Bachelor of Science in Data Science

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

Sociology is a well established discipline, as relevant to the study of 21st-century societies as it is to the sweeping changes of the Industrial Revolution.

Sociologists are concerned with society’s structures, forms of action, and cultural practices and they are uniquely placed to understand the changes of social life. This course provides the academic and professional support needed for you to develop your own sociological imagination.

The first year provides a solid grounding in sociology, followed by a greater choice of units linked to staff research interests in subsequent years. Recently, these units have covered subjects such as culture, ethnicity, class, migration, modern slavery, popular music, racism and science.

There is a strong emphasis on research skills throughout, with compulsory units in the first two years. In your final year, you will conduct a piece of supervised sociological research on a topic of your choice that draws on these research skills.

Examine the interactions between the geology, biology, chemistry and physics of Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere and gain a deep understanding of Earth’s environment and how it can be influenced by human activities.

Learn with experts whose research feeds directly into your studies at the cutting edge of scientific developments. Recent options have included Soils and the Critical Zone, Environmental Impact Assessments, Oceans and Climates, and Environmental Radioactivity.

This course recognises the importance of statistical analysis in these two core disciplines, as well as the benefit of studying econometrics: the application of statistical methods to data to estimate economic models.

The first two years of the degree are focused on building your mathematical and analytical abilities, with mandatory units in micro- and macro-economics, mathematics, statistics and econometrics, and the fundamentals of accounting and finance. These allow you to develop the necessary skills to complete the applied economics dissertation in your final year, when you can also choose from a wide range of optional units.

Previously, economics units have included Economics of Developing Countries, Behavioural Economics, and International Economics.

Previous finance units have included Financial Crises, International Finance, and Portfolio Management.

We offer you the opportunity to extend your degree to four years and spend your third year studying economics in English at a top-ranking university in Europe or farther afield before returning to Bristol for your final year.

This programme allows you to combine the challenging, broad academic content of a Bristol economics degree with an overseas dimension that reflects the international nature of the economy. For further details of year abroad opportunities visit Global Opportunities.

Our education master's degrees give you the opportunity to design a tailored program of study that suits your learning and professional needs. You will be able to specialise and receive an award in a particular disciplinary area.

This program focuses on inclusive practice. It is intended for teachers and other professionals working with students who are experiencing barriers to learning and participation or other special educational needs, whether in mainstream schools, special schools/units, colleges or early years settings.

It is designed to help you develop your knowledge, understanding and critical skills in analysing and evaluating current research, theory and practice. The program will provide you with opportunities to explore a range of areas, such as international developments in special/inclusive education, how to work with and involve parents and children, and the school's role in promoting inclusion. You will also look at a range of topics that arouse controversy and debate in the area of special needs.

The Inclusive Education pathway is designed for professionals with some experience, either in paid employment or as a volunteer.

Our BSc Finance will equip you with the skills necessary for a successful career in the financial services industry as well as in economic consultancy, in government departments or in regulatory agencies. You will also be well placed to pursue specialist postgraduate studies.

The course offers rigorous training in all areas of finance with a focus on the quantitative skills that are required in every aspect of financial decision making today. Through a choice of core and optional units, you will gain exposure to the related fields of economics, accounting, management and business law.

The course is designed by researchers who have industry or regulatory experience. It is among the first courses in the UK to contain coverage of new and disruptive forms of finance at the undergraduate level, including cryptocurrencies, FinTech, digital finance (Big Data), smart beta investing, peer-to-peer lending, and high-frequency trading.

You will learn to relate concepts and theories to financial practice through the use of specialist industry newspapers, including the Dow Jones Financial News and data vendors, such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters Eikon as well as Refinitiv.

The MSc Education Open Pathway allows you to design your own programme of study based on your areas of interest, rather than tying you in to a particular subject area. You can therefore pick and choose units from across the seven different specialist pathways as well as from our wider bank of optional units. For example, if your interests spanned both educational policy and the use of technology in education you might combine units from the Leadership and Policy Pathway with units from the Learning, Technology and Society Pathway.

A very diverse range of students take this pathway, attracted by the freedom that it offers. Many students are international drawn from a range of countries beyond Europe having recently completed their undergraduate studies. Many of these students nonetheless have some experience of teaching, volunteering or some other work experience in schools or education more broadly.

Other students, are more mature and returning to education after a longer period of work and so bring a wider wealth of experiences, yet wish to formalise their learning. All this diversity in backgrounds and experiences creates a rich learning environment and sharing of ideas among students and academics alike.

After completing the MSc, most students want to work in education in some form. But here too there is range in students’ goals and aspirations. Other students want to use the Masters year to develop their skills as educational researchers in order to go on to study for a PhD with us or elsewhere.