Master of Arts in Research Biography

at University of Buckingham United Kingdom

The academic staff in the Applied Computing Department (ACD) are all engaged in research and publications. Considering its modest size, ACD has successfully attracted research funding from various sources in the UK and the EU, including industry, research councils, HEA and EU framework projects such as FP6. Furthermore, ACD has been working and collaborating with many European research institutions.

For the academic year, 2012-2013, two PhD and six MSc students (one in Mathematics) have graduated, four of whom graduated with Distinction. The two PhD students have made it for the March graduation and we expect to have three or four more completing their PhD research programmes for the next graduation. One of our new PhD students in Computing joined the Department last October, and three other PhD students have joined us since. Over the last few years, the number of research students in ACD has grown steadily to (currently) 29 PhD and two Master’s research students.

We have had over 20 refereed conference and journal papers published during the last 12 months, and two of the papers have been awarded best paper awards.

ACD supports diverse research topics addressing varied applied computing technologies such as:

• Image processing and pattern recognition with applications in biometric-based person identification, image super-resolution, digital watermarking and steganography, content-based image/video indexing and retrieval, biomedical image analysis.
• Multi-factor authentication and security algorithms.
• Wireless networks technologies (Multi-frequency Software-Defined / Cognitive Radios, convergence and integration of different wireless technologies and standards such as WiFi and WiMax, IPv4 and IPv6, wireless mesh technologies, intrusion detection and prevention, efficiency and stability of ad hoc networks).
• Hybrid navigation and localisation integrations for mobile handsets, including using Cellular and WiFi in conjunction with GPS and Glonass for seamless positioning indoors, Multiplexed receive chain of GPS/Glonass with on-board handset Bluetooth/WiFi, GNSS signals multiplexing for real-time simulation.
• Cloud computing, including the readiness of mobile operating systems for cloud services and focusing on techniques for fast computing handovers, efficient virtualisation and optimised security algorithms.
• Data mining techniques, including database systems, the application of data mining techniques in image and biological data, human-computer interaction and visual languages.
• Research and development of Apps for mobile devices and smart TVs, particularly for application in the areas of education and healthcare.
• Differential geometry – Einstein metrics, quasi-Einstein metrics, Ricci solitons, numerical methods in differential geometry.

As well as researching the chosen subject, our students engage in delivering seminars weekly, attending conferences and workshops, attending online webinars and discussion forums, attending training and focused group studies, supervising tutorial and laboratory sessions for undergraduate students, peer reviews and final year project supervision, among a host of technical and networking activities to enhance their skills and techniques.

Our fast-track 2-year Economics programme will explore these topics and many others. The course is designed to equip students with the quantitative and analytical skills to progress into economics-related jobs in finance, business and consulting, as well as preparing them for master’s level study.

As a student, you will blend theory in econometrics, macroeconomics, financial markets and microeconomic behaviour, together with practical real-world analysis and policy applications. We regularly host events and seminars where you can see the latest research from our own academics.

Our academics offer a supportive, diverse and creative environment for you to explore your interests and ensure a successful educational experience. You will join an international community of students, staff and alumni.

A dedicated professional development course runs through the degree covering academic and job market skills. You will also benefit from internships and research opportunities in the Vinson Centre for Economics and Entrepreneurship.

There are also many optional choices built into the programme that allows you to tailor your degree to suit your career or academic preferences.

Many graduates continue their studies with us at master’s level or careers in banking and financial markets, corporate finance, economic consultancy and think tanks.

We are the beneficiaries of a substantial endowment from Nobel prize winning economist Ronald Coase and offer several generous scholarships for students with a passion for Economics. We especially encourage women and ethnic minorities to apply.

The unique structure of Buckingham’s Law and Criminology degree (LLB), with four full teaching terms per calendar year, enables you to graduate after just two years of study (eight, or nine terms with September start).

In addition to your legal studies, you will complete 120 units of criminology, allowing you to develop a deep and wide-ranging understanding of the origins, causes and consequences of crime and criminality. This includes knowledge and understanding of legal and criminological research methods, referencing protocols and the different primary and secondary sources of law. Criminology itself is an interdisciplinary subject comprised of the legal, social, psychological, and cultural aspects of crime.

The Law and Criminology degree also satisfies the necessary first step for qualifying as a lawyer in various common law jurisdictions, including Canada, Nigeria, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

For those interested in qualifying as a solicitor in the UK, the Law and Criminology degree provides you with thorough preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam 1 (SQE1), enabling you to choose the accelerated SQE1 preparation courses after graduation. Our innovative and diverse curriculum also contributes to preparation for the practice-orientated SQE2, both SQE1 and SQE2 being necessary for qualification as a solicitor.

For those UK and international students wishing to qualify as an English barrister, the Law and Criminology degree satisfies the academic component of Bar training, the necessary first step to qualifying as an English barrister.

Buckingham Law School also offers a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities to develop your professional skills and experience of legal practice. These opportunities include the possibility, between the first and second year of your LLB, of a sandwich year placement with a professional organisation.

We often accommodate the particular requirements needed to practise in various common law jurisdictions other than the UK. If you are an international student from one of these jurisdictions, we are happy to discuss what subjects you must take to qualify.

Our Law and Criminology graduates who gain a second-class honours degree, or higher, are guaranteed a place on our LLM programme in International and Commercial Law. This opportunity greatly enhances specialist knowledge and enables our students to acquire two degrees in only three years.

LLB Law degree allows our students to become confident, competent lawyers, able to practise almost anywhere in the world after just two years (eight or nine terms) of study.

With an English ‘qualifying law degree’ from Buckingham you will be recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (formerly the Law Society) and the Bar Standards Board as qualified to be exempt from the academic stage of training for entry into the legal profession. Every LLB programme at Buckingham (whether single honours or combined honours) provides our graduates with this qualification.

We can usually accommodate the additional requirements needed to practise in some countries and if you are an overseas student we are happy to discuss exactly what subjects you must take in order to qualify for your jurisdiction.

During your study for the Buckingham LLB Law you will become proficient in written and oral presentation, perfect your research techniques and learn to solve problems in a logical and structured way.

Well-functioning legal institutions are crucial to economic growth, development and more equitable distribution of resources. The connection between the legal system and the success of business has been shown repeatedly in the 20th Century.

The 2-year fast track programme offers a unique blend of business, economics and law covering micro and macro-economics, labour market economics, human rights law, corporate and business law, business management and business strategy.

We regularly host events and seminars where we discuss the latest research from our academics and invite speakers from the world of business and entrepreneurship.

Our academics offer a supportive, diverse and creative environment for you to explore your interests and ensure a successful educational experience. You will join an international community of students, staff and alumni.

A dedicated professional development course runs through the degree covering academic and job market skills. You will also benefit from internships and research opportunities in the Vinson Centre for Economics and Entrepreneurship.

Students taking this programme might be aiming to enter the legal profession by going on to take the Common Professional Examination and later specialise in areas of law such as anti-trust, securities regulation or taxation. Graduates can also move onto several master’s level programmes and is well suited to students who intend to take an MBA degree before entering business.

We are the beneficiaries of a substantial endowment from Nobel prize-winning economist Ronald Coase, who had a major specialism in the interface between Law and Economics and won the Nobel prize for that research. We offer several generous scholarships for students with a passion for Economics and Law. We especially encourage women and ethnic minorities to apply. Coase Scholarship details and eligibility criteria.

The three year BSc Psychology with foundation is designed for students who need additional preparation prior to the undergraduate level study. The first year of the programme is intended to provide a foundation in both knowledge and academic skills for the more specialist subjects in years two and three. When you apply for this programme, we will be able to advise whether this 3-year (BA/BSc with integrated Foundation) option or our 2-year UG degree is the best option for you.

As a student, you will learn core theory and have the opportunity to study the eight areas of practitioner psychology, enabling you to make an informed choice on your future career as a psychologist. In addition, we have modules in distinct areas of study such as creativity and cyberpsychology.

The BSc Psychology with foundation programme at Buckingham has been designed to integrate the unique Buckingham tutorial teaching model into the teaching of psychological science. The programme is based on three core elements. First, covering the core theoretical content required for British Psychological Society accreditation meaning that the degree has both national and international recognition. Second, strong research methods and analysis skills embedded within the programme so that Buckingham graduates have begun to develop a range of highly employable skills.

BA History of Art and Heritage Management provides a first-class rounded education and excellent intellectual training.

While the primary focus is on the visual arts, the subject also touches on many other traditional humanities disciplines such as literature, history, religion, languages, classics, psychology and philosophy, with which it provides natural subject combinations.

Students acquire skills of critical and historical analysis and the ability to evaluate evidence and present arguments fluently, both orally and in writing.

The BSc Psychology with Spanish first-year covers two Psychology modules per term and the third module from another department (for breadth). In the second year, it concentrates on Psychology alone, studying the same modules as the Psychology major students, together with several new more specialised modules.

This popular and exciting degree programme offers an excellent basis for anyone wishing to go into a psychology-related career.

A foreign language is always an excellent skill to have, and the BSc Psychology with Spanish is great study option for anyone interested in psychology who wants the opportunity of learning another language to a high level.

This strategic marketing MSc will be invaluable to anyone wishing to pursue a career in marketing (e.g. marketing management, brand management, customer experience and customer service management).

In today’s global, digital world, effective strategic marketing puts the customer and their needs at the centre of decision-making, and a clear focus on customer experience is a critical part of this.  An understanding of this need for customer-centricity is at the core of our MSc in Strategic Marketing & Customer Experience Management.

This leading-edge programme is designed to be totally relevant to today’s organisations, exposing you to managerially relevant theory and practice, which will be of value in real-world business contexts.  The programme will provide you with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to help firms address the marketing challenges that lie at the heart of their business.

This programme provides an in-depth understanding of how firms can develop compelling value propositions, within the context of the strategic marketing planning process, and then how to deliver these value propositions across the customer journey, creating a positive customer experience.

In addition, the programme will enable you to examine the concept of service from many perspectives, by exploring service systems as well as service leadership, along with the critically important area of managing employees in a service-focused culture.

The programme also provides an understanding of consumer behaviour and digital and social media marketing – essential knowledge in this complex, digital world where consumers increasingly expect a seamless omnichannel experience throughout their customer journeys.

Additionally, a practical research methods module will set you up to embark on a dissertation, which will give you the opportunity to ‘deep dive’ into an aspect of the programme which is particularly inspiring.

The BSc in Computing with Accounting and Finance (including Integrated Foundation year) programme will benefit those individuals who wish to study an undergraduate degree but have non-standard academic qualifications.

Year one will follow the same structure as the BSc Computing (with Integrated Foundation) programme first year. In years two and three our students will build on these skills and enhance their knowledge, understanding and practice in core subjects following the BSc Computing with Accounting and Finance programme structure. Throughout the three years, a student will be equipped with the skills to reach their potential in academic studies.

Computing and communications technologies lie at the heart of modern society. They include hardware, software, networks, tools, telecommunications equipment and required standards that provide the technological framework on which the delivery of information services is based. The IT industry is reporting a widening gap in software skills while hard technology is developing and diversifying fast.

The overall aim of this programme is to enable all students to develop their potential so that they can apply what they have learnt to deal with computational problems and develop solutions in a real-world environment in relation to accounting and finance. Through studying this programme, students learn how to specify, design, develop and operate efficient and innovative computer-based systems and gain up-to-date knowledge and awareness of the relevant computing technologies within a shorter space of time. Graduates of the degree programme will be able to undertake a variety of careers in the IT sector of related industries.

This major/minor programme of study specifically aims to produce technically sound computing graduates who are exposed to basic concepts and practice of accounting and finance, providing them with IT and computing technical know-how as well as awareness of the principles of the application areas.