Master of Science in Public Relations

at Birmingham City University - City Centre Campus United Kingdom

This course will create graduates with a sound understanding of the theory and practice of AI in industry. As a conversion course we will assume all students are starting fresh with no experience of computer programming and little experience of using mathematics or statistics in their undergraduate programs or in work.

What's covered in this course?

We will begin by creating a foundation in programming and mathematics upon which we will build the expertise in several key areas of artificial intelligence, going from your first Python code and basic algebra right through to Deep Learning. The core applied areas of data science that will be taught will include:

• Data Visualisation and Interpretation - Analysis that can’t be properly interpreted, explained and understood is a waste of time from a commercial point of view. We will teach you how to generate attractive and interpretable visualizations and tell the story of whatever data you’re working with to a range of audiences.
• Image Analysis - Machine learning has shown incredible results recently in understanding the themes of images and video which are being applied in a range of commercial settings; from security and driverless cars, to online clothes shopping.
• Natural Language Processing - Being able to understand speech and text is one of the cornerstones of artificial intelligence systems. Chatbots built on AI are appearing all over the internet, but more than this technology giants are searching for ways that machines can have detailed conversations with one-another and to be able to read and understand text documents.
• Time Series - Dealing with dynamic data is vital to AI systems in finance, AI and defence; whether predicting the future of stock prices to predicting patient outcomes in ICU and how a virus outbreak will permeate through a population.

Professional Placement option

The Professional Placement option will allow you to complete a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will also benefit from support sessions delivered by Careers+ as well as advice and guidance from your School.

English Language and Literature degrees instil graduates with a vast range of skills, which are highly sought after by employers.

The BA (Hons) English Language and Literature course will support you in developing interdisciplinary skills in both areas, as well as the wider field of humanities.

You will have a unique opportunity to strengthen your critical skills in informed reading and analysis, whilst deepening your appreciation for language and literature. You will develop your writing, close-reading and research skills, and learn to express your arguments coherently and persuasively.

Your language studies will be applied to everyday and professional settings, allowing you to strengthen your understanding of communicative processes, while your literature studies will provide an opportunity to examine literature from all of the major periods, movements and genres. Your degree will allow you to tailor your studies to your individual interests.

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 with interdisciplinary reach beyond its own boundaries.

Understanding how language works in practice, engaging with multiple forms of communication, and examining how language and literature engage with societies and cultures in the past and present, 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. 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 School contributes to the cultural life of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands by: working closely with partner colleges and schools; maintaining close links with cultural institutions such as the Birmingham and Midland Institute (BMI) and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG); and working with agencies such as Writing West Midlands. The aim is to provide opportunities for the community to engage with the discipline and the University.

Our diverse and exciting BA Graphic Communication degree course is a must for anyone passionate about graphic design and looking to pursue a career in the creative industries.

Thanks to established links with major advertising agencies, publishing houses and interactive design groups, the course is structured to provide you with industry-relevant skills in the fields of communication, branding, strategy, creative advertising and design, in still and moving images, both in print and online.

Lecturers are well placed to give commercially relevant guidance based on current trends and historical contexts.

Collaboration with other disciplines is encouraged, developing new ideas and connections with subjects such as illustration, photography and film and animation.

The Construction Project Management MSc prepares you for complex construction projects in a constantly changing globalised industry. Such an industry calls for skilled professionals who can deal with the challenges ahead.

What's covered in this course?

Accredited by RICS and CIOB, this course gives you a broad yet rigorous grounding in the fundamentals of organising and managing construction projects, and provides you with the knowledge and skills needed as a project manager. Our Construction Project Management postgraduates are highly sought-after and have secured positions with companies such as Turner & Townsend, Miller Construction and Acivico.

The MSc Construction Project Management course will enable graduates with degrees in surveying, construction, architecture, civil engineering and real estate to enter the construction management profession. Practitioners with extensive construction work experience but without a first degree will also be considered, subject to entrance exam and interview.

The course gives you a broad knowledge of the challenges of a changing construction industry. You’ll cover law and contract, sustainability, business management, project management and innovation. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is embedded in the course for integrated project delivery.

Professional Placement option

The Professional Placement option will allow you to complete a credit-bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.

Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace. You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study.

Transform your career with our postgraduate qualification in acting. Designed to advance your practical and professional progress, our MA Acting course provides intense training from staff with rich industry experience.

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to succeed as established performers, including roles at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

What's covered in this course?

You will be taught to maintain a high standard of skill and knowledge and how to transform into an independently-minded performer and practitioner. We will enhance your ability to reflect and analyse, through a range of concepts and ideas. You will enhance your technical skills through practice-based study, learning and developing flexibility to confront issues that you may experience within your profession.

Your classes will mainly be practical studio-based sessions, focusing on the practical application of acting, voice, movement and singing. You will also have time assigned for self-directed study, where you will further develop your work from practical classes. For some modules you will have timetabled rehearsal time, where you will work in groups to produce material.

Your studies will help to influence and shape your career. Previous graduates have been commended by industry for their innovative, challenging project work. Danielle Pinnock‘s final project, a 40 minute piece entitled BODY/COURAGE, won her the Best Actress award at the Strawberry Theatre Festival, and has since been performed internationally.

Our BEng (Hons) / MEng Electronic Engineering course will teach you a broad range of skills, helping you to become a rounded electrical engineer.

Throughout your degree study, you’ll have access to our state-of-the-art technology and resources, plus you’ll have the opportunity to secure yourself an industry placement, giving you instrumental electrical engineering work experience.

What's covered in this course?

The Electronic Engineering BEng (Hons) / MEng will give you an understanding of the social, commercial, legal, ethical, economic and environmental factors associated with engineering, as well as comprehensive knowledge of the science and mathematics associated with the discipline.

You will also develop the key transferrable skills that modern employers require, such as problem-solving, project planning, presentation and communication. Our competitions, such as the annual Engineering Show, which includes the international micro-mouse competition, gives you the opportunity to participate in a range of competitions centered on autonomous and non-autonomous robotic vehicles.

Our engineering courses focus on project-based activities, giving you lots of opportunity to work in teams on projects from design to implementation. This will give you practical experience of applying engineering science to real-world problems, working in multidisciplinary teams to develop your interpersonal skills, and prepare you for a key aspect of modern engineering practice.

If you are interested in working in the global cosmetics industry and have an interest in the branding and promotion of beauty and cosmetics products and services then this course is for you. You will develop a range of practical business, creative and entrepreneurial skills and have the opportunity to research key and current trends in the beauty and cosmetics industry.

Your personal program of study is supported by visits to appropriate cosmetics and beauty industry events or organizations and/or interviews of professionals involved in cosmetics or beauty services promotion.

What's covered in this course?

On the course you will get involved in blogging, social media, website development, entrepreneurship and brand development.

You’ll be actively encouraged to take part in debates about the professional, educational, political and cultural implications of beauty and cosmetics in modern societies around the world.

You will also explore and use different research methods to investigate the branding and promotion of beauty services and cosmetics through marketing, advertising, events management, publicity or public relations.

By the end of the course you will have gained the ability to apply the knowledge, skills and methodologies of cosmetics branding and promotion to the analysis of complex cosmetics branding and promotion issues, and to the expression of sophisticated marketing, advertising concepts.

You will also have developed the ability to identify personal, career and practical goals related to cosmetics branding and promotion including work experience and entrepreneurship.

Design and visualisation plays a key role in many of today’s businesses and organisations. From designing complex animations, brand identity, 3D products, virtual interiors, landscape, architectural visualisation and new conceptual designs, employers look for graduates with creativity and knowledge-based software skills.

You can choose to study from a variety of cross disciplinary MA modules in which to learn how to apply design visualisation techniques and strategies. Choose from areas such as product design, interior design, graphic design and various other specialisations.

Digital business is all about the adoption of new technologies to transform businesses and gain competitive advantages in a continuously changing global environment. It is transforming business by integrating digital technologies and business processes in a digital economy.

Businesses are now adopting new technologies, for example the Internet of Things (IOT), Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain to gain competitive advantages in the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0), which builds on the preceding three but uses new digital technologies.

In essence, businesses will require people who have the capability to work in the roles, but not limited to Digital Business Transformation, Technology & Innovation Management, Business Data Analytics & Intelligence, Business and Technical Sales, Business Risk and Change Management or Project Management. By the time you complete BSc (Hons) Digital Business you’ll be well prepared for these varied roles, with the relevant knowledge and skills.

This course is designed to develop your digital capabilities, theoretical background and business skills which are required to pursue a career in the digital transformation of business. Hence, the course will equip you with the professional skills that are specifically aligned to the increasing job opportunities in business as it is digitally transformed and changed.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, our BA (Hons) Marketing with Commercial Management degree gives you the practice-based skills needed to succeed in the ever-changing discipline of marketing.

This approach not only gives you the marketing knowledge needed but also the personal skills employers demand, allowing you to make an immediate impact upon graduation. This experience is further enhanced by the opportunity to undertake a yearlong placement.

Businesses value marketing more than ever due to its ability to identify opportunities, shape experiences and drive profits. It is an ever-evolving discipline, constantly responding to changes in technology and consumer behaviour.

To be successful in this exciting area not only requires a depth understanding of the core principles, but also relies on having the acumen and practical abilities to apply and adapt this knowledge in a wide variety of scenarios. This in-demand course has been designed to give you the practical and professional skills that employers seek through our practice-based learning approach