Master of Science in Psychological Sciences (Conversion)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

On this Business Computing BSc degree course, you get to specialise in eBusiness, learning about how software and IT systems can support business transactions and drive sales. Through a mixture of theory and real-world practice, you’ll learn how to determine a dynamic mix of processes, which allow information delivery systems and users to carry out business effectively and efficiently. You’ll come to intuitively understand how an organisation’s information systems need to adapt to the changes and developments natural to growth and progress.

In addition to the compulsory business computing content you will learn about the underlying models and latest approaches used by companies in building successful eBusiness platforms.

Our course is designed for flexibility, so if you’re not sure which route you want to go down, you can select modules and specialise gradually during your time with us. You can transfer between Computer Science and Business Computing up to the start of Level 2, then should you wish, you can choose a specialism up to the start of Level 3.

We know that when you graduate, you’ll be working on large projects. That’s why one third of each year of our programmes is project-based. On Levels 1 and 2, you’ll build a software solution in a team, and in your final year you’ll carry out an individual project. You’ll also have the opportunity to showcase your projects at the annual Made in Brunel (Software Innovation) event, with awards presented by the likes of Cisco, Sky and Xerox.

As part of your degree course, you’ll have the chance to take a year-long work placement between your second year and third year. We’ll support you in finding that all-important paid professional experience, in the UK or abroad. The feedback we’ve received is that those who have taken a placement are much more likely to find a job for which their degree was a formal requirement as it gives you a competitive advantage. Recent graduates have gone on to work for well-known names such as Accenture, Toshiba, Microsoft, British Airways, O2, and Barclays.

Our programmes are accredited by the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT, for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP). The accreditation also allows you to apply for professional membership of the BCS after you have successfully completed your degree. 

The department has been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze, recognising our dedication to the advancement of gender equality in STEM subjects. We now have an ongoing three-year action plan to further implement strategies and improve our practices. As part of this endeavour, Brunel’s Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides our female students with invaluable help and support from the industry.

The Brunel LLB Law with International Arbitration and Commercial Law gives students the opportunity to earn a qualifying law degree with specialist knowledge of international arbitration and commercial law.

Along with the requirements of the traditional LLB degree you’ll learn commercial, international and comparative law and about cross-border transactions and cross-cultural dispute resolution.

We offer two study options. You can choose three years full-time, or four years full-time with a professional placement year between years two and three that will give you hands-on experience working in a legal practice.

All of our students have careers advisers who you can discuss career ideas with and who can offer guidance on placements and further study options throughout your time with us.

Our Law with International Arbitration and Commercial Law LLB undergraduate degree is accredited by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), meaning that you will gain the necessary knowledge and skills required to go on to be a practising solicitor.  Please note, from October 2019, rather than accrediting LLB Degrees, the Bar Standard Board requires law degrees to cover the seven legal foundation subjects and the skills associated with graduate legal work in order to meet the requirements of the Academic Component of becoming a barrister. Brunel Law School's LLB Degrees fully meet these requirements.

With its foundation of English law and practice and its focus on arbitration and commercial law your degree will stand you in good stead for lucrative cross-border fields of legal practice.

The Brunel Automotive Engineering BEng gives students with a passion for motor vehicles the specialised expertise they need to become professional engineers in the fast-moving automotive industry.

Along with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering, including maths, engineering science and design, you’ll gain an in-depth knowledge of the technical workings of current and future automotive systems.  

You’ll study all aspects of automotive development and manufacture from vehicle design and performance to engine and transmission systems to materials, structures and safety.

You’ll also get hands-on practice troubleshooting engineering problems that inevitably arise during the construction and testing processes.

Your education will profit, too, by your access to the work done at our Centre for Advanced Powertrain and Fuels (CAPF). One of the largest and most active engine research groups in the UK, CAPF focuses on minimising pollutant emissions and improving fuel efficiency while maintaining performance levels.

Throughout your studies you’ll have use of our modern, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, which comprise our motorsport workshop, and 24-hour access to industry standard specialist software for engineering design at dedicated computer clusters.

Our automotive engineering BEng course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). We offer two study options. You can choose three years full-time or four years full-time with a one-year professional placement that will allow to put what you’ve learned to use in real-world situations.

If you start on the full-time course, you can transfer to the professional development option, which includes the placement, at any time before the end of Level 2.

In the rapidly evolving automotive industry, demand for engineers with the technical and managerial skills to excel is on the rise. Your Brunel BEng will give you these and equip you to play leading roles in industry and public service.

What is the social and cultural impact of media communications in today’s world? How do communication and information media actually work and what are their importance to our society?

This course enjoys a very close relationship with sociology at Brunel and combines the theoretical elements of sociology with the practical elements of media studies. You’ll focus on all aspects of society: its personal, social and cultural dimensions.

Studying communications and media at Brunel is not just limited to the classroom. You’ll have the opportunity to broaden your mind by going on field trips and joining film sessions, where you’ll learn about cameras lighting and editing. You’ll be able to attend optional company visits, for example IMG studios, where you’ll receive a tour of the studios.

On this course you’ll have the chance to make your own films in groups. You’ll develop your skills in our media services suite which has industry-standard facilities. You’ll be taught about the software Final Cut Pro and how to use different types of Canon cameras. You’ll experiment with different lighting styles and practise sound editing techniques. This practical work will equip you with the skills you’ll need for a media related career or for working in the field of production.

You’ll also be able to take your learning outside the classroom – on field trips and company visits. Previous students have toured the IMG studious right here in Uxbridge.

If you choose to go on a placement, you’ll benefit form Brunel’s contacts and location. Examples of recent student placements have been in advertising, digital marketing and public relations in organisations such as Cartoon Network, IMG Media, Sweet Images and the Walt Disney Company.

Our Digital Design and Branding MSc degree is a modern, hands-on course that combines digital technology and creative design. It has been designed to equip you with advanced knowledge and practical skills required for a creative role in the digital branding industry.

You’ll develop deep understanding of advanced digital design practices within the context of branding.

Our modern, industry standard digital media facilities include a green screen and post-production studio, motion capture, sound and photography studios, 4K digital cinema cameras, and a dedicated render farm. You'll have independent access to exclusive PC and Mac computing workshops and benefit from the latest industry standard specialist software for graphic design and image/video editing, 3D animation, digital compositing and rich interactive content creation. There's also the opportunity for you to use our immersive virtual environment laboratory. This includes an immersive dome (planetarium) set up for Brunel by the National Space Centre in Leicester, and is one of only a few in the UK!

There are guest lectures covering lots of different digital media topics and the visiting lecturers provide advice on how to structure your portfolio and showreels. Speakers include creative and design directors, user experience designers, 3D graphic supervisors, as well as mobile and web developers.

Visits are arranged to TV and photography studios, and post-production houses. There’s also the opportunity to go to conferences and this is your chance to build networks with key industry experts. In addition, you have the advantage of Brunel’s close location to London for trips to exhibitions celebrating the creative industries.

Our digital design and branding MSc can be studied full-time over one year or part-time over two years.

A calendar highlight is the BrunelDigital degree show hosted on Brunel’s one London campus. Exhibiting your creative work at this event is a great way for you to connect with leading creative technologists and showcase your talent.

International relations is an area of politics that largely focuses on how two or more nations interact with each other. As an introduction to the course you will study the evolution of international relations theory – for example how international relations relates to problems of anarchy, sovereignty, order, justice and solutions.  

Early on in the course, you will have a choice between two topics: International Security which will look at the main concepts and models within the subject as well as its issues and policies, or International Political Economy which considers topics like globalisation, financial liberation and economic growth.

Once your knowledge, understanding and analytical skills have grown in international relations, you will choose a further two additional optional modules which cover democracy, migrant law, post-war world affairs, security in the middle east, and geopolitics. Finally, a research project of your choice under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor completes the course.

In keeping with the importance Brunel places on getting you ready for work, this degree includes the rare option of a work placement – 6-12 weeks of professional practice that takes place between May and September in an organisation with an international dimension to its mission.

Other opportunities to network and build knowledge include the option to take up membership with Chatham House, the leading British think tank on international affairs. Benefits include access to library and archive materials as well as regular events.

In fact, Brunel’s proximity to central London’s world-class research facilities, Westminster and Whitehall means you couldn’t be better placed to immerse yourself in an established political area.

Graduates of the International Relations MA, go to pursue careers in a wide range of organisations, including government, international institutions, non-governmental organisations, business, research institutes and security, or further study at doctoral level.

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

Politics and Sociology at Brunel is a dynamic combination of high level study in both subjects. Your politics studies will help you address critical questions like: Who has political power? Why do they have it? And in whose interest do they exercise it?

Meanwhile, your studies in sociology will look at subjects like sociological theory, social identities, the sociology of everyday life and the changing nature of modern societies. You’ll be studying people, societies and how people live, and on the other how they are governed or want to be governed.

Both subjects will help to demonstrate your intellectual acumen and understanding of world affairs and real life issues, which will be an asset in so many fields of work.

Whether you’re studying modern world politics or the development of social change and transformations, you’ll not just learn about them, you’ll be analysing them using the tools of political science and social science to help deepen your understanding and critical thinking.

Opt for a placement year and you'll gain valuable experience to help give you the edge in the job market when you come to graduate. Past students have secured placements in the Home Office, HM Treasury, the House of Commons, and the Competition Commission, but the list of possibilities is endless.

It’s a competitive world out there, so you’ll get plenty of support from your lecturers and the University’s Professional Development Centre to help prepare you for your placement year and the world of work.

But why not increase your career options with an accredited journalism course, a free modern language course, or a social media internship? You can even opt to study part of your degree abroad in one of our partner universities in Europe, or participate in an exchange programme to China or the USA.

It’s all available at Brunel to help you make a difference in the world – now and in the future.

Brunel graduates of this subject enter diverse careers. Some go into politics and the civil service, some are at GCHQ and military intelligence, and some go on to further study or into research.

Others go into the public sector – the NHS, social or care work, education or in local authorities, while others go into the private sector working for international banks, business consultancy, law, NGOs, the media and marketing. The opportunities are endless.

Far from being just knowledge of the past, studying issues related to important world events, defence, security, intelligence and strategy are not only insightful, they’ll be highly valued in a troubled world by employers within these fields, and beyond.

A varied set of core modules will take you into scope of studying history at University, whether you’ve got a history qualification or not. Modules like ‘What is History’ which uncovers the themes and tools used by historians and ‘Total War in the Modern Era’, chronicling key wars and their influence, will help prepare you for the more specialist modes to follow later in the course.

A wide range of optional modules in years two and three will help you decide where your interests lie in preparation for your final year project, including the option to study intelligence and security taught by experts in the University’s internationally renowned Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS).

Along the way, you will build a toolkit of transferable skills gained through evidence gathering, analysis, problem solving, drafting and communications, which can be applied to a wide range of industries within the public and private sector.

Opt for a placement year and you’ll be adding a year’s experience in a job role and industry sector that will help to show future employers where you might be a good fit for their organisation. Your placement doesn’t have to be related to history and you’ll get plenty of support from staff and resources in the University’s Professional Development Centre.

Studying military and international history at Brunel has many advantages. Situated in London, the course has established links to world-renowned archives and libraries based in and close to London, including the Caird Library (National Maritime Museum), The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, among others.

Additionally, the original WWII operations bunker used by Sir Winston Churchill on the former RAF Uxbridge is a walk away from campus where Brunel students regularly volunteer.

The Brunel Finance and Accounting MSc gives graduates interested in pursuing careers in financial management or accountancy the opportunity to develop their knowledge of accounting and finance to international levels.

Along with sharpening your quantitative and problem-solving skills, you’ll study the theory of finance, corporate governance, valuation, international accounting standards, risk assessment and financial statement analysis.

Importantly, you’ll develop your ability to interpret complex financial and numerical data and to critically evaluate and deliver midterm and long-term strategic solutions. 

Throughout the course you’ll have access to a variety of professional databases used in business and finance including Datastream, Bloomberg, Bank Scope, Osiris, Reuters 3000 Xtra and Thomson One Banker.

You can choose to study one year full-time, two years full-time with a year's work placement or 16 months full-time with a 6-12 week work placement.

This programme is accredited by ACCA and CIMA.

With growing globalisation and the convergence of international accounting practices, the demand for job candidates with the advanced, specialised skills needed to keep ahead of changing regulation is on the rise. Your Brunel MSc will pave the way for careers across the financial sector.

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

The Theatre and Creative Writing BA is ideal if you want learn more about the richness of theatre past and present while incorporating your passion for creative writing.

Within the theatre side of your degree, you’ll develop creative skills in a number of practical ways: acting, directing, applied drama, physical theatre, digital performance, musical theatre and playwriting.

On the creative writing side of the course, you’ll get to explore a number of writing styles including journalism,screenwriting, comedy writing, short stories and the contemporary novel.

You’ll also grow your knowledge through an understanding of the concepts and models used in the practice and study of theatre, together with the themes and techniques used by historic and contemporary authors.

Study at Brunel and you’ll become part a rich community of creative students, artists and academics with a variety of opportunities to collaborate through acting, directing, playwriting and production.

You’ll learn in Brunel’s purpose-built Antonin Artaud Performance Centre (AA), which is rather like being in drama school with its main theatre, two studio spaces, rehearsal rooms and recording studios.

AA facilities regularly host Arts@Artaud nights showcasing new music, film, creative writing and drama presented by Brunel students.

Established links with the creative industries offer plenty of opportunities to hear from guest speakers and alumni on campus. Off campus, Brunel’s easy access to central London helps to facilitate regular class trips to see West End productions and other events.

For your professional development, the option of a work placement year is an unmissable opportunity to find out where your interests lie and to increase your attractiveness to future employers.

Students from the course have completed placements in a variety of organisations including the London’s Park Theatre, Rose Wisksteed Casting, The Vaults, Unicorn Theatre, Icarus Theatre Company, and the Grieg City Academy.