Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Economics

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

Our BA (Hons) Textile Design degree courses nurture fresh thinking and industry-ready creatives through a dynamic and carefully structured three-year program.

Many students enjoy the challenge of creating fabrics from scratch. Our Knit and Weave option lends itself to methodical thinkers who have a good understanding of materials and enjoy their transformation. The focus is on construction – in all its forms – knitting, knotting, linking, crossing, weaving and tufting. Whilst drawing is still key, students learn to use it creatively to plan and problem-solve, to support ideas that often develop directly through sampling.

From hand-construction approaches to using industry-standard digital weave equipment and three-dimensional printing, there is the scope to experiment and innovate.

Studying with us will provide you with the skills, insights and experiences required to succeed in a broad scope of professional textile-related roles. Knit and Weave students secure placements with design studios, mills, manufacturers and retailers – companies who need expertise in knowing about the properties of materials, how they function and react.

A law degree is an important first step into a career in law, as well as an important foundation on the route to many other careers, and Birmingham City University is a long-established provider of legal education to the Birmingham legal community and beyond.

This course has been developed to enable anyone wishing to qualify as a solicitor or barrister to undertake this first, important academic stage of their career. To achieve this, the course has been designed to align with the subjects that you will need to study further in order to successfully undertake the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), while also meeting the requirements of the Bar Standards Board for an undergraduate law degree.

What's covered in this course?

The study of law is both academic and practical, and therefore both of these are important elements in the LLB (Hons) degree at BCU. Theory and academic study are important on an LLB, but so too is the application of that knowledge, and so our LLB (Hons) degree offers plenty of opportunity for you to develop the practical lawyering skills, as well as the transferable skills enhancing your employability, that graduates will need when entering the workplace.

The different pathways on the LLB course will allow you to make decisions regarding the direction in which you want to take your studies, with named degrees in Law with American Legal Studies, Law with Business Law, and Law with Criminal Justice, as well as a broad range of optional modules ranging from more theoretical topics through to those aimed at the practical application of the law in real-world situations.

You will also have the opportunity to put those skills to practical use, both in the local community and beyond. Whether that is through our programme of placement opportunities with local providers such as Citizen’s Advice and various legal advice charities, through opportunities in the local legal community, or via BCU’s own Law Clinic, established to serve the local community from our City Centre campus, there are plenty of options available to you. You can also apply your legal knowledge further afield, through our US internship programme which has been placing students with attorneys throughout the US for over 20 years.

A professional placement year is also available, between years 2 and 3 of the degree, offering further opportunity for you to put your knowledge and skills to practical use, and thereby enhancing your CV further.

By focussing on the development of a range of transferable skills, the course employs numerous innovative assessment methods, going beyond the typical forms of written academic assessment.

You are also encouraged to engage in extra-curricular activities to support your learning, with student societies such as the highly successful Mooting Society. Furthermore, you will have the ability to engage with the wider Birmingham legal community through our connections with the Birmingham Law Society, the largest regional law society in the UK.

On our MSc Quantity Surveying degree, you will learn how to add value to projects through demonstrating excellent knowledge and skills in managing cost and information, advancing practices and procedures, and managing risk effectively.

What's covered in this course?

The Quantity Surveying course will develop your skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, business development, team collaboration, cost management and awareness of sustainability in the built environment. You will learn how to ensure construction projects are delivered to the satisfaction of the client and other construction professionals and influence a better future in the built environment.

You will develop knowledge and skills to meet the challenges presented by change and innovation in the sector.

The course provides opportunities for graduates from diverse backgrounds including students from the UK and international students, students with limited exposure to the built environment, as well as students looking for mid-career development in a quantity surveying specialist area.

The course is designed to challenge you to question your current thinking and practices in the face of a rapidly changing global construction industry, and develop your ability to be innovative and creative in solving unique problems.

It will encourage you to engage in life-long learning and become an independent professional learner through a range of modern interactive teaching.

Looking for a versatile IT course in the UK? Study with us in the exciting city of Birmingham. Our multidisciplinary BSc (Hons) / MSci Computing and Information Technology degree will equip you with the technical and managerial skills you'll need to embark on a successful IT career.

You'll use first-class, industry-standard equipment and labs, and have the chance to put your academic learning into practice on a placement year – all of which will prepare you for an information technology career with a range of companies. We’re also an academy for Microsoft and Cisco systems with strong industry links.

What's covered in this course?

This course is for you if you want to combine a highly rigorous academic qualification with real-life practical work experiences, enabling you to put your learning into innovative practice.

You'll be based at our  City Centre Campus, where you'll use dedicated, industry-standard facilities to research and work on enterprise software and virtual environments to develop business solutions and real-time systems.

You will develop the strategic mindset to address global challenges; the kind that that businesses and communities face on a day-to-day basis to maintain their digital infrastructure. You'll have access to virtual learning environments, as well as networking, electronic, enterprise systems and business intelligence laboratories.

We are preparing you for the workplace. You'll learn computing and information technology skills that are needed to design, develop, operate and maintain effective systems.  Your knowledge of the application of computing to provide IT solutions will evolve on a daily basis, and we will ensure you are able to innovate in order to deliver business value and sustainable solutions.

Studying computing with us puts you at the heart of an exciting, innovative community. Part of your first-year assessment will involve taking part in our annual Innovation Fest, where students get together to solve society’s problems with creative technology. Previous projects have included medical assistance drones, accessible gaming controllers, and smart housing solutions. The event brings together students, academics and industry guests, so it’s a great way to have fun, build experience and network, and win prizes!

Looking for Birmingham psychology courses? Our BSc (Hons) Psychology degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society and allows you to take a year-long industry placement.

Make sense of the real world through gaining a deep understanding of how the core and specialised areas in psychology contribute to our understanding of contemporary issues, as well as looking at the role of brain function across multiple psychological perspectives.

You’ll apply scientific reasoning and evaluate patterns of behaviour, gaining key transferable skills in communication, teamwork and problem-solving.

What's covered in this course?

You will explore scientific approaches to understanding the mind, brain and behaviour. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical and scientific underpinnings of the discipline of Psychology and how these underpinnings change across the core curriculum topic areas. Explore how the six core areas in Psychology can explain factors that influence the mind, brain, behaviour and experience, and of the complex interactions between these.

You will develop knowledge and understanding of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. Our Psychology department works in partnership with the nationally recognized Advance HE to continually develop the quality of both our staff and the course, focusing on self-development, contemporary learning practices and integrating practice within the community.

The Business Management course will offer you a practical-based degree applicable to a wide range of sectors. You will be able to contribute to critical debates on industry-related contemporary issues and understand the dynamic needs of business managers in the 21st century to reflect current knowledge and best practices.

You will gain specialist knowledge on a number of core functions of management, building your self-confidence to prepare you for a progressive and successful career in management. Exciting opportunities including integrated work projects and business placements in the UK or abroad are all featured in your course, therefore your career can start whilst achieving your qualification. You will have the benefit of renowned industry speakers and live projects to inspire and help you to develop.

The international focus of the course is derived through a variety of means including the student body, the teaching team and the use of international teaching materials. Moreover, you can choose to spend a year or a full semester studying your modules overseas at a partner institution. Similarly, the Business Management course embeds the UN Sustainable Development Goals as an integral part of the course.

Public Relations is all around us. Brands, businesses, celebrities, charities, politicians and everyone in between use PR as a means to spread messages, inform understanding and influence the way we behave. Creative PR practitioners run multi-channel campaigns, liaise with journalists and producers, collaborate with influencers and run social media channels - whatever it takes to raise awareness, encourage engagement and inspire action on behalf of the organisation they work with.

If you want to change the world, this PR course is the one for you. Likewise, if you want to work with household names or launch new products, services or initiatives, BCU is the place to learn the skills needed for a fast-paced, exciting and rewarding media and communications career.

Did you know that for every journalist in the UK, there are at least three PR or communications professionals? This is because PR is the thread by which media, social media and communications is held together in a time of instant news, information and entertainment.

Join a course recognised by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and be proud of its close links with industry. They work with us, providing many and varied guest speakers who contribute insights and live projects, as well as a supportive mentor scheme offered by practitioners in the region and beyond.

What's covered in this course?

Combining practical skills and industry insights, Public Relations and Media offers a truly unique blend of communication perspectives that will put you in the very best position to pursue a PR career.

Turn your ideas into a reality and be brave with your approach to your work; in PR, there is no such thing as a bad idea, there is always potential and this course will help you realise yours.

Informed by the working approaches of top PR, communication and digital teams across the UK and beyond, this course will develop your understanding, awareness and appreciation of PR as a concept and a discipline. You’ll become a critical media consumer and you’ll draw upon your own areas of interest to assess influence and impact in action. You’ll turn this knowledge into your own creative campaigns, so from the moment you begin, you will be able to build an impressive production portfolio that will make you stand out from the recruitment crowd.

Our BSc (Hons) Visual Effects course will develop your technical, creative and production skills, related to visual effects production. The course will prepare you to pursue careers in a range of roles within visual effects and other innovative industries utilising computer graphics.

You will have access to a variety of high quality facilities including: a range of industry-standard software, high specification computers, cloud-based rendering facilities, a Vicon motion capture studio, one of the largest fixed green screen studios in the UK, a Milo motion control system, a variety of camera and lighting equipment and excellent learning facilities with access to substantial library open 24 hours and a variety on-line resources.

The course is delivered by a highly skilled and experienced course team, with a range of relevant industrial and academic experience, who constantly engage with industry and update their skills, to ensure the course remains up to date.

To ensure that you are equipped and ready to engage with industry our tutoring program and Graduate+ scheme will provide support and guidance through-out your educational journey to equip you with professional skills and prepare you for industry. The course aims to produce versatile, adaptable graduates with the fusion of technical and creative skills that industry is looking for.

Our MA in Multiplatform and Mobile Journalism is a cutting-edge course designed to give you the video, online, audio and social media skills needed to work within a growing number of jobs in the media and beyond.

Accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, you’ll study under internationally renowned course leaders in a city with a vibrant cultural sector. You’ll learn exciting new skills in online and broadcast journalism, interactivity and data journalism, social media storytelling, and multimedia production.

On this innovative course you will develop the professional skills necessary for a successful events and exhibition management career. The first of its kind in the UK, this exciting course has been developed with The National Exhibition Centre (NEC), meaning you'll learn straight from top industry professionals.

This course has a real emphasis on gaining practical skills and utilising your creativity. Our graduates have gone on to work for the NEC group, established event production companies both in the UK and abroad.