Bachelor of Science in Economics

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

Researchers, research managers, policy advisers and service planners are all faced with a growing need for research that is timely and relevant. This program builds on the links between research and policy in developing the particular skills and capacities needed by policy-oriented researchers, professionals and postgraduate students who are interested in carrying out public policy, social policy and social welfare research. We believe this is vital if researchers are to maximise the impact of their work in addressing issues of real concern to policymakers.

The program provides core research training in philosophy and research design in the social sciences, along with introductions to and further approaches in quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences. It also offers optional units in our particular areas of research expertise, such as child and family welfare, gender and violence, health and social care, poverty and social exclusion, and policy-oriented evaluation.

We recognise that students will be joining with relevant - albeit varied - experience. Therefore, there will be opportunities for you to draw on your own experiences as researchers, managers and policy advisers and share insights with other students working towards research degrees in disability studies, social work research and health and wellbeing.

Those who have recently embarked on a career in policy research, or who hope to do so, will find the program offers a combination of academic rigour, up-to-date policy content and relevant skills development.

Core units are taught in collaboration with other postgraduate programs, providing a co-learning environment and giving you the opportunity to interact and share insights with other students working towards research degrees in disability studies, policy research, social work research and health and wellbeing. 

The first two years of this course provide a background in mathematical analysis, modelling and scientific computation and their application to engineering. These core topics underpin the advanced material that follows.

As well as gaining first-hand exposure to pioneering research, after your first two years you will have a wide choice of options from across engineering and mathematics to fit your interests.

A major focus of the course and a key strand throughout the curriculum is real-world problem solving, spanning many different application areas from robotics and social media to medicine and environmental modelling. Problems come from our industrial collaborators or address challenges in current research. Working on these case studies, using theory and techniques from your other units, you will develop your mathematical modelling, collaboration and communication skills.

A highlight is your final year project – a highly creative, challenging and enjoyable experience that is excellent preparation for your future career.

Learn about the physics that underpins the history, structure and dynamics of Earth systems, and how these relate to exploration for natural resources and environmental monitoring.

You will explore the inaccessible parts of Earth’s interior through a range of geophysical techniques and become immersed in hands-on science from the start.

Learn with experts whose research feeds directly into your studies at the cutting edge of scientific developments. Recent options have included?Global Seismology, Near Surface Geophysics Fieldwork and Physical Volcanology. By your final year you’ll be conducting your own independent research and exploring the questions that matter most to you.

Your third year is spent abroad, studying units comparable to those offered in Bristol. Visit Global Opportunities to find out more about where you can study abroad.

MSci courses allow you to study more advanced material in greater depth during the additional year, giving you a career boost through investing in your skills development or preparing you for further research.

Field trips are a huge part of why our community is so tight knit, and you’ll get to know your course mates whilst honing your practical skills. You will gain plenty of hands-on experience, with over 40 days of fieldwork both in the UK and overseas, the cost of which is included in your tuition fee.

The skills developed throughout your studies are highly valued by employers, from scientific and technical skills including coding, modelling, lab skills and data analysis, to transferable skills such as communication, creativity and resilience.

If you love the challenge of thinking through a maths question and the satisfaction of having solved a difficult problem, but also want to think about a broad range of intellectual questions in a rigorous way, this four-year course is for you.

Linked by the formal study of logic, the two components of the course complement each other. You will develop rigorous analysis and argument distinctive of the analytic philosophical tradition, while developing mathematical maturity to reason through subtle ideas in abstract mathematics.

There is also the opportunity to use your mathematical knowledge in the study of the philosophy of biology, economics and physics.

The fourth year of the course allows you to explore mathematics and philosophy in depth, taking advantage of our research-inspired, specialist units.

This course combines philosophy with the study of French, providing a valuable skill set ideally tailored to the increasingly globalised workplace.

In philosophy you will study units covering introduction to philosophy, logic, and realism and normativity. In your first year you will gain a grounding in the fundamentals of philosophy through two mandatory introductory units: one exploring issues in epistemology and metaphysics and the other concerning moral and political philosophy. You will also take a unit exploring critical thinking and logic.

In year two you complete your foundation in philosophy with a mandatory unit on realism and normativity and conduct more detailed study in topics ranging from ethics to the philosophy of language.

In the final year you may undertake an independent study unit on almost any topic in philosophy, writing an extended essay in consultation with a supervisor. Final-year taught units relate to the research interests of staff in areas ranging from global justice to philosophy of physics.

In your first year you will gain a broad understanding of biomedical science and take units in microbiology and diseases caused by microorganisms. In addition to learning about the immune system, you will also study pathology and biochemistry.

In year two you will study the cellular and molecular basis of human diseases caused by microorganisms, such as shigella and tuberculosis, and viruses. As well as learning about the immune response to a variety of infectious microbes, you will investigate how bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance.

Our eBiolabs online resources will help you prepare for practical laboratory sessions in the first and second year.

In your final year you will take three infection units and an optional unit. You will also undertake a research project or scientific dissertation working in a research group either within the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine or in one of the surrounding hospitals. Your work may even be published in scientific literature.

The four-year BSc Medical Microbiology with Study in Industry is available via transfer after securing a placement during your second year.