Bachelor of Science (Hons) in English Literature and Sociology (with integrated placement year)

at Aston University United Kingdom

Explore English language and literature, how they work in society and their role in the world today, and develop your communication and analytical skills by studying a BSc (Hons) English Language and Literature degree course at Aston University.

What you’ll learn
As an English language student at Aston, you’ll gain theoretical knowledge and understanding of the English language, along with an exploration of social processes, organisational dynamics and inter-group relationships.

You’ll learn from world-leading academics with cutting-edge research and teaching experience in fields such as ethnic and gender equalities, global change, theories of social change, forensic linguistics, language, gender and teaching English to speakers of other languages.

On the literature strand of the course, you’ll get a broad introduction to literary genres and periods from the seventeenth century to the present day, and consider all literature’s different manifestations, from graffiti and blogging to poetry, novels and street theatre.

You’ll study literacy as a social practice and will explore how and why people read and write at all levels of society. We will equip you to critically engage with a variety of texts across literary genres and periods, and you’ll be able to develop your skills as a writer through our creative writing module.

In the third year of your course, you’ll spend a year on placement with a company, working as a teaching assistant in a school or studying at one of our partner universities - you might even choose to combine two of these options, adding further value to your degree, and in your second year we’ll make sure you’re ready to get the most from this opportunity.

Understand some of the biggest debates in society and gain an in-depth knowledge of social processes, organizational dynamics, and inter-group relationships that could make a difference to society in a range of careers.

What you’ll learn
Sociology at Aston is about real-life experiences and how they relate to bigger social problems. We explore the social constraints we encounter in our everyday lives and how they are reinforced by class, race, religion, and gender. To understand how these issues perpetuate existing inequalities and unequal life chances, we analyze what impact official politics has on such processes, how politics is intertwined with the profit-making aims pursued by big corporations and how their combined interests dominate our social imaginations. We assess public policy responses and where they are problematic.

Our teaching is informed by our research. When learning about contemporary topics such as inequality, racism, health, migration, sexuality, identity, education, the media, crime, and climate change, you will be taught by experts in these fields. Our teaching is constantly updated in light of our research findings.

All organizations and businesses need people who can problem-solve, plan and manage. With a combination of maths and the management and leadership skills needed in business, you’ll be in high demand.

What you’ll learn
The program combines economics, finance, and business-oriented modules with applied maths modules, preparing you for a high-level career in the private or public sectors.

Our joint honors program enables you to choose a combination of maths and economics modules in your second and final years and will ensure your learning experience is exciting and relevant for tomorrow’s challenges. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop key employability skills including communication, presentation, and report writing. On this course, you spend your third year in a paid professional placement of direct relevance to your studies. This placement will give you invaluable practical experience in a real work environment and further enhance your career prospects. Both Schools have strong links with major employers ranging from the biggest communication companies to the pharmaceutical industry.

Study Design Engineering at Aston to advance your creative skills and transform your ideas into reality, as you help to address global challenges for generations to come.

What you’ll learn
Our course introduces a full range of core engineering science modules coupled to practical projects, ensuring a highly integrated and industry-relevant degree program.

From your first year, you'll be working on major projects, often in partnership with commercial engineering companies. You’ll work with colleagues, staff, and engineers from the industry to develop real solutions to life problems.

You’ll look at key areas such as design, prototyping, and developing ideas, as well as the engineering science and mathematics behind these subjects. Specialist modules in areas such as control systems and solid mechanics will make sure your technical skill set is excellent and ready for application in any engineering sector.

The latest events such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed companies to look at their global operations and supply chains more strategically, including how to digitise their products, advance towards services, and produce more sustainably, and as a result global operations and service management have quickly become business-critical areas of expertise in modern business.

Our Masters in Global Operations and Service Management will prepare you for a global approach to business operations and the growing service sector. This includes rethinking the role of globalisation on multi-national business models, particularly when it comes to strategy, location, supply chains, logistics, sustainability, and product design and innovation.

The BSc Human Resources and Business Management course draws on psychology, human resources and general management theory to develop insight into the world of work, preparing students with key skills in communication, negotiation and effective decision-making.

What you’ll learn
During your studies you will have the opportunity to gain real-world experience through your placement. You will develop a deeper understanding of psychological mechanisms that play a role in decision-making and team work, as well as how leaders can strategically bring about change processes, and why individual employees play an important role in organisational productivity. Your placement will also help you to develop key skills in decision-making, negotiation and communicating effectively.

In the first year, you will develop an understanding of the historical context within which work has developed and changed in the last century. This will equip you with an appreciation of how information technology and globalisation have altered business structures. You will also develop knowledge of key elements of business management such as economics, marketing, law and accounting.

The second year shifts focus to a deeper understanding of the issues around individual attitudes and behaviours. You will study modules on ‘Creativity in Organisations’ and the ‘Psychology of Work’, alongside continuing to develop knowledge of the wider business management issues through modules including ‘Employee Resourcing’ and ‘Digital Marketing’. In addition, you will develop skills such as data analysis, contributing to your decision-making and negotiation acumen.

At the end of your second year you begin your placement year, where you will have an opportunity to practice and apply the knowledge and skills you have so far developed.

The final year brings all of your learning together with a study of strategy and management, where the combination of human resources and business management takes focus through modules such as ‘Strategic HR and Leadership’.

You will develop specialised knowledge of employment law and the skills to use evidence to make persuasive arguments. You will draw on your placement experiences to make sense of critical HR issues like productivity, work engagement, burnout and stress at work. All this will prepare you to start either a specialised career in HR or a more general management role within organisations across a range of different sectors. On successful completion of your degree you will be able to apply for Associate CIPD membership.

Our four year course, integrated with a placement year, will develop your IT knowledge and give you the skills needed to provide businesses with consultative support, strategic direction and technological insight. There is also an option to gain a double degree (two degrees for the price of one).

This degree will develop your understanding of the management and communication of information, as well as the human, managerial and technical considerations.

You will learn the role that information technology plays in modern business environments and societies, and how technology can be the key to solving some of their biggest challenges.

What you’ll learn
This course will provide you with theoretical knowledge and skills, including analysis and problem-solving, which can be applied to a broad range of career paths.

You will learn the relationship between technical knowledge and human design, the complex role of IT in business, and how technology can be used to drive competitive advantage. 

In your first year you will develop a general knowledge of business theories as well as computing and IT. Your second year is focused on building your IT and computing skills. This will help you as you apply for placement opportunities in your third year.

Develop your skills and knowledge in the design, development, and production of medicines with our Pharmaceutical Sciences MSc at Aston University, Birmingham, and prepare yourself for an exciting industrial or academic career in pharmaceutics or industrial pharmacy.

Pharmaceutical science focuses on formulation strategies for current and future drug therapies and medicinal products.

Encompassing a range of scientific disciplines such as chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and physiology, this specialist area of study is crucial for the safe and effective design, development, production, and regulation of medicines.

The Pharmaceutical Sciences MSc at Aston University has been designed to prepare you for an academic or industrial career in the pharmaceutics or pharmacology arena; an area in considerable demand in response to the continued increase in the development of highly complex and sensitive drugs molecules.

Digital electronics and computer systems are significant in commerce, industry and the home, and have an ever increasing impact on the way we work and live. To gain the competitive edge over its global rivals, British industry and commerce needs trained computer systems engineers with skills in both hardware and software who can assess, harness and influence the growth of information technology.

Our Electrical and Electronic Engineering MEng course is designed to stretch our top students and includes a 12 month industrial placement. It gives you the opportunity to study electronics and computer science more deeply than at BEng level while also gaining valuable industry experience.

What you’ll learn

The first two years of the MEng are taught alongside the BEng degree and you’ll gain a solid grounding in software engineering and computing systems, complemented by engineering expertise in digital electronics and telecommunications. To build a bridge between hardware and software specialists you’ll study computing and electronics with single honours students from the electronic engineering and computer science subject groups.?

In the second and final year, you’ll be able to choose options that enable you to specialise in preparation for your future career. These options include digital system design, telecommunications systems, optoelectronics and signal processing.

The final year is taught alongside our master's programmes and you can choose options from the stream that most interests you, including communications, sensing, computing or electrical power. You will also undertake an in-depth project, based on your areas of specialism.

This course will equip you with the analytical ability and skills required to understand and assess the business environment, whilst gaining the knowledge and understanding of the strategic role that leadership can make within a wider organizational context.

The MSc Strategy and Leadership will develop your understanding and application of core theories in strategy, and you will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills required for assessing and developing business strategies and operations.

This course will also develop your knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories relating to leadership within organizations. It will teach you how to apply the strategic role that leadership can make within a wider organizational context.