Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Sociology

at Anglia Ruskin University - Cambridge Campus United Kingdom

Our Masters degree is the longest established MA Music Therapy course in the UK, and is taught at the internationally renowned Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research. We earned the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2021 for our music therapy research, receiving particular recognition for our focus on the wellbeing of people living with dementia.

We welcome applications from practising with appropriate clinical experience, who would like to use music to support the health and wellbeing of patients and clients.Supported by experts, you’ll gain a strong foundation in the principles and practice of music therapy, underpinned by the latest research and evidence base.

Our MA Music Therapy is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council, so when you graduate you’ll be eligible to register with the HCPC – a legal requirement for your future career as a practising music therapist in the UK.Studying our full-time two-year Masters in Music Therapy will show you how you can use your music to support the health and well-being of patients and clients.

We’ll introduce you to the most recent, effective music therapy approaches, which you can try out in clinical placements in locations such as schools, hospitals and other community settings.You’ll be supervised by qualified music therapists, gaining invaluable experience of working in a multidisciplinary team and preparation for your future career.

At ARU, you’ll be taught in our purpose-designed music therapy centre and have access to a wide range of musical instruments, recording equipment and suite of computer music studios.Our experiential teaching includes developing your improvisation skills, focused work on your first instrument, and using keyboard, single line instrument and voice. You’ll also study music therapy theory and links to practice.

Experiment with methods, explore ideas and critically reflect on your practice to develop your own personal visual vocabulary. Create original children’s book projects, supported by a team of internationally-recognised illustrators.

The first course of its kind, MA Children’s Book Illustration was established at Cambridge School of Art in 2001 and is led by Course Leader Shelley Jackson. Over the last twenty years, we’ve seen hundreds of graduates publish children’s books around the world, many to critical acclaim. Students and graduates often dominate national and international awards, too.

On each module of this Masters course you’ll propose and develop a project guided by our leading team of tutors—all practitioners with a wide range of specialisms. Teaching is primarily through one-to-one and group tutorials, seminars, workshops and studio critiques, in which you will learn about relevant theories, contexts and practices. As the course progresses, you are increasingly encouraged and expected to develop your work and research independently so that you’re prepared to enter the role of a freelance illustrator upon graduation.

You’ll work in our dedicated illustration studios overlooking the Ruskin Gallery, with access to a fully equipped printmaking studio, other specialist facilities, and open access life-drawing sessions. With studio culture at the heart of the MA, you'll share and discuss your work with other students, attend course-wide lectures that will inform your studio practice, and participate in community activities.

Prepare for a career in technical art in the visual effects and video games industry. Develop your skills to meet demand for roles including technical artist, procedural content creator and technical director.

Our BA (Hons) Visual Effects Technical Art will help you become an artist skilled in the latest procedural 3D techniques, who can work alongside programmers, developers and other artists.Using the latest procedural content creation software, you’ll learn to design and deploy solutions to problems encountered in the video games and visual effects industries.

As well as exploring the key areas of working with VFX and computer graphics, our course will keep you up to date with the latest techniques and trends. We'll also help you identify the supporting skills and knowledge that you’ll need to succeed in the creative industries.

Throughout your Visual Effects Technical Art degree, our expert staff are on hand to offer support and feedback. They’ll help you create an online presence to showcase your work. All our lecturers and staff are researchers and practitioners, and their work reflects current VFX practice.

Our planet urgently needs well-trained wildlife conservationists to find solutions to the problems of biodiversity loss.If you’re passionate about wildlife and planning a career in conservation, this Masters degree will equip you with the applied skills you need.You’ll focus on the sustainable management of wildlife and habitats and learn how to analyse and interpret data in the interests of conservation.Our MSc Applied Wildlife Conservation has been developed with international environmental organisations, so you can be sure your skills and knowledge will be valued by employers.

You’ll study in Cambridge, where you’ll benefit from specialist guest lecturers and our links with local conservation organisations such as the British Antarctic Survey and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Field trips will give you the opportunity to work on conservation projects in the UK and abroad. As well as a number of day field trips, we offer an optional residential field trip, usually overseas, to enable you to explore issues central to wildlife conservation and sustainability, in situ.

Key practical skills you’ll gain include the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software to map and analyse species distributions and support conservation planning, and statistical analysis skills.

You’ll develop research skills, and we’ll also support you to gain communication skills important in your future career as a scientist or conservationist engaging with non-governmental organisations and the wider public.

Using real-world challenges as your starting point, our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree will equip you with all the skills you need to dive into the world of business. Whether it’s through our Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab, out on placement or through an internship, you’ll get the chance to put what you learn to the test.

Alongside these practical opportunities, you’ll also be learning all about the ever-changing world of business – from business law to marketing concepts and beyond.

Our ACCA and CIMA accredited course could see you go on to become a practising accountant or opt for a wider range of careers in business – it’s up to you where your journey takes you.

At ARU, we’re helping to develop the next generation of business practitioners and thinkers.

Our Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab in Chelmsford can give you the chance to enhance your professional development and employability, through virtual trading and live financial information on global stock exchanges. Cambridge students can visit the Lab in their free time too alongside any-time access to data through Canvas, our learning management system.

With us, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the knowledge and tools you need to launch your career. Because there’s having access to facilities and software, and there’s having the support to experiment with them. We believe the sooner you start, the more you’ll get out of it; that’s why our students can access Bloomberg from Year 1.

We know that your future career is important and you want to build your CV. So we’ll encourage you to grab every opportunity for real-world experience. This could mean a placement year in industry, studying abroad for a semester, or a short study visit in Europe, Canada, the USA or Malaysia.

Our Accounting and Finance degree course will set you up with all the theoretical and practical knowledge you need to work in finance or as an accountant once you graduate from ARU.

On our Sport and Exercise Science degree course at ARU, you’ll explore the scientific principles and techniques that underpin health, wellbeing and sporting performance.

Sports and exercise scientists can work at all levels, from the general population to elite performance – and our course prepares you for that.

You’ll study the nature of the human machine: how this operates when engaged in sport and exercise, and how to interpret and evaluate its responses.

Our students are based in the Cambridge Centre for Sports and Exercise Sciences. Here, you’ll learn to work safely and ethically as a sport and exercise scientist in our laboratories. There’s the chance to hear from world-leading guest speakers too, through our Excellence in Sports seminar series; and to take part in training opportunities, such as working as a strength and condition coach or as part of the student led Physiology testing consultancy team.

Our planet needs protecting. Gain a deep understanding of the concerns surrounding marine and terrestrial environments and the specialist skills to tackle them on our Ecology and Conservation degree in Cambridge.

Individuals, organisations and governments around the world are increasingly concerned about the welfare of our planet and everything on it. This includes both our marine and terrestrial environments where many factors, including human behaviour, have left a large number of species at risk.

Our course allows you to develop a deep understanding of concerns relating to marine and terrestrial environments, and to look at ways of resolving those concerns.

You’ll learn about marine biodiversity locally and around the world, and explore conservation ecology, which aims to support, recover and maintain populations and their habitats.

There are opportunities to attend residential field trips. Field trips that are a compulsory part of your course are covered by your fees. There are also optional field trips (either extra-curricular or an integral part of an optional module you select to take) that you would have to pay for.

Cambridge is becoming a world centre for wildlife conservation, with Fauna and Flora International, Birdlife International and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre based here. Throughout our BSc (Hons) Ecology and Conservation degree, you’ll have opportunities to attend lectures in the city and visit specialist museums and libraries.

Explore the causes of crime, the effectiveness of punishment, and how crime and victimisation are represented in the media.

In doing so, you’ll challenge your existing opinions. You’ll also develop skills in evaluating contrasting evidence, critical thinking and crafting arguments by learning how sociologists, psychologists, political theorists and law experts approach crime and complex social problems.

Our BA (Hons) Criminology course places value on hands-on learning. We learn through case studies, the latest research and interactive sessions. There may be field trips to courts, prisons and sites such as Auschwitz.

We have a supportive community of staff and students at ARU. Throughout your BA (Hons) Criminology degree, you’ll benefit from one-to-one personal tutoring and dedicated Criminology social media groups.

Together, we’ll explore the causes of, responses to, and media representation of the most relevant crimes of today. These include violence against women and girls, crimes of the powerful, opportunistic crimes, war crimes, corruption and urban culture.

You’ll prepare for your future career from the first semester: building a portfolio and CV, attending volunteer and employment fairs, taking part in our annual Criminology conference, and hearing from key figures in criminal justice debates and the authors of important criminology texts.

What’s more, our links to local and national organisations give you the chance to gain work experience, and lay the groundwork for your final-year research project.

Create a diverse portfolio of work that will prepare you for the modern collaborative creative industries, whether you want to make soundtracks for films and games, manage sound for podcasts and live broadcasts, or perform as a DJ.

Our BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production degree will allow you access to industry-standard equipment for recording, mixing, editing and production, giving you valuable practice in working as a professional producer or sound engineer.

As well as advancing your understanding of digital audio theory, MIDI, and sound synthesis, you’ll move beyond move beyond the native mixers, processors and plugins in commercial DAWs towards higher-quality external processors, such as digital signal processing-based plugins and analogue outboard.

As a student at ARU in Cambridge, many of your modules will be shared with our other music courses, giving you the chance to collaborate with different students and develop all-important skills for your professional life, such as teamworking and time management. You’ll also have opportunities to work with students on our film and computer game degrees, creating soundtracks for their projects.

Our optional modules allow you to shape the course for your chosen career. For example, Music Business will develop and broaden your entrepreneurial skills for the modern music industry, with teaching by professionals who have extensive industry experience, and visiting speakers contributing specialist knowledge. Electronics for Music will introduce you to the analysis and design of electronic circuits, small-signal and power amplifiers, and the problems of noise, interference and distortion, helping you evaluate, select, design and test audio electronic equipment for use in your creative projects.

You’re resilient and not afraid to make mistakes. You also know that as an entrepreneur, it’s important to experiment, accept failure and learn to try again.

Our BSc (Hons) Business with Entrepreneurship degree will equip you with tools that can help you develop, test and realise your ideas. You’ll also learn about applying for grants and reflect on what it really means to be an entrepreneur.

While studying at ARU, you’ll make strong professional connections, build a portfolio and – with regular teamwork and pitching – hone your entrepreneurial thinking and grow in confidence.