Master of Science Optical Communications and Signal Processing

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

This course is ideal for students interested in learning more about how to use numbers and data within sociology. It provides training in practical and analytical skills, which will enhance your career prospects and provide you with a strong platform for postgraduate study. No prior knowledge of statistical techniques is required.

About two thirds of your studies will follow the single honours sociology course. You will study society’s structures, forms of action and cultural practices, and understand changes in social life. You will gain a thorough grounding in sociology, as well as opportunities to specialise in new areas of research conducted by academics at the forefront of the discipline.

The remaining third of your course will provide interdisciplinary training in quantitative methods. In year one of the quantitative pathway we discuss how numbers and data are used to tell convincing stories in the media and social research. We consider what is meant by segregation and how it can be mapped and measured.

Year two offers practical classes in social statistics and applied data analysis, which will develop your skills in numeracy and analysis.

This course enables you to pursue a career in the accounting profession with the benefit of a year in industry. It provides access to subjects accredited by professional accountancy bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Alternatively, you may pursue a career in finance or investment banking through our finance-oriented courses.

This is a four-year course underpinned by theory and practice. It aims to foster collaboration and creative thinking in the use of case studies. 

During your placement year you will undertake a paid placement within the accounting function of a large organisation or within an accountancy firm. Previously, students have secured roles at PwC, Grant Thornton, Hazlewoods, and Milsted Langdon. 

Places on the course are allocated on merit depending on first-year examination results and an offer of employment for your placement from a qualifying employer. You can work towards your professional accreditation with ICAEW during your placement year. 

You can also benefit from a range of specialist employability services from the faculty’s Professional Liaison Network.

The course is designed for students who seek to broaden their knowledge on the economy and understand the linkage with accounting. Therefore, it combines two courses, economics and accounting.

The economics aspect provides students with insight into economic institutions (eg banks), actors, and policies that underpin and influence the financial market. The accounting aspect explores accounting institutions (eg audit firms), accounting regulations, and accounting techniques that are used by and support organisations that actively participate in and outside the market.

This course is unique as it offers students access to an interdisciplinary perspective that includes psychology and sociology. Students learn from academic experts in the field, who work with businesses in the financial industry. The knowledge acquired from the field is used to design and shape the curriculum, thereby enabling students to keep abreast with commercial and contemporary issues.

This course provides students with rewarding opportunities to participate in a summer internship and the Bristol PLUS Award. You'll also benefit from the Professional Liaison Network, which runs a professional mentoring scheme with alumni, insight talks and internships.

The course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) by way of exemptions from some professional examinations enabling students to fast-track their careers. 

Previously, graduates have gone on to work for the Bank of England, JP Morgan, UBS, PwC, KPMG, EY, Microsoft, IBM and many other blue-chip organisations.

Physics is a truly international venture. This degree generally follows the structure of the MSci Physics course, offering a comprehensive grounding in physics and mathematics, practical work in the laboratory, and computational physics, alongside the study of a language to prepare you for your third year in Europe.

You will be placed at a partner university in Europe for an academic year, studying units that parallel, as far as possible, the third year of the Bristol degree programme. For further details of year, abroad opportunities visit Global Opportunities.

In your final year back in Bristol you will undertake a major project or dissertation, working in a research group with a member of staff. Our students' final-year projects address questions at the frontier of our research fields, and the most successful have been published in scientific journals.

You will join a friendly department with a very active, award-winning student society. We encourage you to develop a broad range of skills, including problem solving and communication while experiencing life as a physicist in a different culture.

Our physics graduates have an excellent record of employment, a testament to the value that employers place on these skills.

This course combines philosophy with the study of politics and international relations. This provides a valuable skill set ideally tailored to the increasingly globalised workplace.

For philosophy you will study units including Introduction to Philosophy, Logic and Critical Thinking and Realism and Normativity, and may write an extended essay.

In politics you will study the politics of individual countries and governments and the relationships between them, communities and individuals. You will become familiar with many different views and methods and learn to analyse and evaluate them.

Politics is organised around three themes:

• Political theory
• Comparative and national politics
• International relations.

The MSc in Medical Statistics and Data Science will enable you to engage with the complex statistical and data science healthcare challenges facing the global community, providing high-quality training in statistical and computational methods that are applicable to low-, middle- and high-income settings.

As a medical statistician you will play a vital role in improving the health of populations by conducting statistical research (such as designing clinical trials and epidemiological studies, analysing data and interpreting results) to advance medical knowledge, track or prevent diseases and improve medications and treatments.  

Challenges have arisen over the last decade in the increasing availability of enormous electronic datasets related to human health and healthcare. Data science combines mathematics, statistics and programming tools to enable analysis of these very large and diverse datasets.  

You will be trained in the theory and practice of cutting-edge methods in medical statistics and data science (including causal inference, machine learning and data mining). Teaching will focus on building strong quantitative and computational skills, and effective interpretation and communication of research findings. All concepts, skills and tools are illustrated using real-life case studies and health-related data. You will gain professional skills - such as teamwork, presentation skills and writing for publication - essential for a successful medical statistician and data scientist.