Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Politics and Social Policy

at Aston University United Kingdom

Study the BSc (Hons) International Relations and Sociology degree course at Aston University to get a fascinating insight into the political and sociological challenges facing our society in the 21st century, giving you a great springboard for your future career.

What you’ll learn
On this programme, you’ll explore the major political and social issues faced by governments across the world. You will develop a knowledge and understanding of the international state system, the structure and purpose of international organisations and the roles played by international institutions, other intergovernmental organisations, multinational corporations and NGOs. Important strengths of the programme include its focus on key contemporary issues in international relations and policy, such as global economic change and the environment as well as international comparisons of government policies.

On the sociology strand of the course, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of social processes, organisational dynamics and inter-group relationships. 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 analyse how politics is intertwined with the profit-making aims pursued by big corporations and how their combined interests dominate our social imaginations. 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.

Sociology will equip you with the knowledge and analytical skills that will enable you to think critically and work independently. This includes how to design a research project, collect empirical data, handle complex datasets (e.g., through applying coding techniques) and, most importantly, develop an advanced analytical mindset. This training will be essential for your final-year dissertation during which you will carry out your own individual research project. This experience will provide you with a skillset that is highly desired in a wide range of industries and areas of work.

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.

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 course will help you enhance the skills required for assessing, developing and critically evaluating entrepreneurial strategies. You will develop the ability to make strategic decisions by advancing your understanding and application of how business analytics methods can support interventions in the decision-making process of organisations. 

You’ll learn about intellectual property, emerging economies, international entrepreneurship and understand how to develop and deliver entrepreneurial strategies in a range of settings.

You’ll also develop the skills to use statistical techniques to communicate key information, how to use decision models, data mining, web and performance analytics, all of which will build on your analytical skills and ability to problem solve. You’ll get hands-on experience using specialist software and experience in using a range of data sets.

This exciting new course equips you with everything you need to take on design leadership roles.

What you'll learn

In this four-year program, you will achieve a Bachelors's degree and a Master's degree. If you choose to take a year in the industry the course length will be five years.

You will gain a grounding in the principles of design management in technology, manufacturing, and concept development, combining both theoretical and practical skills training alongside the relevant industrial experience. Plus, you’ll develop the skills necessary to stimulate design entrepreneurial activity, brought to life by our up-to-date and professionally focused curriculum.

Develop your specialist knowledge, build on your experience and become better equipped to contribute to entrepreneurial activity and develop your own fledgling enterprises.

If you choose to take a year in the industry, you’ll be able to develop your learning and showcase your skills, improving your employability through real work experience, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the roles and career paths that best suit your interests and skills.

Explore some of the biggest topics in the world today, from gender, race, and sexuality, to how we behave as a society, with our British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited Psychology and Sociology BSc at Aston University, Birmingham.

You’ll investigate and analyze how the human mind works, in terms of how it responds to various stimuli, and how our views on relationships and the wider world are shaped by societal structures, culture, and our collective experiences. In addition, you will have the opportunity to research why these societal structures exist in the first place; giving you a rounded view of human behavior and the impact we have on each other as fellow citizens.

A Business Management and English Language degree from Aston gives you the chance to combine in-demand commercial and leadership skills, alongside theoretical knowledge and understanding of the English language, how it works in business, and its role in the workplace.

What you’ll learn
You will be taught by lecturers who are internationally recognized researchers in fields such as leadership communication, marketing, economic development, multi-national enterprises, forensic linguistics, language and gender, and TESOL.

With a professional placement year as one of its key features, the program is geared towards increasing your employability by providing you with the knowledge and skills required of professionals working in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

This brand new course gives you the skills to devise and develop artificial intelligence solutions alongside broader business strategy - a strong combination. This course also features the opportunity to undertake a professional placement in its second year. 

What you’ll learn

We'll teach you, specialist, technical information together with a deep understanding of how businesses work, to enable you to create ethical, well-justified, and appropriate AI solutions.

Our focus on this course is the application of your AI technical information and knowledge in a business setting, with a focus on machine learning and data mining to improve business processes. You’ll have the opportunity to design and plan, implement, test, evaluate and document your solutions with this focus in mind. 

As well as the development of your technical and business knowledge, you’ll also grow your communication and team working skills as you work on your own and with others on projects and presentations. One of these projects gives you the opportunity to develop a computer game, work as part of a team, and present your solution to the rest of your class.

Unlock even more career opportunities with the MEng Chemical Engineering, an extended, broader-based qualification with four years of academic study.

You could improve the quality of many lives through the products and materials you design and develop as a chemical engineer.

You will learn how to ensure the safe and profitable production of the chemicals and materials required to create products such as clothing, food, medicine, transport and home entertainment systems.

Chemical engineering is a challenging and fascinating profession with extensive career opportunities. With a masters in chemical engineering you will combine a detailed knowledge of chemistry with an understanding of engineering principles in order to design, construct and operate chemical process plants.

What you’ll learn

Our course is designed to develop your engineering skills, in the context of a firm grounding in chemistry. To ensure this, you’ll share your first year with chemists, giving you a good grounding in the subject before gaining a deeper insight into the industrial processes. Subjects you’ll cover include process design, health and safety, biological chemistry, biomaterials, inorganic materials and polymer synthesis.

The MEng builds on the BEng course and is enhanced by additional subjects including process synthesis, advanced management, bioenergy, and a major research project.

Our MEng is a challenging and demanding course which will enable you to progress more readily after graduation to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status which, in turn, equips you to aim for the highest levels in industry.

You have the option to spend a year on placement in industry after your second academic year. Many students find this experience extremely beneficial in terms of their personal development as well as their academic performance and development as an engineer.

With strong demand for accounting and financial skills in the job market, our MSc Accounting and Finance will set you up for a rewarding career. The program will bring you up to speed with the fundamentals of accountancy and business finance, and develop an advanced understanding of the practical skills needed for graduate roles in the financial sector.

You’ll get the opportunity to engage with a Business Project or Dissertation. This is a substantial piece of work designed to provide you with the opportunity to analyze a business problem and practically apply the knowledge and skills developed during the course.

With strong demand for accounting and financial skills in job marketing, our MSc Accounting and Finance can set you up for a rewarding career.

On this stimulating and varied course, you’ll learn about the practical and strategic application of financial and management accounting information, business finance, as well as how corporations report on and engage with sustainability issues.