Master of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design

at University of Westminster - Marylebone Campus United Kingdom

As globalisation encourages companies to operate and trade in multiple locations, and provides more opportunities for staff to work abroad, managing and developing people has never been more critical – or complex. On our MA, you’ll learn to appreciate the unique challenges of international HRM – from the cultural, legal and economic differences to remote relationship building.

Our problem-based approach to teaching means you’ll get to apply what you learn to management problems through assignments and projects based on actual situations. We’ll draw on everyday HR issues in the news, case studies and current examples, at times addressing some of our own students’ workplace experiences. Demonstrating evidence-based HRM, you’ll learn to collect and analyse relevant data and information, developing your ability to identify, evaluate and propose the most appropriate solutions, looking at issues ranging from expatriate employment, employee engagement, managing change and reward management.

Each year, our annual HRM conference offers you the chance to hear direct from a range of guest speakers, who have previously covered issues such as immigration and labour supply, and the impact of EU legislation on employee relations post-Brexit. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop essential HR practitioner skills through a series of practical workshops in areas such as finance, employment law, interviewing, disciplinary and grievance handling, counselling and negotiating. Working in teams, you might simulate dealing with a disciplinary hearing, for example, or conducting a job evaluation exercise. When studying people resourcing, you may participate in an assessment centre or practise your interviewing skills.

In a turbulent, rapidly changing business environment, the demand for HR professionals who can strategically manage and develop staff potential – while overcoming issues such as redundancy, flexible working and the recent challenges of furloughed staff and social distancing – has never been more fundamental to business success.

Our career-focused MA is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the only professional body in the world that can award Chartered status to HRM or Learning and Development professionals. It is designed to build your understanding of the theory, practices and policies associated with evidence-based Human Resource Management (HRM) as they relate to real-world situations, equipping you with the knowledge, competencies and analytical skills to effectively manage organisational strategy and operations from an HR perspective.

Our problem-based approach to teaching means you’ll get to apply what you learn to management problems through assignments and projects based on actual situations. We’ll draw on everyday HR issues in the news, case studies and current examples, at times addressing some of our own students’ workplace experiences. You’ll learn to collect and analyse relevant data and information, developing your ability to identify, evaluate and propose the most appropriate solutions looking at issues ranging from flexible working to employee engagement, managing change or reward management.

Core management skills are in high demand in our rapidly changing environment. Successful managers need to know how people behave, the nature of leadership and sources of power and influence within the workplace. They must also plan, prioritise, develop new processes and identify new opportunities. That’s why our MA provides a broad understanding of business – from finance and people management to operations, communications and marketing. You’ll graduate with the all-round expertise and decision-making capabilities required to lead modern organisations.

Whether you aim to be self-employed heading your own company, work for private businesses, or not-for-profits or government agencies, this course is designed to develop the necessary management skills to succeed in a rapidly changing economic environment. This course will therefore open flexible career avenues or will enable you to take the next step to progress your career.

Blending theory and practice, our teaching is designed to equip you with the knowledge, competencies, analytical and problem-solving skills around the management of organisations and how to apply these to management problems and situations. As the course progresses, you will study operational, tactical and a more strategic approach to management.

Digital transformation is one of the most important strategic challenges facing businesses. Creating new ways to connect, collaborate and conduct business, digital technologies have the power to transform the delivery of existing products and services and inspire new. By combining digital business with general management, our degree prepares you to guide businesses through digital evolution.

We offer an all-round business education, deepening your understanding of business essentials including accounting, business management, data analysis, marketing, HR and supply chain. At the same time, you’ll explore how to take advantage of technology and effectively manage business functions from both traditional and digital perspectives: the business process; the supply chain; systems integration; and the management of information, quality, demand, capacity and resources.

You’ll develop the skills and knowledge to analyse the role of digital business models based on disruptive technologies, digital and social media marketing, digital transformation and project management. We’ll look at current digital trends, emerging technologies and their implication for business practice, such as the importance of developing a holistic approach, including big data, blockchain and mobile computing.

Developing a mix of business and technical skills, you’ll gain hands-on experience of problem-solving within the digital business area, solving real-world business problems with 21st century technology. We’ll also look at best practice in existing digitally-powered and disruptive businesses like Uber and Amazon, with the opportunity to attend guest lecturers and field trips within the degree programme.

Taught by academics with professional experience, 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, professional presentation, team working, leadership, communication and problem solving.

There is a global shortage of digital skills, so the demand for graduates who possess them is high.

Our course was designed with input from a range of industry professionals from industry sectors including– retail, public relations, marketing, pharmaceuticals, government and the NHS. Students are prepared for problem-solving disciplines, such as digital analytics, web analytics, business analysis and consultancy.

Economics is more relevant than ever to understand contemporary events in the global economy and provide the tools and techniques for business and governments to analyse and interpret the issues and problems they face. Reflecting the needs of both private and public sector employers, our highly practical MSc prepares you to assess business problems, interpret public policy and effectively communicate the insights that economic analysis can provide.

Aimed at those with a genuine interest in the application of economics to real-world situations, this course aims to provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the latest theories, practices and key concepts in economics that underpin public sector policy and business decision making. This includes the various scenarios where we explore opportunity cost, equilibrium and disequilibrium, strategic interaction, market failure and the related concept of externalities.

The focus is very much on developing the practical skills needed by a working economist – the ability to apply economic techniques to complex, multi-faceted business problems and provide specialist advice. You’ll gain hands-on experience of the industry-standard computing and econometrics software used to analyse and manipulate data.

This exciting programme is designed with input from financial firms, public and private companies. Our aim is to combine theoretical learning content with practice to give you a deep understanding of modern financial theories together with learning about how companies make investment, financing and acquisition decisions. It will prepare you for a career in the dynamic, highly regulated world of financial services. 

Developing core quantitative and analytical skills, you’ll learn how to prepare and interpret financial data and managerial information. This education will enable you to develop your expertise to evaluate financial issues to  confidently make financial decisions. You will gain a broader understanding of the socio-economic, legal and professional environment within which finance operates. Graduates from this programme will be better placed to provide expert guidance to both professionals and non-professionals to solve complex real-world problems – the scope of the subject areas is broad ranging from graduates taking on roles from corporate financial management to highly analytical areas of the field in financial risk and investment management.    

The University is also recognised by the Chartered Financial Institute (CFA) as a University Affiliated Program partner. A fair proportion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge is embedded in this specialist finance degree.  

You’ll be taught by academics with professional experience in investment banking, derivatives, asset pricing, Treasury Management, algorithmic and high frequency trading, pricing and hedge fund trading. Theoretical aspects of your learning are seamlessly blended to develop  practical skills using our state-of-the-art Financial Markets Suite (FMS). The learning resources facility provides  access to a rich source of  financial and market data.

As well as a firm grounding in investment, finance fundamentals and general management, you’ll be able to study a wide variety of specialist finance modules, such as portfolio management and securities analysis. With the City of London's global financial institutions on our doorstep, you’ll begin building your professional network from day one. We also have guest lecturers and industry speakers, from big brokerage firms and asset management companies. 

The course enhances your analytical abilities, together with team-working, problem-solving, communication skills and commercial awareness needed to meet the needs for talent in a changing global financial world. The skills and knowledge you develop will open up a range of careers in the skills necessary for a successful career in the financial services industry, economic consultancy, government departments or in regulatory agencies. With further study, you could also progress to professional finance qualifications from the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) and the CISI. 

Our course was designed with input from a range of industry professionals with expertise in financial markets, institutions and financial regulation. To retain currency and relevance, we receive ongoing feedback from the School of Finance and Accounting’s Employability Advisory Board, whose members include practitioner representatives from Vanguard, JPMorgan and Global Structured Finance, as well as former students now working in the finance industry who provide suggestions on how to improve future employability for students. As much as 70% of the BSc Finance course content is in line with the CFA’s study units’ syllabuses.

This exciting specialist accounting degree is designed specifically to meet the needs of a talent pool for the changing accounting services sector. Education in this subject area is in high demand in a wide variety of sectors and industries where accounting specialists manage budgets, prepare financial and annual reports and also are involved at Board level to inform the development of strategy and guide business decisions. Our degree is the first step to becoming a qualified accounting professional with potential to develop a rewarding career in large and small firms as a consultant or in a business start-up.

This professionally accredited degree offers a rounded business education designed to develop your understanding of accounting theories and practice, together with the business acumen, team-working, problem-solving, communication skills and the commercial awareness needed in a complex global financial world.

Raising your awareness of the global, social and ethical professional environment within which the accounting profession operates, you’ll learn to appreciate accounting issues within the wider business context, able to guide decisions on anything from cost-cutting and outsourcing to operational planning and environmental policy, for example.

Taught by academics with professional experience as accountants and managers, 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. You’ll develop practical skills, receiving hands-on training in specialist accounting software such as Sage, Bloomberg and SPSS. In our state-of-the-art Financial Markets Suite (FMS), you’ll also have access to live and historical financial reports, experiencing the same Bloomberg platform used by leading global investment banks.

Changes in technology and regulation mean that the accounting industry is constantly evolving. On our course, you’ll have the chance to focus your studies from the start, blending a conceptual theoretical framework with practical 'real-world' application as the curriculum progresses from basic to more specialised and advanced applications. Upon completion, you will be part-qualified, eligible to apply up to nine exemptions with ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and up eight exemptions with CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants).

Our programme will equip you with the required skills and attributes needed for an engaging and successful career in accounting or related fields in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It will assist you in developing excellent conceptual knowledge and technical skills in financial accounting, management accounting, corporate finance, taxation, auditing, and financial analysis, as well as the required attributes to excel in the modern global business environment. Past graduates have gone on to a range of accounting and other professional posts in the private and public sectors, including ACCA and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) training contracts, and finance posts in the public sector.

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.

This course develops your ability to initiate and implement advanced analysis and research in transport policy, planning and management. You will learn the techniques and methodologies you need to take decisions, or to provide the necessary information for others to take policy decisions. The MSc course has been running successfully for many years, and is offered by the Department of Planning and Transport. The course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), and graduates are exempt from the Institute's exams. The Course also forms part of the pathway to the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.

The course will enable you to understand the causes and motivations of personal travel and goods movement; to analyse transport problems and develop, and implement policies and measures for resolving such problems; to evaluate transport projects, plans and policies, taking into account the need for stakeholder participation and recognising the political, social, health, environmental and economic issues involved.

The MSc course balances theoretical and practical applications in the three separate components: core modules, option modules and a research dissertation.

Our design-led Architectural Technology BSc will give you the skills you need to launch your career in design and development. 

From architectural composition and technical analysis to the business and management skills you'll need for contract procurement, we'll teach you how to apply technical decision-making to real-life design challenges.

Learning in our dedicated Architectural Technology studio and working on real design briefs, you’ll develop a sound understanding of the processes of design and construction and the management tools, particularly CAD, for communicating design information.

You'll gain an understanding of the multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of the modern construction industry, and will have the chance to work alongside students from all construction courses in Year 1.

Studying the Architectural Technology BSc will give you the framework to practise privately, or — on successful MCIAT chartership — run a business in the architectural and construction industries. 

All of our courses are delivered using an enquiry-based blended learning approach involving workshops, lectures, tutorials and independent study. We assess your learning through a variety of methods including project work, essays and exams.