Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Extended

at University of Bolton United Kingdom

At the University of Bolton, we believe that making the link between your course content and real life situations is crucial to your understanding of early childhood studies. Our BA (Hons) Early Years and Childhood Studies degree is a great qualification if you are looking for a career working with pre-primary school children and need to develop the necessary work experience, or if you are already working in the early years’ sector and would like the chance to obtain a formal qualification to support your career development.

Using their wealth of experience from a wide range of settings, our highly-qualified professional tutors will guide you through the theories and research that underpin early years practice and legislation. The work-based element of the course will then help bring your learning to life and give you experience using your new knowledge and skills in the workplace.

In some modules, you may be taught alongside professionals who work in related services and professions. Such connections help promote the multi-agency team approach that is such an important part of the early years childhood agenda. Overall, our supportive team will guide and encourage you, helping you to develop into a confident, capable early years professional.

Highlights

• This is a time of expansion for the early years’ sector with more funding available and further settings needed. Patrick Hayes, Director of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), said in 2016: ‘It is therefore realistic to expect, that at least 500 new nurseries will open in England, to cope with the need for extra places’.
• Our staff members have a range of specialist areas, such as the teaching of English as an additional language in primary education and the improvement of children’s experience of schooling, particularly for those from migrant backgrounds.
• The course covers leadership and management in the early years, aimed at preparing you for additional responsibilities such as team leading or management roles in the sector.
• Our close links and regular engagement with early years’ providers, employers and practitioners ensures our course delivery and content are up-to-date and in line with government policy and guidance.

Key Features

• Combining theory with practical skills, the course is designed to prepare you for a career in early years, or give you a formal qualification with a possible option of progression into primary school education.
• Strong partnership links with local employers in the sector mean there are opportunities for you to undertake work placements, providing meaningful experience to put on your CV.
• Guest lectures from practitioners in the sector provide additional knowledge and alternative viewpoints. Specialist tutors in Health and Community Studies also provide another dimension to your learning. This ensures the course offers a true multi-agency approach.
• In the final year, you’ll have the chance to undertake a small-scale research project focusing on an area of early years and childhood that is particularly interesting to you.
• You’ll have opportunities to learn through role play, which is a great way to develop and practice your skills and understanding.

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 (People Management) 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 leadership and people management and areas such as business law, 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 international human resource management, learning and development, and the employment relationship.

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 People Management, choose to transfer to one of our other specialist pathways in Law, Enterprise, Supply Chain, 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 SMEs.
• 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 (People Management) 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.

Recent news reports reveal data breaches at large corporations and some people say the age of cyber-warfare has already begun. The need for talented, professional and ingenious computer network and security professionals has never been greater. Governments, organisations and individuals rely on being able to store and access information securely and efficiently, and our BSc (Hons) Computer Networks and Security degree offers an excellent preparation for a career in this field.

Our dedicated staff will support you to develop the strong understanding and practical know-how vital to protect data against all possible sources of disruption, at all times. Focusing on the design, configuration, management and support of all types of computer networks, we’ll guide you as you gain valuable hands-on experience with a range of industry-standard hardware and software. Areas of study include network architecture and management, network design and integration, routing, computer security, network operating systems, programming, wide area networks and wireless networks and security.

We’ll also support you to gain vital academic and lifelong learning skills so that you are well prepared to research new technologies, apply your knowledge in new ways, and keep abreast of innovations and enhancements in the computer networks and security industry throughout your career.

Highlights

• You’ll have the opportunity to gain Cisco certification to CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) standard. The Cisco CCNA examination is offered at external testing centres and incurs a separate charge. The course also includes training towards RedHat Linux qualifications.
• Our dedicated staff team have a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offering you a variety of perspectives and broadening your horizons.
• We prefer to keep lecture and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to ask us questions and get help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.
• Our dedicated laboratories are firewalled so that you and your classmates can experiment and evaluate attack tools without worrying about disrupting the wider University network.
• We’re committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in the industry, and contribute to your professional development.
• By designing the course assignments and projects so that they mimic industry pipelines and standards, we aim to give you a real feel for a career in computer networks and security.

Key Features

• We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• We want to work with you as an individual, giving you access to the help and support you need to succeed.
• Our dedicated networking laboratories have industry-standard hardware and software and you’ll have unrestricted access, so you’ll always be able to practice and develop your workplace skills.
• As you’d expect, many of our computing facilities can be accessed across the internet, allowing you to work on your assignments whenever and wherever you choose.
• Your final year project offers the chance to specialise in an area of interest. We’ll support you to develop it as a portfolio of work that demonstrates your knowledge and skills, ready to impress potential employers.

Professional recognition

• In the first two years of study, you’ll register with the Cisco Networking Academy to enrol for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) study programme. A Cisco certificate is awarded after you successfully complete each of the four parts. Once you’ve completed the CCNA study programme, you can choose to sit the Cisco CCNA examination at an external testing centre. A separate charge is payable to Cisco for the external exam.

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.

Construction project management requires highly skilled individuals who can lead and integrate multidisciplinary teams of professionals. That could be you.

This challenging, industry-focused course gives you the opportunity to not only develop the academic and technical knowledge you’ll need to be a ‘CPM’, but also the management and interpersonal skills so essential for success in this career.

You’ll get to build on the knowledge and experience you’ll have acquired in your undergraduate studies, or in work experience, while we help you prepare to take on the strategic responsibilities that come with managing construction projects. The course is based on the Chartered Institute of Building’s definition of construction project management, which encompasses the whole project lifecycle, from ‘inception to recycling’. As such, sustainability is a key element of this course.

Our teaching staff bring vast industry experience to the course, and many are involved in leading research as part of their own professional development – which means they’re currently involved directly in today’s construction industry, here and all over the world.

Highlights

• You can examine and investigate real practical issues from industry in an academic context.
• The course aims to develop your skills through extensive use of case studies, seminars and discussion groups.
• You’ll benefit from regular small-group tutorials with professional staff, and have the opportunity to ask for one-to-one advice from subject experts.
• Guest speakers from across the construction industry support your learning.
• We pledge to mentor you beyond successful postgraduate qualification, into a professional role that befits your knowledge, skills and management abilities.

Key Features

• We encourage your commitment to lifelong learning through continuing professional development and professional body membership.
• We’ll support you to develop systematic and innovative thinking in your approach to problem solving and decision making in construction project management.
• You’ll also have numerous opportunities to develop your understanding of the sustainability agenda, linking lower carbon to lower cost.
• You’ll have the chance to learn how to evaluate the effects of global changes on the construction industry.
• You can find out how to support theoretical knowledge with analytical thinking and information gathering as you resolve complex operational problems.

Professional recognition

• The programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Successful graduates, with appropriate experience, may then to apply to the CIOB for full corporate membership and use the designatory letters ‘MCIOB’ after their name.

If you’re skilled in science and want to make a difference in the healthcare industry, our Biomedical Engineering degree course could give you the opportunity to fulfil your goals and reach your full potential. Incorporating elements of engineering, health, biology and sport, biomedical engineering is concerned with the design, development and technical support of medical equipment used by the healthcare industry.

This course aims to provide you with a good grounding in biomedical engineering principles and related subjects like biomechanics, application of engineering materials and product design. Run in collaboration with the University’s specialists in human movement science, the course also presents opportunities to learn more about how biomedical engineering supports rehabilitation for a diverse population, from general public patients, to professional athletes.

We offer access to the latest technology, high-specification laboratory equipment and the chance to work with internationally recognised research teams. You’ll also benefit from varied teaching and interactive learning opportunities designed to help you develop and apply problem solving, modelling and analytical skills, based on theory and practice.

Highlights

• This course has been developed with input from key industry employers. We have strong industry links, reinforced by live briefs and case studies developed in conjunction with industry, as well as opportunities for placements.
• You’ll receive hands-on access to a wide variety of specialist facilities, including our high-spec instrumentation laboratory, microscopy facility, tissue engineering suite, biomechanics facility, biomedical sensors lab and rapid prototyping facility.
• You can participate in the annual IMechE challenge, where you’ll have the opportunity to design, create and operate a device to solve real world problems.
• This course follows the guidelines developed by the Engineering Council (UK-SPEC).

Key Features

• You’ll have the opportunity to access advanced technology, such as our 3D motion capture system (with ground reaction force platforms), isokinetic dynamometer, mass spectrometer, 3D printing, teaching robot, composite materials manufacturing cell, engineering simulation software and confocal microscope.
• Working with internationally recognised research teams, you’ll explore subject areas like materials, medical devices and biological systems in depth, witnessing real life applications of biomedical devices in sports science and rehabilitation contexts.
• You’ll be introduced to topics that explore the principles and influencing factors of medical engineering and the wider multidisciplinary engineering context, such as issues of ethics and economics.
• On successful completion of this course, you’ll be awarded a BEng (Hons) in Biomedical Engineering.

Professional recognition
We’re in the process of obtaining accreditation of the BEng (Hons) Biomedical Engineering programme from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

Elite sports people need an elite support team – and expert strength and conditioning coaches are in demand world-wide to promote and guide the physical development of athletes and sports teams. Aimed at graduates with relevant academic and vocational experience, this course is designed to build on your existing knowledge, opening doors to higher levels of responsibility and professional accreditation in strength and conditioning.

Based in Bolton One, the University of Bolton’s specially designed sports and health teaching and research centre, this practically-focused Master’s degree aims to help you gain the academic and theoretical knowledge (for evidence-based practice), and professional, vocational and practical skills needed for success in this competitive industry. Our dedicated team of experienced academic practitioners, who have worked at all levels of elite and professional sport, will guide you in an exploration of the science and coaching of strength and conditioning.

We’ll support you to advance your understanding and make strong links between theory and practice in areas such as biomechanics, physiology, nutrition, coaching and leadership. Our commitment is to helping you develop as a practitioner, informed by the latest research and on-going developments in the sciences of sports and human performance, so that you can become a leader in the field of strength and conditioning.

Highlights

• Specialist facilities in Bolton One include a dedicated strength and conditioning suite, sport and exercise laboratories focusing on physiology and biomechanics, fully equipped teaching clinics, a rehabilitation and exercise suite, a multi-use sports hall and climbing wall, our Sports and Spinal Injuries Clinic, and much more.
• Bolton One is also home to our Athlete Development Centre (ADC), offering you opportunities to work alongside our professional practitioners helping athletes, sports teams and coaches at all levels improve their performance. The ADC currently has a client base that includes professional football and rugby league, GB Weightlifting, Triathlon England, Triathlon Australia, England Athletics, and professional combat sport athletes.
• Professional experience is an essential element of the course that gives valuable, hands-on, real-life experience in a professional sports setting. Our extensive network of sports industry contacts and partners means we can offer a wide variety of placements.
• Guest lecturers with a strong background in applied strength and conditioning contribute to the course, and have included coaches to elite athletes, book authors, internationally recognised researchers, NGB coaches, and internationally recognised strength and conditioning specialists.
• The UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) does not accredit any university degrees. However, we believe this course exceeds the academic requirements detailed in their Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach (ASCC) Competency Document, as well as the requirements to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) in the USA, meaning you can focus on meeting their experiential requirements.

Key Features

• Our highly-qualified lecturers and staff are also experienced existing practitioners, offering strong links with industry, and expertise and applied experience in areas such as strength and conditioning, physiological testing, sport and performance psychology, biomechanics, physiotherapy and sport rehabilitation.
• One of the longest-standing Strength & Conditioning MSc programmes in the UK, this course has a proven track record of producing graduates who are highly employable and are now leading the way across the industry; for instance, our alumni have senior roles at Premier League football clubs, Super League clubs, and in International Rugby Union, International Cricket and Boxing.
• We’re committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend relevant masterclasses, external courses and events that enhance your learning; helping you to make contacts in the industry and contributing to your professional development.
• Alongside specialist strength and conditioning knowledge, you’ll have the chance to further develop your skills in research, data collection and evaluation, critical reasoning and analysis, as well as in areas such as communication, presentation, team working and problem solving.
• We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, specialist sports teaching facilities in Bolton One, and excellent IT and library services. You’ll also be able to access a great range of recreational sport and exercise facilities for when you need to exercise your body instead of your mind.

Our BA (Hons) Creative Writing degree explores ‘how to put the best possible words in the best possible order’. Your imagination is boundless and we’ll help you to focus and control your ideas to give them shape, energy and structure. Our dedicated team of professional writers and lecturers will guide you on a journey through the worlds of prose, poetry and drama, and contemporary creative practice.

We’ll nurture and support you in exploring the rich, expressive potential of the English language and your development of the crafts of writing. Alongside this, we’ll examine, from a writer’s point of view, a wide range of creative work in various forms. Small group teaching and one-to-one support are central to our approach, allowing our expert team to offer personalised guidance that’s tailored specifically for you.

You’ll have opportunities to refine and develop your skills at every stage, from initial concept, through planning, background research and first drafts, to editing, re-writing and self-critique. The final year combines the creative, the critical and the practical. You’ll write a significant piece of creative work: a calling card script, collection of poetry or an extended piece of fiction; you’ll research and analyse a chosen area of creative practice; and you’ll undertake a work placement in an area associated with your individual career goals. Throughout the course, you’ll gain confidence, skills and knowledge, preparing you for a successful career in a multitude of industries.

Highlights

• The Guardian University Guide 2020 ranks the University of Bolton as second in the UK for the study of English and Creative Writing.
• Also, our Creative Writing courses are top in the North West and second in the UK for student satisfaction according to The Complete University Guide 2020.
• Our dedicated lecturers are active professional writers and researchers whose work continues to be published, or produced on stage, screen or radio. They bring this wealth of expertise and practical knowledge to their teaching.
• We have excellent industry contacts and strong links with external creative organisations such as publishers, production companies, theatres, libraries, art galleries, schools, funding bodies and arts development agencies that allow us to offer work experience placements in a wide variety of settings.
• In particular, our partnership with the nationally acclaimed Octagon Theatre, Bolton means you have opportunities for privileged access to rehearsals, dress rehearsals, professional actors and directors, and discounted tickets for productions.
• In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to enter the Octagon Student Prize. Awarded annually for outstanding achievement in writing drama, the winning piece is given a professional presentation with practitioners.
• We’ll encourage you to submit your work to our ISSN recognised literary magazine ‘The Bolton Review’, and to our annual poetry competition.
• The annual New Writing Showcase offers you a chance to perform your work at the Bolton Octagon Studio or similar venue.
• As a Creative Writing student, you'll be eligible to enter work for the Carcanet Poetry Prize and for the And Other Stories Fiction Prize.

Key Features

• All our lecturers are professional writers and researchers who’ve produced and continue to publish poetry, prose, plays and papers with national and international periodicals and imprints.
• Experimentation is encouraged and you’ll be introduced to many different types of writing, from creative to critical, to help you develop your voice and gain awareness of the enormous variety of careers that creative writing skills support.
• We offer a friendly and supportive intellectual community. You’ll be encouraged to get to know your peers from other subjects such as English, Theatre and Media, Writing and Production, with whom you’ll be participating in a variety of external creative events and/or collaborative projects.
• There’ll be guest lectures from professionals from all aspects of the writing industry: producers, scriptwriters, poets, novelists, agents, publishers, promoters, and directors. Names you may recognise such as Sally Wainwright, Patrick Ness and Jenn Ashworth have given presentations in recent years.
• ‘Live Literature’ is our well-established, vibrant series of readings from published poets, fiction writers and playwrights, held in conjunction with Bolton Library and Museum Services.
• We’ll work to help you develop a range of skills alongside your writing that are highly valued by employers, such as creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, team working, time management, research and critical analysis, IT, cultural awareness and lifelong learning.

Professional recognition

• The University of Bolton is linked via creative partnerships with Bolton’s own Octagon Theatre and Carcanet, a leading and prize-winning poetry publisher based in Manchester. The university is currently fostering links with South Yorkshire’s leading literary development organisation, The Poetry Business.
• Writers and lecturers who teach on the course have established links with a variety of media and organisations, including The Guardian, The Poetry Society, NAWE, The British Council and Arts Council England.

There are over 2250 active games companies in the UK, with over 95 in the Manchester area alone*. Our Games Art degree was designed after consultation with industry experts from a number of these companies and aims to prepare you for a career creating interactive worlds and charismatic characters for the games industry.

Taking an intensely practical approach that is designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry, we’ll work to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in traditional and handheld game art.

We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.

*Ukie, June 2018, UK Games Map - http://ukie.org.uk/research/ accessed on 22 August 2019

Highlights

• Interdisciplinary projects with students from our other games courses give you opportunities to learn the vocabulary, production pipelines and work cultures of these disciplines along with valuable team working skills.
• We collaborate with games development companies on games usability testing, and offer you the opportunity to test these upcoming games before they go to market. Previous students have even had their names mentioned in the game credits.
• Our dedicated games labs feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software, including Wacom Cintiq drawing screens, Pixologic Zbrush, Autodesk Maya, and Substance Painter/Designer.
• Our Game Jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your team working, problem solving and project management skills.
• In our portfolio modules, you can focus your project on the area of games art in which you wish to specialise, giving you the chance to create a large portfolio piece for your showreel.
• During your final year, you’ll work with students from our other games courses to produce a complete game demo that will be available for industry employers to view at the end-of-year degree show.

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.
• Our dedicated games tutors have a vast range of industry experience and an extensive network of contacts in the games industry. Members of our team have worked in AAA studios, run their own studios, authored books and are actively conducting research.
• Team working and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work on games projects in interdisciplinary teams with students from our other games courses.
• We organise studio visits and field trips to games development companies, and will encourage and support you to undertake work experience and industrial placements with relevant studios.
• 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.
• We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.

The global games industry continues to grow. Worth over $137 billion in 2018, this value is predicted to rise to over $180 billion by the end of 2021*. Games offers lucrative careers at the cutting-edge of technology and talented games programmers are always in demand in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Offering a broad education in games programming, design, development and technology, our Games Programming degree emphasises the technical aspects of game production. We aim for you to become a skilled programmer and you’ll use C++, the principal programming language in the games industry, at each stage of the course. We assume no prior knowledge of programming but a good knowledge of mathematics, especially algebra, will help you succeed on the course. We’ll guide and support you throughout your studies to help you master object orientated programming and design techniques and learn about advanced programming data structures and algorithms for game development.

Games and interactive applications are becoming more cinematic in look and feel so we teach maths and physics in a very practical way to help you learn to create 2D and 3D environments where behaviour and movement looks realistic. You’ll also have opportunities to gain experience of multi-platform programming and artificial intelligence techniques used in the development of efficient and robust games.

Highlights

• 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.
• We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.
• Team working skills are essential so you’ll have opportunities to work with students from our Games Design and Games Art courses on projects that mimic the multi-disciplinary teams found in the industry.
• Our Game Jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your programming and problem solving skills.
• We collaborate with games development companies on beta testing, offering you the chance to test upcoming games before they go to market. Previously, students have even got their names mentioned in game credits.
• 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.

Key Features

• Teaching staff on the games courses have a vast range of industry experience and an extensive network of contacts in the games industry.
• The course covers both 2D and 3D game environments and game engines for traditional gaming (PC and console), mobile gaming (cloud, social and casual) and virtual reality gaming, along with game play analysis and hardware specification.
• We organise studio visits and field trips to games development companies, and will encourage and support you to undertake work experience and industrial placements.
• We design the course assignments and projects so that they mimic industry pipelines and standards to give you a real feel for a career in the games sector.
• Our dedicated games labs feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software.