Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accountancy

at University of Bolton United Kingdom

Accountancy can trace its history back to the beginnings of civilisation. The necessity to keep track of goods and produce led to the development of writing, and this ancient profession is a global necessity in the 21st century. Fundamental to planning and forecasting, budgeting and control, taxation and decision making, competent and resourceful accountants are essential to success in business and commerce, as well as the smooth running of government and public services.

Our BA (Hons) Accountancy is designed to give you the strong academic and vocational background for a professional career in accountancy. It will also support your career development if you are considering a broader management role, as it offers the financial knowledge that is central to many private and public sector careers.

The course draws on the latest practices and theories of accounting and covers the two key areas of management accounting and financial accounting and reporting, as well as offering a number of optional modules that may be selected for study in your final year.

Alongside developing your professional accountancy-related knowledge, we want to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can reflect on, articulate, transfer and take ownership of the development of your skills in to the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

• Our accounting and finance courses are ranked second in the UK for student satisfaction, according to The Complete University Guide 2020.
• The course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).
• We offer an enviable range of exemptions from professional accountancy body examinations including ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIMA and CIPFA, so once you have graduated you can join their professional development programmes at an advanced stage.
• Our graduates are also entitled to exemptions from the Association of International Accountants (AIA) papers and are eligible to apply for associate membership of the AIA and the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA).
• We are an ICAEW accredited HEPiL (Higher Education Partner in Learning) and have links with AIA, IFA and CPA Australia.
• Many of our graduates go onto study for the final year ACCA examinations at Bolton. The University is a Gold partner provider of this programme and regularly exceeds the global pass rate targets set by the professional body.

Key Features

• Our tutors are all qualified accountants with experience of working in the profession and of teaching undergraduate, postgraduate and professional accountancy qualifications.
• We’ll encourage you to use mathematical and statistical techniques to solve general business and accountancy related problems – learning from case studies will give you a good grounding in real business situations.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching so that you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
• We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice to share their experience with our students, so you can benefit from their knowledge and advice.
• We enjoy excellent support from local employers and the Bolton Society of Chartered Accountants, maximising industry-related opportunities.
• We offer two full-time undergraduate Accountancy degrees. The three-year BA (Hons) Accountancy course is for people who will achieve 104 UCAS points (for instance BCC at A-level). Alternatively, our four-year BA (Hons) Accountancy with foundation year programme is for students who will benefit from a period of extra preparatory study and support before making the transition to degree-level study.

Professional recognition

The course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you are looking to pursue a career in business, or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work.

Our BSc (Hons) in Business Management (Supply Chain) offers a strong grounding in an essential range of contemporary business management subjects combined with the opportunity to focus your studies in the final year. When you successfully complete the course you’ll also receive the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.

By studying core modules that are common between all our BSc (Hons) Business Management programmes, you’ll be exposed to key concepts in areas such as business law, leadership and people management, marketing, strategic management, information systems and big data, project management, finance, innovation and enterprise. This solid foundation will support your advanced studies into specialist areas including logistics and operations, supply chain and information management.

Developing your employability is a key focus of this dynamic and flexible programme. Real-life case studies, guest speakers and industry visits are designed to help you to understand the business environment and the needs of employers in local, national and international contexts. We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as communication, data analysis, time management, team working and problem solving.

We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

• Our team of highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic business management lecturers offer face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support, ensuring you can access help and advice when you need it.
• On successful completion of this dual award course you’ll receive both an academic degree and a professionally-recognised management qualification – the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management. You don’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Diploma – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
• This course is part of our Business Management suite of degrees. All students study the same modules at the first two levels of the course to gain an in depth knowledge of the major business disciplines. At Honours level, you can follow the specialist pathway in Supply Chain, choose to transfer to one of our other specialist pathways in Law, People Management, Enterprise, Finance, Marketing or Retail, or follow the core Business Management route.
• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers who have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisation to SME’s.
• The University offers excellent 24/7 library and IT facilities, WiFi, and well-appointed learning areas.

Key Features

• This course is offered within our vibrant Institute of Management environment in Bolton town centre.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
• We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• Contemporary research findings are woven into our teaching. We offer a robust academic underpinning to your studies of business management.
• Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation.

Professional recognition

• Graduates of the BSc (Hons) Business Management (Supply Chain) pathway will receive a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute).
• The Level 5 Diploma is the CMI’s benchmark qualification and offers the quickest exemption route towards Chartered Manager (CMgr MCMI) status. Chartered Manager status is only awarded by the CMI and is the highest status that can be achieved in the management profession.

Textiles and surface design is a fast-moving global industry encompassing a wide range of commercial contexts – from fashion fabrics and accessories, through stationery products and packaging, to interior fabrics and wall coverings, as well as contemporary gallery/design led pieces. Our creative and challenging degree is taught by a dedicated and passionate team with extensive professional experience of researching, designing, creating, selling and exhibiting textile/surface design work. We understand the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed as a professional designer.

Our intensely practical approach aims to help you gain a broad portfolio of traditional and digital design skills. You’ll have space to experiment with different approaches, materials and techniques, and we’ll support and encourage you to ‘cross the boundaries’ of textile disciplines and develop your own innovative approaches to designing and making. Historical and contextual studies help to underpin your practical knowledge and provide sources of inspiration.

Our professional design studios are equipped with work spaces, and high-specification facilities for embroidery, digital printing, non-woven textiles, garment manufacture, felt making, printed and dyed textiles, and computer aided design are available.

We’ll also support you to develop commercial awareness and entrepreneurial skills, including how to market, exhibit, work with design studios and set up in business, ready for success in this often freelance career.

Highlights

• Our Art courses are placed in the top ten in the UK for student-to-staff ratio by the Guardian University League Tables 2020, so you have access to individual tutor support and small group teaching.
• We’ll encourage you to enter national and international competitions, and are proud that many of our students have gained prestigious awards through the Bradford Textile Society, Première Vision Paris, New Designers Awards, Embroiderers Guild and the Society of Dyers and Colourists.
• In 2016, second year student Kera Allen won top award at the highly esteemed Surtex Designext Awards in New York.
• We offer numerous opportunities to visit national and international trade fairs. In recent years we’ve organised study trips to Surtex New York, Indigo Paris, The British Craft Trade Fair and New Designers in London.
• Our dedicated and specialist tutors have industry connections and extensive experience in researching, making, exhibiting and selling textiles, surface and design work, and are engaged in PhD research that feeds into the content of the programme.
• You’ll be introduced to the varied working practices of studio designers in industry, contemporary textile artists and designer-makers and explore the range of materials and products textile and surface designers use and create – everything from fashion and interior fabrics, through wallcoverings, gift wrap, stationery, and cards, to ceramic tableware.
• You’ll benefit from the opportunity to work on a major personal project and present it to the public as part of the Bolton School of the Arts final-year Creative Show.

Key Features

• Bolton has an impressive history of textile manufacturing and engineering spanning over 650 years, so you’ll be studying at a historic home of textile innovation in the UK. The University of Bolton maintains this tradition and is a leading centre of textile and materials research of global importance.
• Facilities on campus include design studios, computer suites, a printed textile workshop, digital textile printing, embroidery and textile workshops, and paper print facilities. We offer industry-standard software and access to the latest global trend prediction sites. You’ll also have access to our wider arts and design facilities, including photographic studios, fine print and ceramic workshops.
• Our long-standing reputation in the teaching and development of textile subjects means we can attract outstanding visiting speakers from across the commercial design and craft-led sectors. Recent speakers include Concetta Gallo MA Royal College of Art (RCA) designer for Habitat, Leigh Cooke designer for Salvatore Ferragamo and Hermes Paris, and Alison Willoughby MA RCA.
• Our close proximity to Manchester, and links with the North West Craft Network and major galleries, workshops and associations in the region, mean you’ll be well-placed to take advantage of work placement opportunities.
• We regularly set-up industry-relevant live projects with external organisations and companies in our practical modules. These are designed to give you experience of working to industry standards, help you learn the realities of working to design briefs, and offer insights into current design practice.
• We pride ourselves on the small group learning and one-to-one support we offer. You can expect to receive individual attention and guidance from our expert tutors, as well as online support through the University’s eLearning system Moodle.

The University of Bolton’s MA in Early Childhood Studies is designed to prepare future leaders for the early years sector. The social, cultural and political climate has an enormous impact on the lives of young children, influencing their development and affecting their life chances. This postgraduate course is designed to develop your awareness and understanding of these factors while cultivating your leadership, critical analysis and communication skills. We focus on supporting you to integrate these ideas with your knowledge of childhood development, helping you to achieve career success and champion the uniqueness of every child.

The aim of this course is to extend your already considerable professional skills and knowledge with specialist modules that deepen your understanding of areas such as equality and diversity, early years curriculum development and childhood in a global context. Our expert team will help you gain critical reflection, analysis and evaluation skills that support your ability to determine the impact of professional interventions on the development of children and across the early years sector.

Combining this knowledge with the principles and techniques of academic research and investigation will help develop your evidence-based practice, and grow your skills in evaluating options and formulating creative solutions to complex problems. Studying leadership and management styles, theories and frameworks will support you to become more actively involved in the planning, delivery and transformation of early years and children’s services.

Overall, our aim is to help you gain the professional and transferable skills to move forward in your career, improving the services you provide to the children in your care and their families.

Highlights

• Our students are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds – sharing the individual and unique educational insights and perspectives of your peers helps to enrich your learning experience.
• We promote research and critical enquiry helping you learn to make sound, evidence-based independent judgements.
• Our excellent links with over 70 partners and external agencies means we can offer a wide variety of perspectives and research opportunities; for instance, we work with youth and community centres, early years settings, children’s centres, schools, alternative education projects, women's refuges and community projects, as well as housing, health, leisure and youth training schemes, resettlement projects, and detached, outreach and mentoring projects.
• On successful completion of this course you will be awarded an MA in Early Childhood Studies from the University of Bolton.

Key Features

• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated experts.
• Staff and students from across our Faculty of Health and Wellbeing work closely together. By studying alongside people from related specialisms and sectors, such as youth, community and health and social care you can benefit from a wider range of knowledge and experience that supports cross-disciplinary thinking and inter-professional working.
• Our academic team is actively involved in early childhood studies research, helping you to explore issues from a robust research-informed knowledge base.
• Specialists in the field of early years and childhood studies will be invited to join us as guest speakers and lecturers, offering you first-hand live examples of current practice.
• Our highly experienced team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research evaluation skills and apply these during your independent masters-level project.

Psychology is a core component of psychotherapy and counselling and the University of Bolton offers one of the oldest and most established psychology courses in the UK. Our BSc (Hons) Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degree offers you the chance to learn about the interaction between these disciplines, gaining an appreciation of the diversity of perspectives involved, along with an understanding of their therapeutic use.

Our friendly and experienced team will guide you as you develop knowledge of the theories, methods and debates central to the three core elements. We’ll support you as you explore psychology, gain specific counselling skills, and consider broader social issues that impact on the roles of psychotherapist and counsellor, such as assumptions, stereotyping, diversity and prejudice. We’ll also focus on developing your knowledge and skills in the use of psychological research methods, and your appreciation of the ethical issues involved.

Inter-personal and transferable skills are also vital, so we’ll challenge you to develop sought-after communication, problem solving, numerical, analytical, self-management, IT skills, and more. Overall, our dedicated team are focused on helping you gain the skills employers’ value along with a detailed understanding of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.

Highlights

• Our psychology courses are ranked top in the UK for teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020, as well as top in the UK for student satisfaction by The Complete University Guide 2020.
• This course is one of only a few Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degrees in the country accredited by the British Psychological Society. Accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership, this degree is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
• Integrated into this degree are opportunities for you to gain accredited qualifications in counselling skills. Through successful completion of this degree, you’ll also achieve the Level 2 and Level 3 Certificates in Counselling Skills conferred by ABC Awards.
• We emphasise inter-personal, transferable and employability skills as well as academic success. After graduation, you may have the opportunity to progress onto professional qualification in applied psychology, such as our Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies.
• We focus strongly on employability skills and the practical application of your studies as well as academic success. Workshops will involve analysis of life events and role playing of various scenarios using case study material. You can also benefit from final year applied sessions in counselling skills.
• Your personal tutor will be on hand to support you throughout your degree; one of our team of helpful and approachable psychology staff with a diverse range of research interests and professional experience.
• We’ve invested to create a learning environment that offers innovative methods of teaching and assessment using top-class facilities, such as our observation laboratory with video cameras, microphones and video editing equipment.

Key Features

• We stress the applied nature of psychology throughout the programme, emphasising learning through experience to help prepare you for further professional qualifications in psychology, counselling or psychotherapy.
• We’ll explain the principles and methods of psychological research, including the collection, analysis, reporting and interpretation of data. During your final year you’ll have the opportunity to carry out an individual research study.
• Teaching is dynamic and varied using methods that include lectures, small group work, discussion groups, case studies, demonstrations and laboratory workshops. You’ll be encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning with opportunities for you to participate and gain practical experience.
• Course content is delivered by our highly-qualified staff who have substantial experience in the field. By offering personal supervision throughout the course, we aim to give you the best possible opportunity to achieve your true potential.

Professional recognition
Successful completion of the degree course is approved as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved.

The British Psychological Society is the professional body for psychologists.

Through the successful completion of the module "Introduction to Counselling Concepts" (PPC4001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills. Through the successful completion of the module "Counselling Skills" (PPC5001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills.

It’s predicted that by 2022, there will be a worldwide shortage of 1.8 million information security workers , meaning that the future offers qualified cybersecurity professionals access to excellent career opportunities and competitive salaries. Our BSc (Hons) Computing (Cyber Security) course is an ideal route into this dynamic and evolving industry.

Cyber security focuses on protecting data and information systems from cyber breaches. Covering how to design secure computer systems, this unique degree emphasises secure software development and promotes a deep understanding of the structure of computing systems. Throughout the course, you’ll develop technical knowledge and applied skills in security defence techniques and counter-measures, ready to protect computer systems and electronic infrastructures from attack. In particular, we’ll focus on helping you learn to design and develop your own security tools for probing, analysing and defending computer systems against attack.

Our expert and dedicated team will cover how to analyse and evaluate security threats and vulnerabilities to information systems, perform security risk assessments and develop security controls, processes and software. We’ll support you as you learn how to respond to security incidents and implement resolution activities. The department’s strong links with business mean you’ll have the chance to work on ‘live briefs’ in your coursework assignments, so you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy real-world context and application for the skills and knowledge we’ll help you develop.

With class sizes no greater than 30, we can offer you meaningful, personalised learning plans. Our dedicated and enthusiastic lecturers – many of whom are active researchers with extensive industry insights and experience – will help you develop both the theoretical knowledge and the practical, hands-on skills required by the security sector that will put you one-step ahead of attackers from day one. Meanwhile, guest speakers and lecturers give you access to highly relevant and up-to-date input from industry settings.

All of this is backed by our well-equipped IT suites, where you’ll get to apply and develop your learning individually and in groups, with expert guidance and support.

Highlights

• The department – and the wider University – provides a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• Your teaching and tutorial team brings an impressive range of professional experience and technical prowess to the course, so you’ll have the chance to explore and evaluate a range of perspectives relating to your studies.
• A big part of our commitment to your progress is helping you develop your employability and industry networks. The teaching team work collaboratively with industrial partners to ensure that you have access to the latest and relevant industrial skills. So, we’ll encourage you to attend guest lectures that give your learning context, offer access to industry contacts, and contribute to your underlying professional development.
• By underpinning our content and assignments with a strong industrial focus, we foster a keen understanding of the professional IT environment, and help you develop essential skills such as team-working, communication and problem solving.
• This degree offers a comprehensive overview of key cyber security principles, methods and activities, such as types of security, common attack techniques, performing a risk assessment, penetration testing, managing risk and assessing the ‘cyber security culture’ of an organisation.
• We’ll focus on your individual needs, and provide personalised learning support in order to help you find the learning strategies that best support you as you begin your journey towards an exciting and challenging career as a cyber-security.

Key Features

• Our dedicated laboratories, servers and end-hosts feature high-specification hardware and the latest software, so you’ll have industry-equivalent hands-on experience.
• You’ll also get to experience the latest technologies, such as OpenStack – developed by Rackspace and NASA.
• As you’d expect, many of our computing facilities are accessible online, so you can work on your assignments wherever you are, and whenever inspiration kicks in.
• We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as background research, critical reasoning and problem solving, as well as professional communication, time management, teamwork, and lifelong learning.
• We’ll also encourage you to build a portfolio of evidence representing the projects and tasks you’ve completed during your studies, ready to impress potential employers.
• We continually monitor and update the course to reflect current and ever-changing issues in computing, and to keep your learning in line with technological advances and innovations.

Professional recognition

• The University of Bolton’s BSc (Hons) Computing (Cyber Security) programme offers you the opportunity to develop the skills to be recognised as a RedHat certified practitioner in systems administration, and gain a number of other industry-relevant professional accreditations. We were the first UK university to become a RedHat academy and offer you access to the accreditation examinations at a significantly reduced cost.

Our Masters in Civil Engineering is aimed at engineers who want to broaden and deepen their technical knowledge of specialised civil engineering areas and develop a wider perspective on the issues facing the civil engineering industry. The part-time programme is designed to build on the knowledge and skills already developed, introducing advanced concepts and theories to challenge your problem solving and critical evaluation capabilities.

This course explores the complex roles and responsibilities of civil engineers in relation to social, natural and built environments, assessing how economic constraints can influence project management and decision making.

Research and design also play key parts in this comprehensive course, which will challenge you to design creatively and apply engineering modelling and analysis methods to projects. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your skillset by linking theory with practice in a variety of assignments, reports and design processes, enhancing your literacy and risk management abilities along the way.

Highlights

• Build on your existing engineering knowledge with a series of modules designed to challenge and stimulate your abilities with rich and varied content.
• Benefit from the University’s longstanding and excellent reputation for civil engineering postgraduate and professional development courses.
• On successful completion of this course you will receive an MSc in Civil Engineering.

Key Features

• Our programme has been expertly developed to give a broad overview of the advanced civil engineering discipline, including influencing issues and challenges, such as economic constraints and professional and ethical responsibilities.
• Lessons are taught in small groups, maximising opportunities for personal tuition and contact with staff.
• As well as small group learning and support, the University has excellent libraries, 24/7 IT facilities and campus-wide WiFi for all students.
• English language support will be provided via a dedicated module that focuses on improving students’ English language skills, especially in relation to engineering.

The University of Bolton’s MSc in Digital Dental Technology offers you the opportunity to develop skills using digital dental systems to manufacture appliances in fixed prosthodontics, removable prosthodontics and orthodontics. It will support you to further your knowledge of how digital solutions can assist with advanced techniques, including dental implants. In addition, we’ll help you build your business and transferable skills ready to take on leadership and management roles or run your own commercial dental laboratory. Overall, this postgraduate degree is an ideal academic progression for dental technicians and clinical professionals who have suitable training and experience in dental technology.

Studying this interdisciplinary course will help to develop your understanding of how principles and techniques from different fields such as engineering, materials science, and computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) can be brought together to advance dental technology. We’ll support you as you gain a solid understanding of essential engineering principles, enhance your knowledge of dental biomaterials and fabrication, and explore essential areas of biomedicine, such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We also hope to inspire you to see how these different disciplines can be combined to drive future innovations in dental technology, as well as provide you with a sound background in research methodology and critical thinking that will support you if choose to a career in dental research and development.

Our industry-experienced team will guide you as you gain an in-depth knowledge of digital technology and manufacturing practices. Your training will offer plenty of hands-on experience as you learn to design and manufacture advanced dental appliances and implant restorations that are biomechanically acceptable.

Your studies will culminate in an independent and substantial piece of research that offers you the chance to demonstrate your mastery of an aspect of contemporary dental technology. In consultation with our team, you’ll choose an area of interest to research (ideally through experiment) so you can mould your own master’s-level learning. You’ll be able to draw together concepts from across your learning as you develop your research methodology, collect and analyse data, interpret and justify your results and draw your conclusions. This exciting process not only helps to develop your advanced dental research knowledge but supports you to gain the critical analysis, problem-solving and lifelong learning skills you’ll need to adapt to new challenges, techniques and procedures throughout your career.

Highlights

• As a dental technology postgraduate, you’ll have access to industry-standard specialist equipment and advanced biomaterials in our purpose-built laboratories in the Queen’s Specialist Building, as well as high-specification engineering facilities at the main campus.
• We offer regular hands-on sessions to help develop your practical capabilities, preparing you to work independently on your dental appliance manufacturing, research case studies and research-based project.
• Our dedicated staff team, who possess a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offers face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support.
• You'll benefit from our strong industry links with dental organisations across the UK, offering opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects and networking.
• Our approach to teaching and learning is ‘student-centred’, so we’ll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
• On successful completion of this course, you'll be awarded the MSc Digital Dental Technology by the University of Bolton.

Key Features

• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• By studying certain modules alongside students and professionals from other areas such as engineering, biomedical engineering and business management, you can benefit from a wider range of knowledge and experience that supports cross-disciplinary thinking.
• We offer opportunities for you to undertake advanced research into a variety of subjects. Whenever possible, we’ll support you to focus on projects that are directly linked to your personal interests and career development needs.
• If the outcomes and standard of your major research project prove to be appropriate, we’ll support you to reformat your project into an academic paper for submission to an academic journal, ready to seek publication.
• This course is based at the University of Bolton’s campus in the North West of England.
• Opportunities for progression after completing this master’s degree include dental technology PhD programmes.

The market value of the UK games industry was approximately £5.7 billion in 2018, with over 37 million people playing games in the UK*. If you are seeking a career in a strong sector of the economy, then games is an excellent choice. From PC, console and mobile games, through serious games for education and training, to the emerging virtual reality games market, software developers are seeking highly qualified games specialists.

Our Games Design course offers a broad study of games, with an emphasis on the technical, design and innovation aspects, rather than programming. Key topics include content production, games and level design as well as platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will work to help you develop skills in games analysis, usability and playability testing and understand the concepts underpinning games production and the business of computer games (for instance sales and marketing).

Team-based projects involving regular critique sessions with your peers and members of our games team are designed to help you develop the high-level of team working and communication skills that are vital in the games industry. Our intensely practical, hands-on approach aims to encourage and support you to develop a high-quality portfolio of work ready to demonstrate your skills and creative flair to potential employers.

Highlights

• We share your passion for games. As well as extensive experience playing games (just like you!), our dedicated games tutors offer a vast range of industry experience, a wide network of contacts in the games industry, and knowledge of the latest games research and developments.
• Industry experts from the leading games studios in the UK, along with Bolton graduates now successful in the sector, are regularly invited to give guest lectures on aspects of games development.
• Team working and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work with students from our Games Art and Games Programming courses forming interdisciplinary teams to complete games projects.
• Our Game Jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your communication, project management and problem solving skills.
• We work with games development companies on games usability and software testing, giving you the opportunity to test games before they go to market. In the past, some of our students have even got their names mentioned in the credits.

Key Features

• University of Bolton games graduates have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most – we were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.
• The course covers both 2D and 3D game environments, concepts and mechanics for traditional gaming (PC and console), mobile gaming (cloud, social and casual), and virtual reality gaming, along with game play analysis and testing.
• We offer opportunities for you to go on studio visits and field trips, undertake work experience with relevant studios, and network with professionals.
• The assignments and projects set on the course are based on industry pipelines and standards to give you a real feel for a career in the games sector.
• Our well-equipped, dedicated games labs feature high-specification PC hardware, HTC Vive VR systems and industry-standard software, along with modern and vintage consoles.

If you've been struggling to find a postgraduate course that exactly matches your ambition then the University of Bolton's MA (Specialist Title) via Creative Practice could be the answer. Our expert team will work with you to devise a series of projects that enable you to develop your creative practice. You may choose to focus on a single discipline, such as Animation, Illustration, Art and Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Media, Performance, Dance, Photography, Textiles and Surface Design, Fashion, Creative Writing, Live Events Design and Production, or an associated subject. Alternatively, you may combine several areas of practice to follow an interdisciplinary route. When you successfully complete the master's, your degree title will be chosen to reflect the focus of your studies.

We'll support you to develop a unique body of creative work through a series of negotiated projects that will be underpinned and informed by industry practice. You'll work with a specialist supervisor who will provide support and guidance throughout the developmental process. Alongside this, you'll undertake two taught modules. The first investigates current contexts for creative practice and offers you the necessary skills to undertake research at an advanced level. The second invites you to place your practice within a professional landscape to help you gain the skills to develop your industry profile and ensure your work reaches your desired audience.

With a strong theoretical underpinning, this MA is designed to develop your skills in research, critique and synthesis. We’ll guide you as you learn to work with self?direction and originality and develop your analytical and critical competencies. This combination of academic, creative and professional skills development helps to prepare you for a career in the creative industries, as well as providing a sound basis for doctoral-level study.

The MA is designed to enable you to develop a considerable body of work and a plan for its future development beyond the course. This may take the form of applications for funding, exhibitions, publication, or small?scale tours.

Our industry?engaged staff are practising artists, writers and performers. You'll benefit from our strong industry links with a range of arts and cultural organisations across Greater Manchester and the North West region, which offers opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects and networking.

Highlights

• You can develop your unique body of creative practice under the supervision of our experienced teaching team.
• We'll support you to prepare your creative practice for industry via funding applications, business plans, exhibitions, publication or small?scale tours.
• You'll be able to make use of specialist facilities across the University of Bolton's Schools of the Arts and Creative Technologies to develop high-quality creative outputs.
• We'll help you learn about tax self-assessment, invoicing, intellectual property and risk assessments, as well as offer business start-up sessions to prepare you to take advantage of opportunities for enterprise development.

Key Features

• Teaching and supervision are delivered by our dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff.
• The programme provides opportunities to engage with and learn from industry professionals, including visiting speakers and practitioners.
• We'll offer you opportunities for interdisciplinary work and collaboration.
• You'll benefit from our strong industry links with local and regional arts, culture and trade organisations, studios, galleries, publishers, manufacturers and companies specialising in creative art and design practice.
• Your final master’s degree title will reflect your specialist areas of practice (please note that the final award title will be selected in agreement with the University within the parameters specified in programme documentation). For example, your title might be something like MA Animation via Creative Practice, MA Dance via Creative Practice or MA Fashion Photography via Creative Practice.