Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Human Resource Management

at University of Westminster - Marylebone Campus United Kingdom

Career-focused, our degree incorporates general business management as well as the tools, techniques and specialist knowledge to manage human resources (HR) effectively. You will put theory into practice coaching other students, designing assessments, conducting interviews and more. This provides valuable experience and a genuine appreciation of how HR fits within the broader business landscape, preparing you to make a positive impact for your employer from the get-go.

How an organisation manages its people has a direct impact on both their mindset and productivity, making HR Management (HRM) a core function in every business. This course will equip you with the breadth of knowledge, skills and capabilities to develop positive working cultures and respond proactively and creatively to contemporary business issues and challenges, such as change management.

Our emphasis is very much on experiential learning. You will be taught by staff who are or have been HR professionals, bringing their real-life case work into the classroom, showing you how the HR theories, tools and techniques you are learning can be put into practice. You will also hear direct from industry practitioners, such as experienced HR Directors, Heads of HR and HR Consultants. Where possible, we also take you on field trips to see HR strategy in action at a range of different organisations.

Your learning is fully informed by current professional practice and you will be encouraged to act as an HR professional from day one. We will introduce contemporary tools and techniques and give you the chance to gain the practical experience you would in work – sometimes several years into a career – while you study. For example, you will experiment with psychometric tests such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator, participate in mock disciplinary hearings, interview panels, act as a mentor and receive mentoring yourself. In doing so, you also develop valuable transferable skills, such as communicating effectively, team-working and problem-solving skills, thereby enhancing your employability.

Past graduates have found successful employment as an HR advisor, HR operations assistant, career consultant, professional development and training advisor and employee service advisor. They work for major employers including Accenture, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Trainline, The Body Shop, Waitrose, the Metropolitan Police and the NHS.

Biologists claim we’re living through the sixth mass extinction of species, while climate scientists suggest there’s little more than a decade to cut the risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and extreme poverty. Sustainability is the most pressing concern of the 21st century. Companies across the globe are being forced to consider their impact on people and the planet to achieve the outcomes of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Climate Agreement.

The UK was the first major nation to formally back a pledge to cut carbon emissions to practically zero by 2050, followed soon after by the EU. Having spent decades internationalising operations and supply chains, organisations now have to reduce their carbon footprint, minimise climate and environmental risk, enhance resiliency and integrate sustainability into their operations, but few know how to do this.

Our exciting MSc responds directly to the urgent demand for a new type of professional – those who not only possess core business management skills, but also understand corporate sustainability, want to make a difference and, more importantly, have the skills, creativity and innovation to lead positive (and profitable) change.

Corporate sustainability management is critical to the long-term viability of businesses, many of whom are under increasing scrutiny from a concerned society and mounting pressure from expanding regulations. They need people who appreciate the wider context of their operations and stakeholder relationships – people capable of spotting and solving problems, coming up with practical and feasible solutions, then pushing through change.

Underpinned by company visits, field trips and the chance to tackle real-life business challenges, our exciting Master’s programme provides a practice-driven understanding of the global business environment. You’ll study in the heart of London, one of the world’s major cities and international business hubs.

Our comprehensive curriculum will equip you with the competencies, analytical, professional and problem-solving skills needed to successfully manage operations, tactical activities and direct strategy within organisations that are based overseas or trade globally.

You’ll develop your knowledge of a broad range of business and management disciplines in the context of international cultural perspectives, challenges and global contemporary business and commerce practices. Topics covered include economics, finance, international trade, branding, corporate social responsibility, strategy and sustainability, marketing and digital communication, leadership and managing people. The course is ideally suited for recent graduates and ambitious early-career professionals who may not have a business education background, but who are determined to pursue business and management careers.

Our teaching focuses on experiential learning, integrating theory with practice and real-world problem-solving. You’ll interact directly with businesses and be exposed to ‘live’ business situations through field trips, case studies, business simulations, special talks and seminars given by leading business practitioners.

This course has been developed to meet the needs of graduates worldwide seeking to gain greater knowledge and experience of the air transport industry, and looking to progress into senior roles in management, operations and commercial planning of airlines, airports, government departments and aviation-related businesses such as aircraft manufacturing, finance and consultancy. It is designed to provide a strong theoretical and analytical basis, coupled with the application of many practical techniques and strategies.

The course builds on the successful series of aviation short courses that have attracted participants from around the globe to the University each year. The School has a long-established interest in air transport research, consultancy and teaching, having been set up by the renowned aviation academic Professor Rigas Doganis some 40 years ago. The University's association with aviation goes back much further, however, as it was here in the 19th century that Sir George Cayley first demonstrated the principles of flight.

Modules on both the one-year full-time course and the two-year part-time course are taught in blocks of five days at a time. Students take six taught modules in total (over one year on the full-time course, or two to three years on the block release part-time course) and complete a research dissertation. Email contact and tutorial support is provided between the module blocks along with guest lectures and workshop sessions for full-time students. International students who require a student visa will need to apply for the one-year full-time course.

Marketing lies at the heart of every successful business. By engaging with and understanding the customer’s needs, marketing managers influence the development of products and services, providing advice on the best point of sale and recommending the most competitive price. They identify and make sure the target market knows what’s on offer – in increasingly more creative and dynamic ways.

You can also boost your employability by gaining additional qualifications with the Institute of Data and Marketing (IDM) and/or the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) – our status as a CIM Graduate Gateway institution entitles you apply for exemptions from modules on its professional qualifications, while you can gain IDM’s Award in Digital Marketing during the Digital Marketing Essentials module.

Top reasons to study with us

• Professionally focused course with chance to gain additional professional qualifications from the Institute of Data and Marketing (IDM) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
• Digital Marketing Essentials module incorporates a professional Award in Digital Marketing from the IDM
• Marketing degrees share a common first year, giving greater flexibility when choosing your specialism
• Option to spend one semester or one year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions, gain valuable work experience, or a combination of both. For example, one previous student worked as a marketing executive for ICG Medical
• Opportunity to study a foreign language as an optional module in each year of study: one of our students chose to learn Japanese and spent a year studying at Waseda University and working as an intern at SMEJapan in Tokyo
• Hear from experts and mingle with marketing students by joining the student-run Westminster Marketing Society or gain professional experience working for Westminster Business Consultants
• Guest lectures from industry practitioners have previously included speakers on the use of Google Analytics, and speakers from IBM, Tableau, Coca Cola and LinkedIn
• Programmes are delivered by a multicultural and international teaching body, who come from professional practice and/or regularly publish in top international journals

Our Architecture and Environmental Design BSc encompasses the ‘artistic’ and the ‘scientific’ to create a new generation of architects who are not only architecturally competent and environmentally aware, but also able to explore the spatial poetics with an evidence-informed approach, selectively evaluate design options, and quantify the building performance and environmental benefits and impact of their designs.

You will develop your creative space- and form-making, environmental design, technical and analytical skills, as well as your critical thinking and awareness of the wider architectural context.

Half of your time on the course will be spent on studio-based design activities and half on bioclimatic, historical, cultural, socio-economic and professional studies. All modules have a strong interdisciplinary approach that highlights the added value that environmental architects bring to the building industry and to society.

This course will give you professional skills that can be used both in architectural practice and environmental design consultancy. Professional architects with a specialisation in environmental design, sustainability and low-carbon design are particularly sought after at the moment, both in the UK and internationally.

Whether caused by politics, environmental issues or world health crises, the global economy is ever changing and of growing concern to businesses. Monitoring and predicting the impact of economics on business is now a top priority, raising the demand for graduates who understand how markets work and how local and international issues can affect competition and performance.

Combining the study of economics with general business management, this degree is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to analyse individual company and industry performance within the context of global economics. Using live and historical data in our state-of-the-art Financial Markets Suite (FMS), you’ll apply economic theory and practice to real-world businesses, learning how to plan, evaluate economic trends and become better placed to help firms make effective business decisions. 

To help you support future business and management decisions, we’ll examine how and why businesses emerge, exist and expand – studying their global environment, relationship and interactions with employees, providers of capital, customers, competitors, government and other regulatory bodies. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the economic, qualitative and quantitative techniques and ideas used to analyse and solve business problems in a global marketplace. 

Taught by academics with substantial business experience across the range of business disciplines, through consultancy or knowledge exchange, there is an emphasis on learning through practice, so you graduate with the breadth of knowledge and capabilities to respond proactively and creatively to contemporary business issues and challenges. Throughout the course, you’ll also develop a range of transferrable skills highly prized by employers, such as critical evaluation, self-direction and problem-solving, as well as a sound grasp of analysis, presentations and negotiation techniques.

You’ll be capable of holding positions of significant responsibility and authority in public companies, private businesses and government agencies. Past Business Management graduates have found successful employment as management, marketing and advertising trainees, as trainee accountants and brand managers, recruitment consultants, retail managers and as assistants in market research, PR and global branding.

Modern organisations increasingly rely on digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and data analytics, to improve their business processes and provide increased value to customers. However, integrating these new technologies into existing operations can prove complex and costly – it requires a unique skillset that combines business acumen and digital competence.

Open to graduates from any subject area, this course is ideal for aspiring digital business professionals who want to enhance their skills and career prospects by becoming business oriented, but with sufficient understanding of the latest technology to envisage, plan and manage digital initiatives successfully. It will prepare you to manage digital business challenges and lead at the forefront of digital transformation. 

Whether you consider yourself an ideas person, innovator or problem-solver, our exciting degree brings together the creative and analytical aspects of marketing to offer a hands-on experience of creating, managing and measuring the impact of an online brand.

Digital marketing is fast becoming one of the most important skills demanded by employers, as business is increasingly conducted online by digital brands and traditional players alike.

Our broad curriculum pulls together the many different strands of digital marketing – understanding user channels, stages of the customer journey, how to engage customers, drive traffic to websites, search engine optimisation, paid advertising, how to build a social media following and increase conversion through email sign-up or sales.

You will have the opportunity to tailor your course by choosing specialist option modules, covering topics like user experience, brand management, mobile and social media.

You’ll learn to build, focus and measure digital marketing messages and content to achieve the greatest effect on behalf of a brand, organisation or cause, using these same skills to manage your own professional presence online. In doing so, you’ll have the opportunity to develop and present your content ideas for campaigns, websites and apps in Switch 23, a collaborative digital marketing lab, which features the same Adobe Creative Cloud applications used in top agencies.

Top reasons to study with us

• Access to our dedicated digital marketing lab, Switch 23, using the same Adobe Creative Cloud applications used in top agencies
• Emphasis on real-world learning – you’ll engage with industry, working on real problems set in partnership with businesses and marketing agencies
• Focus on practice-based assessment with flexible final project of a dissertation or consultancy report that plays to your strengths and interests
• Optional placement or international year to gain valuable work experience. For example, one previous marketing student spent six months working as a podcast assistant for MailOnline, while another worked at IBM
• Hear from experts and mingle with marketing students by joining the student-run Westminster Marketing Society or gain experience working for the student-run Westminster Business Consultants (WBC)

Events play an essential role in the business, cultural and sporting life of all countries. In recent years an exciting new profession has emerged with event planners designing and organising a diverse range of events, and marketing the great variety of destinations and venues in which they take place.

This course is specifically designed for people who want to enter or make further progress in, management-level careers in the fast-expanding field of event management. London is an ideal place in which to study events with many venues on the doorstep.

This course explores the strategic development, design and logistical organisation of many different types of event.  You will also learn how events and conferences contribute to enriching the lives of communities and improve communications in business, politics and professional life. The dissertation will give you further opportunity to research a conference or events topic in depth. The course is taught by experienced academics and industry practitioners, providing valuable insight into this exciting industry sector.