Master of Arts in Creative Writing

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

Looking for a career in a rapidly growing sector? The BSc (Hons) Accounting and Islamic Finance degree, the first of its kind in the UK, will see you graduate with the skills the finance industry requires.

The Islamic Finance industry is a fast-growing industry that has developed rapidly within a few years from a niche industry to a global force to be reckoned with in the international arena. Based on a number of moral and legal principles of Islam, the Islamic finance sector grows at 15%-25% per year, while Islamic financial institutions oversee over $2 trillion.

Islamic finance has emerged as an effective tool for financing development worldwide, including in non-Muslim countries. As a result of this rapid growth, individuals and financial organisations find themselves with limited knowledge of its unique and profound nature, leading to a significant skills shortage, which potentially offers graduates a range of global opportunities.

Our Accounting and Islamic Finance course will introduce and develop your knowledge in the various specialised areas, as well as giving you a solid foundation in traditional accounting, giving you the skills need to move into a wide variety of careers after graduation.

Through a variety of modules, including Islamic Economics, Principles of Islamic Finance, Islamic Finance for Non-Profit Organisations, and Islamic Banking and Capital Markets, you’ll learn about the ethos, principles and practices of Islamic Finance, which are not only ethical, sustainable and motivated to achieve socio-economic justice, but also link with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

There will be opportunities to gain work experience in countries where Islamic Financial Services are being set up, or where they are established but in need of qualified staff. This will provide you with opportunities to gain industry experience, giving you the edge when it comes to competing in the graduate jobs market.

Looking for a highly-prized English Literature degree course that you can tailor to your individual interests and career aspirations?

The BA (Hons) English Literature course will support you in developing your critical faculties, instilling in you the power and responsibility of informed reading and analysis, whilst deepening your appreciation for literature.

You will develop your writing, close-reading and research skills and learn to express your arguments coherently and persuasively. In the School of English, you will be taught by respected academics and practitioners offering a diverse range of modules.

You will study literature from all of the major periods, movements and genres. You will also have the opportunity to study cinema, art and philosophy. Your degree will allow you to tailor your studies to your individual interests and career aspirations with both a local and global outlook.

What's covered in this course?

English as a discipline continues to be relevant to the lives we lead and is central to a wide range of contemporary and social contexts. It is this fact on which the School has built its philosophy and approach to English as a subject, which has interdisciplinary reach beyond its own boundaries.

Understanding how language works in practice, engaging with multiple forms of communication, examining how language and literature engage with societies and cultures past and present, and the place of English in a global context, are all vital aspects in understanding how the discipline connects with the wider world, enabling you to focus on the production, interpretation and negotiation of meaning and to understand the world from a variety of perspectives.

You will benefit from student-focused and research-informed teaching in a friendly and supportive learning environment where you will be taught by respected academics and expert practitioners who encourage a community of experimentation, innovation and inclusivity.

Our graduates are characterised by their extensive subject knowledge, critical thinking and intellectual curiosity, reflected in the skills and abilities that enables them to adapt to a wide range of career paths and employment opportunities.

The LLM International Law analyses how international law operates within the key areas of international human rights and international business law.

The end of the Second World War has witnessed not only the creation of numerous international organisations, but also an increased level of global interconnection and the creation of common standards in many areas. International Law has become an important area of study because of the role it plays in regulating the relationships between states and how different states shapes their laws and legal systems.

Therefore, the knowledge and understanding of the legal aspects of international law and how international law operates in the areas of international business and international human rights law is an important attribute that is highly regarded by prospective employers such as academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and charities, policy and research organisations, and international organisations.

Want to study a Master’s in finance management? Our MSc Management and Finance degree is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Our Management and Finance course teaches you the fundamental skills and attributes you need to become a successful international manager in the finance sector. You’ll become adept at strategic and tactical business decisions, developing core skills in managerial finance and managing and motivating staff in businesses on an international scale.

What's covered in this course?

Initially in the first stage, you will examine the key challenges faced by global businesses to fully appreciate the complexity and dynamics of leadership and management practice. This will see you broaden your skills in organisation, communication and working with others, particularly within an increasingly diverse cultural context.

During the second stage of your course, you will explore international financial management, including international investment strategies, Capital Asset Pricing and the financial aspects of national and international merger and acquisitions. You’ll learn how to navigate the risks of foreign exchange rates and the intricacies of dividend policy theory and practice for international firms.

You’ll be taught international business strategy while also developing your research skills in preparation for your major project. In addition to the Major project, you will also study both personal and institutional portfolio management, covering key areas such as shares, bonds, property chattels and commodities, and fund management principles and issues.

Our postgraduate degree in Jewellery and Related Products is a highly respected, innovative course, which develops your creative potential and in-depth knowledge of theories, processes and techniques.

Students on our course demonstrate understanding, and a critical awareness of current issues and/or new insights.

What's covered in this course?

The focus of this course is very much on developing your entrepreneurial spirit and helping you become the designer you want to be.

You will use a variety of materials, manufacturing techniques and processes.

The scope for design is very broad and builds on knowledge in the area of personal ornaments, body signification and decorative metal objects.

There are affinities with industrial design, fashion design, fine art and sculpture and content is often informed by philosophy, conceptualisation and critical theory.

Project-based activities will develop creative, design and making skills and enhance your professional skills. You will develop concepts and products, analyse problems and reflect on the relationships between personal objectives, cultural values, market identities, prototyping techniques and new technologies.

You will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your own research and advanced creative activity, alongside exhibiting originality in the application of knowledge.

You will demonstrate your practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in our discipline and create innovative new designs in jewellery and related products.

The course is based at our internationally renowned School of Jewellery, in the heart of Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter. The historical facade of our Vittoria Street building conceals a contemporary environment including workshops, a specialist library, an atrium gallery and exhibition space.

Looking for Sociology courses in Birmingham? Our BA (Hons) Sociology degree allows you to take a year-long placement in industry, gaining invaluable experience before you graduate.

Sociology helps us make sense of the societies in which we live and our place within them.

As one of our longest established courses, you’ll benefit from a programme of study taking an in-depth look at contemporary sociological issues that has been honed over several decades.

What's covered in this course?

You’ll explore and question social norms and discover the complex issues behind day-to-day routines and social practices.

We explore patterns and processes of inequality, examine the structure and dynamics of social hierarchies and power relations and ask why and how people shape their identities and practice their lives. We encourage you to explore how sociological knowledge can connect individuals and how it can provide you with the skills needed to participate in debates not just about what society is but how it could be.

Through the links we’ve developed with work-place organisations such as local School Academies, Citizens Advice Bureau and Woman’s Aid, we help support you to make professional contacts and to apply your studies to real-world situations when taking part in voluntary work or on placement. We also enjoy close links with the city of Birmingham itself, a diverse community perfect for sociological examination.

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

Our Retail, Business and Marketing option typically appeals to students who are excited about the practical aspects of textile design but have skills and interests in the business side of the creative industries and love working as part of a team. The focus on the course is on gaining a broad practical understanding of textile design and complement this with specific knowledge and experience of research, report-writing, planning, management and communication approaches.

Studying with us will provide you with the skills, insights and experiences required to succeed in a broad scope of professional textile-related roles. Students secure placements within buying, marketing and visual merchandising departments within the retail sector, as well as work at magazines, with arts organizations and for trend prediction agencies.

Developed in partnership with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), our MMus in Orchestral Performance are for advanced level string players considering professional orchestral auditions and on the brink of a professional career.

In addition to one-to-one specialist tuition, you will spend a significant amount of rehearsal time in the CBSO alongside one or more dedicated host players who will act as mentors. You may also be offered opportunities to play at the back of the section to gain further experience. In addition to developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, you will expand your knowledge of orchestral repertoire, learn how to prepare for rehearsal in the most efficient way, develop strategies that will help you to integrate within your section, and build confidence in preparing for orchestral auditions.

You will also participate in additional performance activities within the Conservatoire’s String Department and the wider Conservatoire, including performance classes, masterclasses, orchestra and chamber music.You'll have full access to our superb £57 million facilities, including our Concert Hall, 150-seat Recital Hall, our black box performance space known as The Lab, and more than 70 practice rooms, ensemble rooms and workshops; all acoustically designed to provide a music-making environment that is world-class.

Do you love the character and buzz of urban places? The Landscape Architecture with Urban Design degree course will help you to gain real industry exposure and work on a wide range of exciting briefs. The course focuses on offering experience through practice, which will enhance your chances of securing a role after you graduate.

In Landscape Architecture with Urban Design, our focus is on a need to transcend traditional built environment disciplines towards the creation of lively and sustainable urban places. Through guided exploration of personal design and research process, you will explore and unwrap many layers to reveal the unlimited design options that our urban landscapes present.

As a compliment to Landscape Architecture, this pathway focuses on urban contexts as social places and looks at ways in which human built-environments can ensure a more sustainable, happy future for all of us.

What's covered in this course?

Covering the spectrum of landscape architecture, with an enhanced focus on urban design.

You’ll work in a design studio culture, which mimics real-world creative practice to prepare you for your future career.

Experience on live local sites and project briefs in design studios will develop your design creativity and hone your professional practice skills. Placements and competitions will give you fantastic opportunities. There are also chances to compete for industry connected awards.

You’ll have the chance to be part of numerous collaborative initiatives within the School of Architecture and Design that give you the chance to work on a diverse variety of live projects. Past examples include: explorations into the death and life of a local high street, wayfinding from forgotten nodes and journeys in hybrid reality.

Are you interested in engineering that interacts with the human body? Our practice-led Biomedical Engineering degree explores mathematics, anatomy, physiology and computing to meet the rapid advancement in technology which is becoming a vital part of healthcare. Throughout this program, you will have the option to carry out exciting work placements in the UK and abroad. If this sounds like the degree for you then find out more about our university entry requirements.

What's covered in this course?

Our unique Biomedical Engineering degree program will provide you with the skills and expertise needed to work in specialist areas such as assistive technology, rehabilitation, medical imaging and robotics, physiology monitoring, cardiopulmonary engineering, m-health and e-health, orthopedic implants and regenerative medicine/ tissue engineering.

Biomedical Engineering (also known as bioengineering) is a discipline of engineering that interacts with the human body. You will be developing and applying innovative skills in the design, manufacturing and maintenance of medical equipment and devices covering all spectrums from the newborn to assistive living for the elderly. Industrial-led practical workshops and labs will help enhance your technical skills. This will enable you to relate ‘real-life’ commercial innovations to the underpinning academic theory learnt in the lectures.

Our state-of-the-art facilities will allow you to explore a variety of biomedical applications including: sensing and measuring on micro and nano scales, personal health tracking, remote diagnosis and monitoring, biomaterials to name a few. The knowledge acquired will then enable you to engage in exciting projects such as designing prostheses or devising new medical technology for physicians and medical professionals to be used in the prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Along with these technical skills, as an engineer you will also gain a diverse range of transferrable skills, including effective communication, leadership, the ability to critically assess gaps in target healthcare markets, and the tools required to provide solutions to bridge those gaps.