, hyper-local and global. You will learn about transnational organisations, critique theories relating to the role of the media and globalisation and practice journalism across various media platforms.

Why choose this course?

• Study with professionals from the industry, including alumni of this course, who will share practice examples, give you tips on entering the industry and help you develop your network
• Explore career options in regional, national and transnational reporting, or as a political, economic and foreign correspondent as you develop into a rounded journalist capable of seeing the whole 'global' story
• Develop your resourcefulness and enterprise – with an ability to identify and pursue stories and to challenge, test and critique evidence, while adhering to ethical codes of conduct
• Gain first-hand knowledge, by visiting national and/or international news organisations such as Reuters and Bloomberg, as well as UK/EU parliaments; work on the University community radio station and student newspaper or gain experience with local and regional newspapers and radio stations
• Benefit from a degree that gives you relevant transferable skills in publishing, copywriting, public relations, in-house press office positions, teaching, sports journalism, media research and digital media production, or enable you to continue to an MPhil or PhD research degree

Our BSc (Hons) Construction Management Top-up course will provide you with the skills and knowledge to succeed in an exciting career in construction.

This degree will give you the opportunity to expand on your current skills, knowledge and understanding of design and construction, and to advance as a construction professional.

As an industry experiencing major shortages in skilled construction professionals, on completion of this qualification you will be well-positioned as a valuable asset and to continue on the path to senior management positions.

You will be working on real-life scenarios and case studies, and will explore key areas of construction management from a number of perspectives, including contracting and procurement, management of project resources, programmes and teams, as well as managing project finances and economics.

There is a strong focus on employability. As well as bringing a wealth of industry experience to our construction courses, the teaching team also utilise close collaborative relationships within industry, including both regional and national employers, to bring the latest developments, techniques and technologies into the taught curriculum. This typically involves specialist presentations and seminars from industry experts as well as site visits, which in recent years have included visits to individual projects worth over £1bn.

Industry presenters have included project managers and directors, civil engineers, local authority planners and construction professionals, government agency representatives, professional bodies, and have also included past graduates from our courses who have progressed into senior positions in the industry.