Bachelor of Science in Anthropology with Placement (Thin-Sandwich)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

Take your knowledge of culture and society to the next level and equip yourself with a big range of practical and analytical skills for a changing world with our Anthropology and Sociology BSc.

Anthropology is concerned with contemporary issues such as multiculturalism, identity politics, racism and ethnic nationalism, changing forms of the family, religious conflict, gender, and the political role of culture. It also addresses fundamental questions about human nature, such as: ‘What do we have in common with each other cross-culturally?’ and ‘What makes us different?’

Sociology, its sister subject, looks at the foundations of social life and the big issues in contemporary society such as inequality, racism, globalisation, and migration.

In particular, your sociology studies at Brunel will be closely related to the central and ever-increasing importance of the communications media in our culture, for example, how poverty is portrayed and the powerful influence of celebrity.

Brunel is a great choice for this combined study with lecturers from both subjects producing cutting edge research alongside their teaching, on both global issues and local problems.

This research expertise filters down into what you will learn. In anthropology students have learnt about youth and motorcycles in Rwanda, and in sociology, about cosmetic tourism.

Choose this course and you can do fieldwork on any subject, anywhere in the world, whether it’s learning about refugees in Athens or mother and toddler groups in inner London.

Around half of Brunel anthropology students carry out a placement or fieldwork abroad, in places as wide ranging as India, Nepal, Australia, South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica.

Recent UK placement destinations include the Royal Anthropological Institute, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, Amnesty International and the Department of Health.

Alternatively, could choose a placement that’s more sociologically focussed. Either way, you can choose to take it as two six month placements or one year-long placement.

Take advantage of real-life work experience to gain a competitive advantage on your anthropology degree.

• You have the option to undertake two six-month placements, or a year-long placement whilst studying one of our anthropology degrees.
• If you opt to go on two six-month work placements, then you can use the first one to help determine an area of interest to you in the future. You have the freedom of choice when looking for placements and can be based locally for one and go abroad for the second one.
• You’ll have support from day one of your anthropology course from your personal tutors and the Professional Development Centre in finding a suitable work placement according to your interests. They can range from working in a church, in a museum to supporting charities on-sites and studying a local community within a village.
• This invaluable experience will not only build your confidence but also provide you with a platform to showcase your project management, organisational and creative skills in the workplace.
• Some of our students have completed their placements in Guatemala, London, Malaysia and Morocco which really gives a global perspective.
• Fieldwork can also be conducted as volunteering to give you a real insight into cultures and communities. For example, one of our students did charity work in Cambodia and enjoyed experiencing different cultures and working with a range of people from different backgrounds.

Who has political power? Why do they have it? To whom are they accountable? Is violent protest ever justified? If these questions evoke a response in you and raise more questions in turn, politics is the degree for you.

Politics is an exciting and dynamic subject, simulating debate and offering insight into how the ever-changing world around us works. It’s also a degree that can demonstrate your intellectual acumen and understanding of world affairs, which will be an asset in many fields of work.

The broad-based nature of the course at Brunel means you will be studying a wide breadth of modules from British politics to US foreign policy and political change. But you’ll not only be learning about politics – you’ll be analysing politics using the tools of political science to help deepen your understanding and critical thinking.

Opt for a placement year and you'll gain work experience that is highly valued by employers. Brunel students have secured placements in the Environmental Audit Committee, the House of Commons, Directorate of Gender Affairs, HM Treasury and the Competition Commission, to name only a few.

You can also opt to take part of your degree abroad in one of our partner universities in Europe, or participate in an exchange programme to China or the USA to study politics in a different part of the world whilst experiencing a new culture.

Brunel is a dynamic university choice for your politics course. You’ll be taught by politics experts who are often called on to comment on radio and television. The Brunel campus has hosted the filming of BBC’s Question Time and is a political hub during local and national elections.

Brunel politics graduates enter diverse careers. Many of our former students go into politics and the civil service and some are currently at GCHQ and military intelligence. Others work in the public and private sector like the NHS, international banks, business consultancy, law, NGOs and the media. Whichever route you chose, a politics degree with Brunel will set you up for a successful future.

Our Structural Engineering MSc degree is a highly specialist course that has been developed to equip you with a broad range of knowledge and management skills to meet the real-world needs of safety and sustainability in the civil engineering and construction industry.

You will study the traditional elements of structural engineering and deepen your knowledge of structural analysis and design, and sustainable construction. You’ll also develop advanced and specialist knowledge on topical subjects such as fire protection, environmental hazards and energy efficient buildings.

You’ll have access to our custom-designed technical facilities for the testing of materials and structures. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in the purpose-built computer laboratories.

During your studies, there is a residential field trip with hands-on construction experience where you will build a scaled-down version of a bridge, building or dam. You will also benefit from guest lectures delivered by industry professionals, as well as visits to construction sites and civil engineering development projects.

Our MSc structural engineering degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM). The JBM comprises the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers. These four professional bodies ensure that your engineering degree meets the academic requirement to qualify as a professional engineer. This accredited MSc degree in structural engineering fully meets the educational requirement for progression to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. It is studied full-time over one year.

The Brunel Management MSc offers students a critically aware understanding of management and organisations relevant to their career path. This is achieved through the study of organisations, their management and the changing contexts in which they operate.

You will gain an advanced and applied understanding of contextual forces on organisations – be they legal, ethical, economic, environmental, social and technological; together with business strategy, markets and customers, financial management, and the management and development of people.

Career progression and finding suitable jobs are key for our students, so employment experience is part of the degree course with the option of a six to twelve week or yearlong work placement. From your placement you identify a project, linked to the dissertation, and produce an internal consultancy report for the company. 

The Brunel Management MSc allows you to study general business management or to select a specialist pathway which reflects your strengths and interests.

If you start your course in September you can study one year full-time,16 months full-time (with a 6-12 weeks placement), or two years full-time (with one year's placement). If you start your course in January, you can study 15 months full-time, 19 months full-time (with 6-12 weeks placement), or 27 months (with one year's placement).

The four pathways for the Management MSc are:

Management (General Management) MSc
Develop a generalised knowledge of theory and its practical applications to business, public sector and third sector organisations.

Management (Marketing and Brand Management) MSc
A mix of general management study with specialism in marketing and branding issues followed by a related dissertation topic.

Management (Technology and Innovation Management) MSc
Combine a study of general management with technology and innovation issues followed by a related dissertation topic.

Management (Digital Entrepreneurship and Creativity Management) MSc
Gain knowledge of general management while studying issues related to the media industry and media management followed by a related dissertation topic.

You will be given the opportunity to choose your specialist Management MSc degree pathway in induction week, and to choose elective modules during the first two weeks of your course. You can attend different pathway-related and elective classes, in order to help you make your choice by the end of the two-week period.

If you are late to enrol, you will be given information on arrival relating to your pathway and elective options. However, you will be expected to make your final choices within 48 hours of enrolment.

This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.

The way we do business is changing, particularly how and why we carry out transactions. Decision times are increasingly based upon user-friendliness via mobile and social media, and improving these channels is reliant upon data and analytics. The Business Intelligence and Social Media MScis a new multi-disciplinary course which explores developments in technology for businesses such as social media, business intelligence, and mobile and cloud services.

There is a worldwide shortage of qualified managers with the skills needed for new jobs being created in this area, particularly in the emerging economies. Companies that are actively seeking candidates include tech sector businesses, but also banking, insurance, retail and education. In fact, it’s expected that virtually all business sectors will need to address big data and will need skilled people to manage development. 

Developing sound knowledge and understanding of digital business practices, you will learn the importance of data, information, and mass communication technologies to business.

You will be encouraged to reflect on the relevance of these new concepts to business and apply your newly developed skills in advanced research or via professional practice in collaboration with an industry partner.

Our Integrated Product Design MSc degree focuses on the design of innovative products, emphasising the balance between the interest of users, industry, society and the environment. It covers the whole design process, integrating all aspects relevant to product development - technology, management, aesthetics, sustainability, ergonomics, marketing, business and design methods - to produce highly qualified and sought after designers able to cope with the challenges the global economy presents.

You’ll have access to modern facilities that include a dedicated master’s design studio and extensive prototyping workshops. The practical knowledge you gain is transferable to industry and provides you with a comprehensive skillset for global product and services design research and development.

Our integrated product design course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) and is studied full-time over one year. 

We encourage you to make use of our good links with industrial colleagues and undertake an optional industrial placement as part of your dissertation project over the summer. A placement gives you the opportunity to put what you’ve learnt into practice, and to apply it to a real working environment.

Made in Brunel is a unique, student-led initiative that showcases our design talent at its finest. Each year our students run a series of industry and community events leading up to the Made in Brunel exhibition. This annual showcase is a highlight of the London design calendar and promotes the incredible work our students produce to the creative community, and is your chance to network with key design professionals.

If you are interested in turning a product or technology idea into a business after your postgraduate studies, we are in partnership with the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), a design incubator for start-ups. You’ll have access to meeting rooms and work space as well as prototyping facilities. A team of in-house professionals will guide and support you at each stage and a number of our previous entrepreneurial students have successfully commercialised their products.

Mathematics is a fundamental subject that is critical to our understanding of the world. Through the study of mathematics you’ll advance your problem solving skills, develop your reasoning and increase your analytical thinking. Mathematical models underpin engineering, the applied sciences, computing and many aspects of management today. With the MMath you’ll study for a further year and bring your BSc degree to master’s standard. This means you’ll be able to get that competitive edge when you apply for jobs without having to go through the application process again after Level 3.

You’ll study many aspects of pure and applied mathematics, together with general concepts of mathematical modelling. When it comes to the application of mathematics, we cover finance, statistics, operational research (how maths can be applied to commercial and industrial problems), numerical analysis (the approximate solution of very hard problems) and mechanics.

In your final year you’ll be able to specialise in areas of mathematics that you’re particularly interested in. You’ll produce a substantial research project under the guidance of a tutor in Level 3 and have the opportunity to build upon this as a MMath student.

Follow the five-year ‘Professional Placement’ degree programme and you‘ll benefit from our extensive experience in helping students to find well-paid work placements with blue-chip companies. Our sandwich students find that their mathematical and transferable skills are in demand in many sectors, both in the UK and abroad.

Areas recently offering placements include: accountancy, aviation, banking, defence, finance, insurance, IT (software development, network management and design), management (public and private sector), marketing and telecommunications.

This programme will meet the educational requirements of the Chartered Mathematician designation, awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, when it is followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for taught master's degrees.

Our Creative Writing MA degree is designed to equip you with a broad range of advanced creative writing skills and academic accreditation for your creative work.

Teaching is delivered by some of the most talented and original wordsmiths working today. Between them,they’ve published over 100 books, produced countless scripts for TV, radio and film, and won umpteen awards.The team includes Bernardine Evaristo, who won the world’s most prestigious prize for the novel, the Booker Prize, in 2019, for her Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling novel, Girl, Woman, Other and renowned performance poet, writer and broadcaster Benjamin Zephaniah. As well as the stand-alone ‘general’ programme, we’ve added four new dynamic pathways to the course so you can choose your preferred specialism and focus your learning across key forms of contemporary creative writing.

• General: Build an advanced knowledge on the current theory and practice of writing in the community and develop an understanding of the role of the writer in arts initiatives and creative industries.
• The Novel: Gain a deeper insight into the structure of a novel and develop the techniques to critically assess a variety of novel forms and genres at a professional industry level.
• Poetry: Learn how to employ language innovatively to create new poetry and create a sustained body of work that showcases a range of technical approaches.
• Publishing: Develop your knowledge of the publishing industry its history and processes, while gaining an understanding of the relationship between author, agent, editor and the key roles at a publishing house.
• Screenwriting: Take your ideas from the page to the screen by building an advanced knowledge of the production and reception of different genres of screenwriting.

You have the advantage of Brunel’s close location to London, the literary capital of the UK. You’ll benefit from trips to the British Library, Shakespeare’s Globe and West End theatres. You'll also get to hear from guest lectures covering different aspects of creative writing. Industry expert speakers include book publishers, screenwriters, poets and broadcasters.   

Your writing talent can also be showcased at a variety of performances hosted by Brunel including poetry, plays, comedy and film screenings, literary debates, and the popular Brunel Writers’ Series.

The Human Resource Management degree will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of current theory and practice relating to employment relations and Human Resource Management (HRM).

You will learn to combine theory and practice to perform effectively and responsibly as an HRM practitioner, understanding the purpose and key objectives of the HRM function in contemporary organisations. The course will further equip you to implement sustainable HRM strategies and practices that raise levels of employee recruitment, training, talent development, engagement, wellbeing and performance in a specific organisational context.

You will further learn of the complexities of employment regulation and the way it informs practice to ensure staff are treated ethically when they are at work, as well as how to promote equal opportunities and manage workplace diversity and inclusion. For a career in HRM you will also develop competencies in analysing key contemporary global labour market trends and their significance for workforce planning in both domestic and international organisational contexts.

The Human Genome Project is having a huge impact on the field of science and genetics. How will it provide new insights and therapies for the treatment of genetic diseases? If you’re interested in the field of genetics and the treatment of genetic diseases then this specialist course is perfect for you.

At Brunel, we understand that your specialist knowledge should be built on a sound grounding of all the areas of biomedical sciences. This means that your first year will cover areas such as the human body, biochemistry and research skills. As you continue through your degree you will study specialist areas that will teach you how the role of various genetic mutations alter cellular processes and biomechanical pathways in normal metabolism, and also how these pathways may be altered during specific human disease.

And if you change your mind about your specialist area, don’t worry. The flexibility of our course at Brunel means that you can switch to another specialist pathway in the second year or even take the general Biomedical Sciences BSc.

The Royal Society of Biology has awarded its accreditation to all of Brunel’s undergraduate Biomedical Sciences courses. This means you can be confident that your degree will prepare you for the working world – and your prospective employers will know this too. You'll receive a one year’s membership as an Associate Member once you graduate, integrating you into the sector with access to key contacts and up-to-date knowledge.

In your final year you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to our research programmes in cellular and biochemical pathways, the regulation of gene expression, DNA repair and immunological responses to microbial infection. This will give you first-hand experience of real-world laboratory research and prepare you for your future career.

Graduate with the confidence and experience you need to make a great start in your career by choosing to do a biomedical sciences placement.

• A placement lets you gain valuable experience that will put you ahead of the rest when you’re looking for employment. Like some of our former students, you can potentially spend a year working at some top companies such as Mars, Parexel and Astra Zeneca.
• If you’re looking for the experience of working further afield in biomedical sciences, there are also opportunities to work abroad where you can flourish in an exciting new culture. Recent opportunities our students have benefited from have included laboratory work in Sicily, a cytogenetics company close to Milan or working for Bayer in Berlin.
• The opportunities are endless and the experience you’ll get will be enlightening as well as rewarding.