Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Journalism and Creative Writing

at University of Hertfordshire - De Havilland Campus United Kingdom

Modern media is becoming more and more influential in every aspect of our society, from politics and economics to the way we communicate with our closest friends. The way language is used varies for different media, but you can also look at how language reflects society, and how it changes over time.

Our BA English Language and Media degree introduces you to the scientific study of the English Language and allows you to examine human communication in different media contexts. You’ll explore the theory, historical contexts and modern practices that make up our global media landscape. You’ll examine the emergence of new media in an increasingly media-centric world, discovering the different ways the media communicates, how its industries are connected and how it influences us as individuals and societies.

In your first year you’ll be introduced to media communications in general as well as consider the relationship between media and society alongside core English Language modules. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English.

Core modules in your second year focus on English grammar and the sounds of English. You can explore theories of how and why language developed and study language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation in forensic linguistics. You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of specialist areas such as public relations, advertising and digital media, as well as broader transferable skills like the ability to critically analyse media content.

In your final year you can follow modules in different topics, including child language and communication, clinical linguistics, gender and language, and formulaic language, informed by our academics’ own research specialisms. You’ll also have opportunities to work with fellow students to create media products, go on a work placement, hear from industry speakers and build a network of contacts.

Diagnostic radiographers play a vital role in healthcare by producing patient centred imaging services for the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and disease. This course is ideal for you if you already hold a degree and wish to gain the knowledge and clinical experience needed to become a skilled and competent diagnostic radiographer. Graduates will study the skills, knowledge and competencies to be eligible to apply for registration as diagnostic radiographers with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and be eligible for membership of the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR).

This is a two-year vocational master’s degree which aims to produce competent and forward-thinking radiographers. You'll develop critical thinking, decision making and research skills, enabling you to work effectively and collaboratively. You'll gain the expertise and confidence needed to instigate and support change in a dynamic modern healthcare system. Our graduates will be evidence-based practitioners who will provide a high standard of diagnostic imaging and patient care.

The degree is delivered in a blended learning style, offering theoretical sessions, online and on campus. You'll develop your practical skills using the clinical skills suite and gain hands-on experience in clinical departments in the NHS.

Film and television production is one of the largest growth areas in the creative industries, with major international productions coming to the UK to find the best crews and creatives in the world. Taught by industry professionals and using the latest technology, you will develop the practical skills, creative abilities, technical expertise and business know-how to really kick-start your career. You’ll also take advantage of our excellent links with industry partners, including Warner Bros Studios Leavesden and Elstree Studios, as well as opportunities for work placements and employment.

The Film and Television programme is a ScreenSkills and CILECT accredited course that provides an environment in which students can grow into confident television and film practitioners. We are proud to be among the top 20 for film production, nationally (The Guardian), delivering industry ready graduates into the workplace.

Our course is designed to put the industry and its needs at the heart of our teaching.  Students learn professional skills from the outset, managing and producing their own location and studio-based shoots, and getting the opportunity to experience a variety of key roles on set and in post-production.

Our close partnerships with leading industry figures ensures that students hear about the latest commercial developments, while also putting into practice the long-established methods and techniques, workflows, and standards employed by film and television companies globally.

During your studies, you can take control of your own specialist career development, choosing to focus on those areas of production and post-production that best suit your passions and employment aims.

With modules covering the theory, history and contemporary practice of film and television, the course gives you an understanding of the industry’s past while preparing you to take an active part in its future.

Learn the fundamental skills and knowledge of a modern engineer. This course offers a comprehensive introduction to engineering, giving you the flexibility to work in a broad range of industries. Among the general topics, you’ll study engineering mathematics, materials and electrical science, mechanical science, manufacturing technology, computer-aided engineering and thermodynamics. During your MEng year, you’ll deepen your understanding of engineering through a selection of advanced modules. As with the BEng, you’ll get the chance to work on some impressive team projects, including designing a hovercraft, a Formula Student racing car and an unmanned aircraft. This course is the first step towards chartered engineer status.

• The MEng in Mechanical Engineering is a broad subject and there have been thousands of successful UH graduates of this discipline working in all fields of engineering
• You can apply your knowledge to typical mechanical projects such as the design of a hovercraft
• You may join the automotive students and help design, build and race single-seater race car in the UK Formula Student Competition
• You may join aerospace students on projects involving Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), rocketry and space tourism
• You will learn how to apply computer-aided engineering and industrial-standard software, recommended by the Automotive Industry Advisory Panel
• Students from the School of Engineering and Technology have previously completed work placement years at companies including: Rolls Royce plc, BAE Systems, and RP Aero Systems
• Recent Mechanical Engineering graduates have gone on to work at organisations including: Ocado, Ford and General Electric

More about the Course
Our School of Engineering and Technology is well known for project-orientated learning, and mechanical engineers have the opportunity to take part in exciting team projects such as the UH Hovercraft, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ESCO-UAS) competition or the Formula Student competition. For more information see racing.herts.ac.uk

Our students can take the work placement option, spending their Third Year in industry. Some students take the opportunity to study part of their degree abroad through student exchange programmes with other universities in the EU, USA or Canada.

A mechanical engineering degree will provide you with the flexibility to be employed in any industrial company irrespective of their product range. Mechanical engineers are involved in producing innovative designs, using the latest materials and Computer Aided Engineering systems to meet ever-increasing expectations in 21st century living.  With our excellent teaching standards and facilities, the University has a strong track record of providing industry with these highly skilled professionals.

In your first year you will study the fundamental skills and knowledge required by a modern engineer including principles of flight and an introduction to aircraft systems. In particular you will be introduced to computer packages commonly used in the aerospace industry.

In your second year the core themes from year 1 are further developed so that they can be applied to solve engineering problems encountered in industrial and commercial environments. You will learn about the design process, through both group design and detail design work, and will have the opportunity to work on the Class 200 Formula Student car.

In your third year you have the chance to work for an engineering company on placement.

In your fourth year you have the option of covering either manufacturing or the rapidly growing field of micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS). Project work, both in teams on design and individually on a topic of special interest, encourages you to develop valuable practical, interpersonal and communication skills. You also have the opportunity to work on the University's entry to the Formula Student competition.

In your final year you will study at Masters level, deepening your knowledge and understanding of engineering as well as developing your business and management skills. The Team Project is multidisciplinary and involves applying your skills to solve an unusual and challenging problem.

Nursing is a highly skilled, rewarding and caring profession where you can make a real difference to people’s lives. In adult nursing, you’ll promote health and provide whole-person care in hospitals and the community. Throughout this pre-registration course you’ll develop critical, analytical and reflective skills that allow you to make sound judgements and evidence-based care. Half the course will be spent at the University, where you’ll learn the theoretical foundations of nursing. The other half will be spent in a variety of clinical settings, developing your hands-on skills.

This integration of theory and practice will ensure you become a skilled, competent, compassionate and committed adult nurse.

• Adult nursing is an exciting and rewarding career that can lead to work in a variety of settings.
• You will complete placements in a range of adult settings, both within hospital and the community during your course, learning practical skills that underpin your theoretical knowledge.
• You will develop a sound knowledge of ‘normal’ adult development and behaviours and develop skills in recognising and managing deviations from the norm. 
• 100% of our Adult Nursing graduates went on to employment or further study within 6 months according to the latest national Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.

Our BA English Language and Literature enables you to combine your study of the structure, development and use of English as a world language with your reading of literature written in English from all parts of the globe.

You’ll be taught by research-active academics who bring fresh thinking to our accessible, engaging courses. We’ll introduce you to writers who will open doors to contemporary worlds and cultures remote from your own, and also help you explore more familiar literature in ways that challenge your preconceptions.

You’ll enrich your study of English literature in its cultural and historical contexts through modules on the history of the English language. You’ll balance your reading of poetry and drama with analyses of how language is used in the media, to inform or persuade. The common link between the two disciplines will be your analysis of language and how it operates in literature and in real life.

A core module in your first year will equip you to read and interpret both traditional and contemporary literary texts critically as a scholar of English literature. You’ll also be introduced to English Linguistics, the scientific study of our language, from how language develops in children, to the ways it reflects society and how it changes over time.

Your second-year core modules will focus on English grammar and the sounds of English, and you’ll also study period-based literature from the Renaissance onwards, gaining an understanding of literary history, from Elizabethan verse and drama to the emergence of modernity in the 20 th century. A core module in English Literature will introduce you to a range of theoretical lenses which you can apply to your further study of texts.

You’ll have the chance to specialise in your final year, tailoring your degree to reflect your own interests. English Literature options include children’s literature, young adult fiction, 21 st century American literature and literary adaptations, amongst others.

Alongside these, a module on Corpus Studies in English Language will allow you to bring your literature and language interests together. Using Sketch Engine, a text analysis tool that enables you to search vast databases of language, you’ll be able to search literary texts to identify how particular words have been used in novels or literature. With more than 15 billion words available to you, you’ll be able to ask questions no one has asked before and pursue uniquely creative research projects.

Explore the English Language from a variety of different angles and further your skills with a unique film course which combines the study of film as an art form with learning the practical skills of film making.

Our BA English Language and Film degree introduces you to the scientific study of the English Language and allows you to examine human communication in different contexts. You’ll be taught by research-active academics working in cutting-edge areas.

In your first year you’ll be introduced to film criticism, genre and style. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English. Core modules in your second year focus on English grammar and the sounds of English. You can explore theories of how and why language developed and study language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation in forensic linguistics. You’ll also gain knowledge of film production and you’ll think more about European or US cinema.

In your final year you can follow modules in different topics, including child language and communication, clinical linguistics, gender and language, and formulaic language, informed by our academics’ own research specialisms. You’ll also have the opportunity to make your own video essay as one of your film modules.

We give you:

• A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
• A supportive, research-active academic team
• Access to huge online databases to underpin your original research projects
• CV-building potential through practical experience and extra-curricular activities
• An expert film team with in-depth knowledge of the film industry plus the opportunity to get involved with local cinemas and our own bespoke film club
• A guaranteed post-graduation interview with the School of Education

Philosophy explores and challenges the assumptions that frame the way we think, act and see the world around us. Film is one particularly powerful medium in which this can be achieved. Further your skills with a unique film course which combines the study of film as an art form with learning the practical skills of film making whilst engaging with a variety of deep philosophical issues.

In your first year, you’ll be introduced to film criticism, genre and style. In your philosophy modules, you will be introduced to a variety of philosophical issues ranging from the nature of reality, knowledge and mind, to questions about how we should live, what we should value, and what would be the best way of organizing society. There is also a philosophy module dedicated to exploring the scope and limits film and what it can represent about reality.

All our philosophy lecturers are active researchers, so you’ll share the excitement of doing original work in a supportive and highly-rated academic community. Our Philosophy team is in the top 15 in the Guardian League Table 2019 and rates as one of the 100 best Philosophy departments worldwide in the 2017 QS rankings.

In your second year, you’ll be able to select areas on which to focus, such as on influential works of philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and social and political philosophy. There is also a philosophy of art module, which tackles the question of the relation between artistic representations (in various media) and reality. In your film modules, you’ll also gain knowledge of film production and you’ll think more about European or US cinema.

In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to make your own video essay as one of your film modules, and will delve deeper into more specialist areas of philosophy, such as the philosophy of language, the philosophy of psychology, or feminist philosophy.

• A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
• An exceptional academic team, conducting internationally renowned research
• Stimulating, innovative courses that allow you to make rewarding connections between two disciplines
• CV-building potential through work placements and extra-curricular activities. Previous students in this department have had year long paid placements at Warner Brothers in London, Hatfield House and local museums.
• An expert film team with in-depth knowledge of the film industry plus the opportunity to get involved with local cinemas and our own bespoke film club.

The MPhys allows you to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than the BSc. It’s particularly recommended if you’re interested in pursuing research in industry, government or academia, or if you want to go on to further postgraduate study. During the course you’ll study more advanced topics such as galaxy formation and evolution, high-energy astrophysics and atmospheric physics. You’ll also undertake a large research project within our Centre for Astrophysics Research. We have an innovative strand of industrial projects, supported by the Institute of Physics, that gives you direct experience of working in industrial research. You’ll also have the exciting opportunity to spend a year at a major astronomical research centre or an international observatory.

• The MPhys programme allows students to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than our BSc programme. An MPhys is particularly recommended for those students interested in pursuing research in the industrial, government and academic sectors, and who are likely to consider undertaking further postgraduate study (MSc and/or PhD degrees).

• The MPhys programme allows students to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than our BSc programme.
• In the MPhys year you will study more advanced courses in a range of Astrophysics and Physics specialisms (including Galaxy Formation & Evolution, High Energy Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics), plus undertake a large research project within the Centre for Astrophysics Research.
• Your research project will form a third of your final year and you will be closely supervised and guided by one of our experienced researchers while you work on a cutting-edge problem in modern Astrophysics. Previous projects include developing Lucky Imaging cameras at our observatory, studying extreme variable stars in the Milky Way, studying observations of powerful Active Galactic Nuclei, and designing new space telescopes to study extrasolar planet atmospheres. We have an innovative strand of industrial projects supported by the Institute of Physics that give you direct experience of working in industrial research.

Biochemistry is the study of the fundamental processes of life. Biochemists seek to answer questions about life, health, disease, the natural environment, and materials and compounds, using scientific techniques developed in chemistry and biology. After an initial grounding in chemistry, genetics, cell biology, microbiology and human physiology, you’ll learn the complex biochemical processes that underpin the very latest discoveries. Explore how biochemistry affects the quality of people’s lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of medical treatments to the industrialisation of laboratory processes. Our strong links with industry offer you fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience during your placement year. This degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

• Biochemistry is the scientific study of the chemistry of living cells, tissues, organs and organisms.
• On this degree programme you will study how biochemistry affects our lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of new medical treatments , to the industrialisation of laboratory processes.
• Our links with industry provide you with fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience in the biosciences industry during the placement year.