Master of Arts in Mass Communications

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

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 study of finance is key to understanding how businesses operate, governments exercise policies and countries operate and compete with each other.

This course will provide you with an intimate knowledge of the structural issues economies are facing and the way they are being realised in today’s economics affairs through the dominance of financial institutions.

Through blended learning you will study the theoretical background and work with industry on real business problems to develop the personal and professional skills you need to be a key player in this global, knowledge-based economy

Why choose this course?

• Study the related areas of economics, financial markets and portfolio management, accounting and finance and strategic management
• Gain advanced knowledge of financial organisations and institutions, as well as of government policies and the critical capabilities to apply theory to complex issues
• Explore your enterprise, creativity and independence – the skills required by employers - through your dissertation unit
• Develop your employability by undertaking a work placement with the opportunity to work on a live project
• Benefit from studying with a Business School that has partners across the world enabling you to examine the cross-culture perspectives essential to organisations in the global markets

The MSc in Cybersecurity seeks to address the increasing demand in cybersecurity related domains in both academic vocational qualifications and projection for an increased shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the industry.

The programme is delivered by a dedicated team of cybersecurity experts and active researchers in the area and gives also the opportunity to acquire certain units from the programme as dedicated credit-based short courses outside the normal MSc route.

Using cutting edge and leading teaching and training techniques the course helps the candidates to realise the unique complexity and challenges associated with cybersecurity in a highly dynamic and constantly evolving threat landscape in a blended programme that amalgamates both management and hands-on skills required by cybersecurity professionals.

The curriculum gives you skills that are valuable for a career within Information Security but it is also relevant for a much wider range of applications. The diverse skillset around management of security as delivered in the course will equip you with a meaningful GRC knowledge and relevant experience to excel your career prospects. This is quite prominent due to the problem recruiters have to get hold off security managers with these skills.

The systematic application of teaching and learning methods with the GIS goals and clear references made to the University’s employability framework should further help students to develop their career prospects throughout the programme.

Interactive sessions in the form of demos will also be delivered by the teaching staff and guest speakers to further leverage understanding and stimulate attention towards relevant and pragmatic issues in the area

Why choose this course?
Areas of study include

• Cyber threat intelligence
• Ethical Hacking
• Network Security
• Information Governance and Compliance
• Research methodologies and project management
• Tactical and strategic cybersecurity management
• MSc thesis in cybersecurity

Develop the essential, digitally relevant skills for the world of advertising, copywriting and marketing communications, opening up opportunities in specialist agencies, integrated brand communications and client side brand management.

Gain vital work experience and awareness on placement and working with external agencies, and build your network of industry contacts. Relate marketing to finance, HRM and operations and take specialist units in PR and e-Business.

Examine international business and marketing management - branding, buyer behaviour, distribution and competition - with specialist units in marketing communications, media analysis and planning.

Choose Advertising and Marketing Communications at Bedfordshire and

• Learn essential skills in advertising and copy writing - using a mixture of traditional marketing and media communications and more modern tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• Study areas including PR, creating marketing communications, marketing communications practice, and marketing in contemporary contexts
• Develop your knowledge and experience in your final year by working with real companies on real issues
• Gain additional employability skills in communication, problem-solving and teamwork
• Challenge yourself with an optional sandwich placement year
• Benefit from a course that reflects the Business School’s commitment to practice based and research informed education and is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Why choose this course?
BSc Advertising and Marketing Communications is an academic course grounded firmly in business practice. In your first year you study alongside other business students working on practical business problems and are introduced to the foundation level of Marketing Communications. At higher levels your study becomes more focused, especially on employment related transferable skills.

At the conclusion of this course you will be a career-ready pre-professional, ready to start work in the marketing communications industry

You will have acquired not just knowledge and understanding of marketing communications methods, such as digital strategy and account and media planning, but also the ability to apply your studies to practical examples and the critical skills necessary to keep learning in the changing professional environment

To succeed in the modern world businesses need managers with the skills and knowledge of how to trade on the international stage. The added element of law in this course allows you to study the core business disciplines such as strategic business management, accounting and finance, within a legal and regulatory framework

As you develop your knowledge of business and law in an international context, you will gain the attributes to contribute to the global business strategy of organisations and resolve international business problems.

There are six entry points through the year. This allows you to start when it is most suitable.

Why choose this course?

• Study legal and regulatory problems through collaborative activities, and investigate the critical application of legal theory to international business
• Explore the inter-relationship between law and business, and take the opportunity to consider and resolve legal and regulatory problems through collaborative activities
• Develop your knowledge of key strategic and operations such as accounting and finance, investment treaty arbitration, international business competencies and strategic management within an international context.
• Study the theory of international business and apply it to solve real business problems through our employability practice approach to teaching and learning
• Gain the knowledge and skills required to pursue a career as a Trading Executive, Product Manager, Business Development Manager, Buyer or in related role within Financial and Legal Services

How can we understand, intervene and promote health and wellbeing across the course of life? Health psychology works to answer this question, looking towards the interaction of psychological, social and biological factors to understand health and illness.

Health psychology moves away from the medicalisation of health and illness. Instead, on this course, you take a more whole-person approach to understanding health and illness, studying social issues and aspects such as obesity, lifestyle and stress. Taught by an academic team actively involved in research in the field, you benefit from their up-to-the-minute knowledge and research skills.

This course forms stage one of the training you need to become a chartered psychologist member of the Division of Health Psychology within the British Psychological Society.

Why choose this course?

• Gain new insights into the theory and practice of health psychology
• Learn to show how the links between scientific theory and practice can guide the collection and interpretation of empirical data
• Develop a systematic understanding and critical awareness of current problems in the field
• Gain confident knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods which will allow you to perform complex data analysis, interpretation, evaluation and synthesis
• Develop your competence in a range of techniques including multivariate analyses
• Benefit from a strong sense of personal responsibility and professionalism that will enable you to practise or conduct research within ethical guidelines

This innovative course gives you hands-on experience across a wide range of journalistic and creative fields. You learn from an inspirational academic team of professional writers, using the latest technology to produce your work.

This degree leaves nothing to chance, covering reporting, news and features, fiction, creative non-fiction and new-media writing. You study cross-industry writing, editorial and production skills, with options in radio journalism, innovative writing and specialist fiction. You work with the latest technology in our TV and radio studios, fully equipped edit suites and Press Association news feeds.

Tutors are all professional creative writers with publishing and broadcast expertise who support you as you develop your own unique voice and channel it through your writing. They can also give you practical guidance when it comes to getting recognised and published.

Why choose this course?

• Learn the essential tools you need for writing across genres and media from experienced writers, journalists, academics, research students and alumni
• Develop practical skills in production for television, print and online journalism
• Gain links with the publishing industry and other writing-related industries through the professional practice element of the course (see below)
• Explore outlets for your own work including the Creative Writing Guild which runs workshops and open mic nights as well as publishing anthologies of student work
• If you need a step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the degree course

If companies are to expand their business and be competitive, they must employ modern marketing techniques and integrate these into their organisational processes.

On this course you will study a full range of marketing practices combined with broader aspects of strategic marketing such as buyer behaviour, marketing international business, marketing and service management, and social media marketing.

Designed to help you become a highly effective manager and creative thinker, you will gain the conceptual, framework-focused, analytical, problem solving and research skills required to operate confidently in a dynamic environment.

There are six entry points through the year. This allows you to start when it is most suitable

Why choose this course?

• Study aspects of global brand communications and reputation, marketing in the digital landscape, intercultural issues in marketing, and strategy and brand management
• Develop your employability by undertaking a work placement with the opportunity to work on a live project to improve your team-working, negotiation skills, confidence and ability to apply critical and creative thinking to complex and unclear problems
• Benefit from studying with a Business School that has partners across the world enabling you to examine the cross culture perspectives essential to organisations in the global markets
• Explore how cultural and social differences affect buying behaviour, and discover how to use branding to compete in the global marketplace
• Gain an appreciation of the integrated nature of marketing communications and their application in a contemporary context

Offering the in-depth technical and professional training you need for a career as an information technologist, this course is run in collaboration with local companies so you gain real-world experience while studying.

In your first year, you develop the skills to study the specialist topics later in the course including an introduction to software; hardware and how computers are built; how computers work with databases; and Structured Query Language (NoSQL). You will also learn about software applications (such as Microsoft, Oracle and Java) and hardware installation, configuration and maintenance.

In year two, you focus on software design and development; how software and hardware work together; designing secure systems; and approaches for testing software.

Learning in your final year focuses on research methods and emerging technologies as you undertake an independent IT project.

Why choose this course?

• It offers in-depth technical and professional training, including CompTia, Security+ and CCNA, which are required to practise as an information technologist
• Throughout the course, you benefit from work-based learning projects and hands-on experience which prepare you to graduate as a professional
• You learn how a wide range of technology can be deployed to provide systems that support organisations to achieve their business objectives
• You develop the knowledge and skills to draw out user requirements from non-IT experts and transform these into implemented system-level designs
• You will be able to lead an IT project, using transferable skills such as effective collaboration and critical thinking
• Take the course over four years and include a professional placement year (see below) where you can gain experience, build your CV and make contacts for the future

It’s never been more important to understand the impact of human action on the environment as well as the effect environmental change may have on human health. This integrated course works at the cutting edge of environmental and health science, exploring the issues, challenges and new technologies that will decide our own and our planet’s future.

This degree gives you a sound base in biology and biochemistry where you explore the functioning of living organisms; the diversity of life on the planet; and the interactions between the environment and humans. You also develop your understanding of how the human body functions in health and disease, and how this is related to the environments in which we live. Focusing on the environment, you investigate the impact humans have on ecosystems; the consequences of environmental change, locally and globally; and the sustainable management of food production, the food chain and the importance of food security to human health.

Laboratory work is an essential part of the course and you build your skills in this area as well as your expertise in the practical and analysis techniques relevant to working in environmental and health sciences.

Why choose this course?

• Develop your understanding of environmental protection and the role of individuals, organisations and governments in preserving the environment
• Be able to discuss the ethical issues and challenges around environmental protection
• Study with an academic team with established research expertise in areas across biomedicine, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, genomics and bioinformatics
• Benefit from our academic collaborations with the University’s Schools and Research Institutes as well as with external institutions and organisations
• Gain work experience through the Life Sciences Liaison Board, which has strong links to a network of industry and practice organisations
• When you graduate, there are a number of career paths open to you including government agencies; industry; science laboratories; higher education institutions; and environmental agencies
• 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 a step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees you a place on the degree course