Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Creative Media

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

A marine biology degree with an international reputation, you’ll explore the diversity of marine life from the coast to the deep-sea. Using a range of marine organisms from the smallest microbes to the largest marine vertebrates, you'll learn how marine species and ecosystems function, consider why we see such diversity of life in our oceans, and learn how to conserve this. You'll tackle big questions like how are humans and climate change affecting marine biodiversity?

Using some of the best marine facilities in Europe alongside field work in the marine and coastal habitats of Devon, France and South Africa, and the option of becoming an HSE diver, you'll gain arguably the best practical experience of any marine biology course. By the end of your degree, your wide-range of skills and in-depth knowledge of marine biology will allow you to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges that marine systems are facing.

Key Features

• We’re very proud of our National Student Survey (NSS) 2019 return including that 94% of student respondents said that staff made the subject interesting. Other feedback included 100% also agreeing that our staff are good at explaining things and that the course was intellectually stimulating.*
• Add an exciting extra dimension to your marine studies by examining marine organisms and ecosystems in a truly global context. If you are interested in how marine and coastal habitats work, why they are so diverse and how best to conserve them, this is the course for you.
• Access the University’s research vessels based in the Plymouth Sound Special Area for Conservation and our Marine Station.
• Benefit from our reputation as an international centre for marine and environmental research. Our expert teaching staff are active researchers and enthusiastic specialists in their fields.
• Study marine life in the wild with access to the beautiful and varied Devon and Cornwall coastline. A recent World Wildlife Fund report highlighted the South Devon coast – which can be reached on foot from campus – as the area of highest marine biodiversity in the UK.
• Deepen your experience through practical field and laboratory work, linked to lectures – something regularly praised by our external examiners. Our specialist facilities include advanced molecular and behavioural laboratories, a seawater aquarium, environmentally controlled labs and a new bespoke marine station opening in 2014/15.
• Increase your knowledge and apply your skills in an international setting, with two residential field courses abroad (France and South Africa – one of the most biodiverse places on earth), giving you the chance to study organisms and ecosystems not found in the UK.
• Develop a wide range of skills that will prepare you for your chosen career and make you attractive to employers – learn how to ask and answer research questions, and how to apply this skill to conservation challenges in the real world.  There is also the opportunity to gain the HSE PRO SCUBA qualification, for those with a suitable background in diving.
• Immerse yourself in Plymouth’s marine research culture. Alongside the University the city is home to several other world-leading establishments, one of the largest concentrations of marine science study in Europe. Take opportunities to gain extra experience working in one of the marine organisations located in Plymouth, alongside your studies.
• Take the opportunity to contribute to the latest research and advances in the field – many of our students have their research projects published in leading international peer-reviewed journals.
• Choose from a wide range of subjects that most interest you and are best suited to your intended career path, building your own specialisms and skills.
• LABplus is a unique open access laboratory and resource centre designed for students studying science and engineering courses. The lab provides a flexible workspace, computing facilities, specialist software, access to microscopes, microscope cameras and bespoke resources.

Are you motivated by a desire to understand processes in the world’s oceans that drive phenomena such as ocean circulation, ocean acidification, sea-level rise or coastal erosion? If so, this course prepares you for a career in applied oceanography, coastal zone management or scientific research. You’ll develop the practical skills needed to collect and analyse data from the marine environment alongside an advanced understanding of ocean dynamics and processes contributing to shoreline change.

You will participate in practical activities during field work in Plymouth Sound, and further afield during the residential field week. You’ll benefit from access to a range of high specification oceanographic instrumentation that you will be trained to independently prepare, deploy and recover. You’ll pursue optional subjects that interest you most.

Have you considered

• BSc (Hons) Ocean Exploration and Surveying

Key Features

• In the 2019 National Student Survey, 100 per cent expressed overall satisfaction with the course; 100 per cent of students felt staff on this course were good at explaining things; 100 per cent felt that the staff made the subject interesting and 100 per cent found the course intellectually stimulating.*
• Participate in practical activities during field work in Plymouth Sound, and further afield during the residential field week.
• Benefit from access to a range of high specification oceanographic instrumentation that you will be trained to independently prepare, deploy and recover.
• Pursue optional subjects that interest you most from a range including meteorology, remote sensing, marine conservation, hydrographic surveying, modelling ocean processes and marine pollution.
• Progress into work in oceanographic research and consultancy, coastal zone management and related marine-science industries such as the emerging field of marine renewable energy.
• Develop your range of practical skills with our own fully-equipped fleet of boats, a new £4.65 million Marine Station used as a base for fieldwork afloat and industry-standard oceanographic and surveying equipment.
• Choose to take the industry-recognised professional diving qualification (HSE Professional SCUBA) alongside your degree and an optional scientific diving module to provide training and qualification for diving-based research projects and employment (limited places and additional costs apply).
• Experience an overseas field course that integrates ocean science knowledge and understanding from across the different sub-disciplines to address real-world issues.

Broaden your geological horizons by exploring the connection between the Earth and its marine and nearshore environments on our joint honours degree. Geology with ocean science will arm you with the theoretical and practical aspects of geology, as well as enabling you to develop an understanding of oceanography and coastal processes. Gain an awareness of the interplay between the solid Earth and marine processes, and learn how these factors control the development of coastal regions.

You will take part in the substantial fieldwork offered in a variety of UK and overseas locations such as Morocco, Iceland, Sicily, Spain and Cyprus. You'll become an experienced field-worker, able to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom to existing Earth science problems. You’ll work towards becoming a Chartered Geologist, our accreditation by the Geological Society helps you to gain the required experience.

Have you Considered

• BSc (Hons) Geology
• BSc (Hons) Physical Geography and Geology
• BSc (Hons) Geography

Key Features

• Gain a breadth of knowledge of the Earth and marine sciences not possible with a single honours degree.

Exploring the beauty of mathematics trains you to think systematically and creatively, so you're valuable in today’s economy. Choose the direction you want on our highly flexible course, culminating in a final-year project of your choice.

Employers want graduates with work experience, so when you arrive here, ask about our placements programme. Science, engineering, finance, government and medicine – as a mathematics graduate you stand to enter a rewarding career in a sector that interests you.

Key Features

• This course offers modules in all key areas of mathematics, statistics and theoretical physics, including a wide choice of final year options. This allows you to follow your interests and shape your future career.
• You will acquire skills which are highly sought after by employers: problem solving skills, knowledge of computing languages and mathematical software packages as well as presentation and communication skills.
• You have a great deal of available support including: a study space next to staff offices; our lecturers’ open door policy; a mathematics drop-in centre in the library; and additional peer learning sessions led by second and third year students.
• An optional but recommended paid placement year primes you for the career you want. Students who have taken a placement tend to attract multiple job offers.
• You have an opportunity in the final year to carry out an in-depth research project on a mathematical topic of your choice, supervised by an expert in that field. This involves producing a 50 page report and presenting your work at a poster session.

The UK leads the world in the creative industries and we offer the only MA Design programme in the country that allows you to specialise in key areas that are right for you. Do you want to imagine and plan the spaces, objects and experiences of tomorrow? Do you want to enhance your skills in a fast-paced sustainable environment and progress into the design industry? New design tools are available to us now, so we can plan our preferred futures, design is evolving, play your part in that future.

“Design requires bridging the ‘knowing-doing gap.’ The tools of the designer, is about getting out into the world being inspired by people, to learn with our hands, our minds and our hearts, creating stories and joining forces with people from other disciplines, these are ways to widen the impact of what we do.” Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO. OBE

Realise your artistic potential. Guided by practising artists, you’ll develop creative approaches to making artwork, through opportunities to explore different techniques and technologies in dedicated fine art studios and specialist workshops. You will expand your art practice through a vibrant mix of studio work, and creative and critical thinking, which will deepen your understanding and refine your skills, to enable you to contribute to the expanding field of contemporary fine art.

Key Features

• Hone your existing talents and discover new ones with your own, dedicated studio space – as well as specialist shared spaces and facilities for textiles, metal and woodworking, plasterwork and ceramics workshops and life drawing classes.
• Connect and collaborate with others from around the world, thanks to our excellent links with overseas art and design institutions and international exchange opportunities in your second year.
• Explore the best way to express yourself – try drawing, video and sound, painting, printmaking, photography, performance and sculpture – to find the medium that’s right for you.
• Discover the possibilities of technology with fully equipped print and photo facilities, computers, audio-visual equipment, sound studio resources and expert technicians to support and guide you in your exploration.
• Enhance your understanding of art and the cultural context of your work with visiting lecturers and field trips to museums and galleries throughout the UK and Europe.
• Seize opportunities to enter local, national and international competitions and awards. Our students have been recognised in the Jerwood Drawing prize, travelled to Amsterdam for the Hans Brinker Trophy and won a contest to design the trophy for the prestigious Abercrombie Award.
• Develop your professional practice and engage with different audiences, through multiple opportunities to test your work, such as internal and external pop-up shows and exhibitions, open studios, and test spaces.
• Get gallery-ready and showcase your final project in a real exhibition space alongside students from our 12 art and design degrees. The Art and Design Degree Show is your chance to introduce friends, family, prospective employers and the general public to your work.

Key Features

• All our modules rely on 100% coursework. We want to create inclusive learning environments, designing forms of assessment that reflect real working conditions and truly test the skills anthropologists will need to apply in their future careers.
• Learn by doing. Throughout your time with us, you will get many opportunities to participate in real anthropological research.
• You will be taught by research-active anthropologists, who constantly publish work in renowned academic journals, ensuring your course is based on cutting-edge developments in the field.
• Take part in two major, funded field trips that enable you to practice core anthropological skills, and get to know your colleagues better. Travel to London and Oxford to visit various ethnographic museums, and take part in an international field trip to carry out fieldwork in a non-British setting.
• Shape the way anthropology is taught. Many of the subjects we teach are directly proposed by students themselves. That’s why you’ll learn about marine ethnography, humour and laughter, conspiracy theory, and anything in between.

This MSc equips graduates of engineering or science degrees with the knowledge and skills needed to work within the coastal engineering industry. You'll study core topics in coastal and port engineering, be introduced to numerical modelling techniques, obtain hands-on experience of using state-of-the-art software tools and carry out physical modelling of coastal structures within the COAST laboratory.

Study the theory of waves, tides, surges and modern techniques in coastal data collection and analysis, including GIS and remote sensing. You also study core topics in coastal and port engineering, gain research skills, are introduced to numerical modelling techniques and obtain hands-on experience of using state-of-the-art software tools.

Key Features

• Equips engineering and science graduates with knowledge and understanding of engineering and coastal processes enabling them to work in this strategically important sector.
• Learn how to quantify the loading effects of waves, tides, surges and manage the influences of climate change: sea level rise and greater storminess.
• Discover how coastal structures - breakwaters, groynes, sea walls - are designed to protect against flooding and coastal erosion.
• Understand how modern ports are designed for the needs of international trade.
• Work in our acclaimed COAST laboratory to develop skills in physical modelling and interact with our COAST researchers or collect data in Plymouth Sound.
• Obtain hands on experience in numerical modelling using modern industry software.
• The program is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates with an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

Do you want to make a difference to patient care? Radiography is one of the core diagnostic healthcare roles, helping patients get the treatment they need. It is also at the forefront of technological developments, offering a dynamic career full of potential. With hands-on, interprofessional learning and patient care at its heart, this innovative, evidence-based course, will give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to become an outstanding radiographer for the modern health care setting.

Nurturing critical thinking and a caring approach to your practice, we’ll help you develop the clinical and communication, teamwork and leadership skills for a top career in radiography. The University of Plymouth BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and once you have graduated you will be eligible to apply for HCPC registration as a diagnostic radiographer.

Key Features

• Train using advanced medical imaging technology, at the forefront of modern patient care.
• Learn using state of the art teaching facilities.
• Take part in expert-led discussions around clinical case studies and the latest medical science breakthroughs, through our structured small groups teaching approach, including enquiry-based learning. These are also a great opportunity to learn from other students’ knowledge and experience.
• Develop empathic, technical and professional healthcare skills in a practical, innovative modern training programme.
• Benefit from close relationships and training with our hospital partners, including the Southwest Regional Trauma centre, Derriford Hospital and the Peninsula Radiology Academy.
• Train alongside other health profession students to enrich your experience and understanding of different healthcare roles.
• Learn from real patients from the outset, with clinical placements starting in the first semester of Year 1.
• Practise your clinical and communication skills in the safe setting of our Clinical Skills Resource Centre (CSRC), which features specially designed replicas of hospital wards and emergency rooms, with high-specification patient-simulators.
• Utilise online systems to support your learning including the student logbook, custom-made for our students to access lecture notes, online assessment systems and lecture sessions.
• Deepen your understanding of the structure and functionality of the human body at our Life Sciences Resource Centre (LSRC), with expert-led life science sessions helping you apply this information to radiography.
• In Year 1, students will study in Plymouth, with all of their clinical placements within daily commute. In Years 2 and 3, all students will complete a semester in Plymouth for the academic delivery, and then a semester on clinical placement in the following locations: Plymouth, Truro or Taunton.

Our interdisciplinary design studio inspires you to challenge, disrupt and rethink design practices to create unique and compelling objects, artefacts and user experiences. Go hands-on with materials in our extensive workshops to design products, furniture, ceramics and lighting. Develop a rich portfolio that is relevant to the evolving needs of professional design practice and become a Designer Maker, or a Designer for Industry, or combine areas of 3D design practice.

Key Features

• Teaching is in small groups with the studio culture run like a design practice with innovative delivery including flipped classroom, podcasts and team teaching.
• Work alongside students from our Interior Design course in our vibrant studio with individual desk space and CAD stations.
• You’ll build up a portfolio with fresh projects starting every few weeks. Assessments are 100% coursework – so no exams.
• Culture trips to Europe and study exchanges in Japan, USA, India or Italy are also possible.
• Engage with real clients with live projects. We’ve recently run projects with Vitra, John Lewis, Red Paddle, UPP, architects Willmore Iles and Herman Millar.
• Gain valuable industry experience through our competitions, studio visits, visiting lecturers and our meet the supplier visits.
• BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design is professionally accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers.
• The studio practice mirrors contemporary professional practice, helping you develop the skills and confidence to succeed in the job market.