Master of Science in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design with Placement (Thick - Sandwich)

at Brunel University London United Kingdom

The Brunel Mechanical Engineering MEng gives students interested in pursuing careers in mechanical engineering an extra year of advanced study and training that will deepen your knowledge of the subject, expand your skill sets and put you on a fast-track to becoming a chartered engineer.

As with our Mechanical Engineering BEng degree, you’ll get a thorough grounding in the core principles of engineering science including solid body mechanics, thermodynamics and materials science as well as in the fundamentals of product design, development and manufacturing.

You’ll also get training in related disciplines integral to the profession such as computing, electrical engineering and electronics.

And, as mechanical engineers not only design exciting products but venture into managing projects and companies, you’ll study elements of management, ethics, finance and law.

In your final year, along with studying specialist topics taught at master’s degree level, you’ll take part in a major group project to design and manufacture a product. This will give you valuable experience working in a team-based environment and on-the-job opportunities to develop your leadership and management skills, competencies sought by employers.

Recent examples of projects include a novel means of filtering water and applying fuel-cell technology to motorcycles.

Throughout your studies you’ll have use of our modern, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and 24-hour access to industry standard engineering design software at dedicated computer clusters on campus, so you’ll have the opportunity and equipment to explore ideas and tackle problems.

Our mechanical engineering MEng course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)..We offer two study options. You can choose four years full-time or five years full-time with a one-year work placement that will give you the chance to apply what you’ve learned to a real-life working environment.

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 a world where business, government and society depend more and more on technology, graduates with the knowledge and skills to design and build the machines and processes driving the technological innovation are in demand, particularly those with higher qualifications. Your Brunel MEng will give you that expertise and stand you in good stead for a rewarding career in engineering.

The Brunel Finance and Investment MSc gives graduates the advanced knowledge and skills needed to pursue careers in financial management, with a focus on investment analysis and portfolio management.

In addition to core subjects including financial theory, financial markets and corporate finance, you’ll examine in detail financial modelling, investment strategies, performance evaluation, risk assessment, investment valuation and asset pricing. 

Further, you’ll develop your quantitative and problem-solving skills and ability 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.

We hold regular training sessions with Bloomberg, which will enhance your research and give you a taste of a real-world working environment.

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.

While you study for your Finance and Investment MSc you can take advantage of the opportunity to follow the CFA Program (Chartered Financial Analyst) specialist pathway and gain the skills required to complete the Level I CFA Program exam.  The CFA Program has become the most respected and recognised professional qualification in finance in the world. Find out more on our  Level I CFA® Program Pathway page. 

As global capital and money markets grow, so does the demand for professionals with specialist skills and competencies in finance and investment. Your Brunel Masters will give you that and make you a sought-after job candidate to employers across the industry.

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

The world relies on computers and so do most businesses and organisations. Mathematics is the language of computer science so if you have the skills for both you’ll find a whole range of careers available to you in most sectors.

On this single honours course you’ll develop your mathematical and statistical knowledge and apply these skills to solve problems in computing, business and other areas.

Approximately two-thirds of the course is devoted to mathematical and statistical areas. The mathematics subjects on this course focus particularly on aspects of modern algebra that relate to computer science and also include a considerable amount of numerical analysis of mathematical problems. You have the opportunity to specialise in Level 3 so as an example, you may choose modern encryption methods as used in internet transactions.

Follow the four-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, computer science 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 Civil Engineering with Sustainability BEng degree is a highly innovative course that has been developed to equip you with a broad range of knowledge and skills to meet the real world needs of the civil engineering and construction industry.

You will study the traditional elements of civil engineering including design, structures, materials, fluid mechanics, geotechnics and maths. You’ll be introduced to a range of sustainable infrastructure topics and then progress to specialist subjects such as water and wastewater engineering.

Access is available to custom-designed technical facilities to work on your laboratory experiments. These include fluids and hydraulics laboratories, and structures, materials and geotechnics labs. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in dedicated computer clusters.

During your studies, there is a residential field trip with hands-on experience in surveying and geology using industry standard equipment. You will also benefit from guest lectures delivered by industry professionals, as well as visits to construction sites and civil engineering development projects.

Due to recent changes to the engineering curriculum, our accreditation is currently being reconfirmed with the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM). The JBM compromises the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers. We have every expectation that our accreditation will be renewed later in the academic year.

This BEng degree in civil engineering with sustainability can be studied full-time over three years, or four years with a placement year. The BEng degree meets the educational requirement to become an Incorporated Engineer (IEng). You may wish to transfer to the MEng route of study at the end of your second year, subject to meeting the progression requirement. The MEng degree fully meets the educational requirement to become a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and involves a further year of academic study.  

We encourage the placement year option. This time in industry helps you to further prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you decide to go on an engineering placement year, you will have the opportunity to work in the civil engineering sector. It could be for a contractor, consultant or government authority.

Working with and for young people in the developing world offers an exciting career full of challenges and rewards. Our Children, Youth and International Development MA is a varied course with a global perspective which will help equip you for roles in international development organisations, government ministries and global agencies.

You will acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enable you to critically evaluate research, policy and practice in the area of children, youth and development. You will also discover the differing disciplinary perspectives on childhood and youth by studying modules from related disciplines.

As you journey through the course, you also will acquire the skills necessary to design and undertake your own research.

Opt for the 'Applied Learning' module and you will have the opportunity of a short placement (one or two days a week for ten weeks) with an organisation that works in the field of children, youth and international development.

Examples of the ‘Applied Learning’ placements previously undertaken include:

• Action Aid – on a campaign targeting exploitation in the garment industry
• Anti-Slavery International – on a project to eradicate caste-based bonded labour
• Basti RAM – planned lessons for a Global Citizenship project
• BookAid International – helped build up an evidence base for Book Aid’s international programmes
• Commonwealth Secretariat – on the CS’s Youth Programme in Uganda
• International Refugee Trust – development of the online classroom about refugees
• National Deaf Children's Society – developed international exchanges for deaf young people
• Oxfam – mobilised UK school children to get involved in Oxfam campaigns
• Project Hope – several placements including designing a survey on youth experiences, and developing leaflets to help South African adults to identify signs of mental illness
• The Mouth That Roars – helped children in London and Saudi Arabia to create videos through which they communicated their everyday lives to each other

Additionally, an Erasmus agreement exists between the Brunel MA and the MPhil in Childhood Studies at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

The agreement allows two students from the MA to spend their second term (January to May) at the Trondheim centre. Erasmus students do not pay tuition fees at NOSEB and are entitled to a grant (€375/month) to cover any additional costs.

Our Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Communication Systems) BEng degree is a modern course that has been developed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to work and research in electronic and electrical engineering with specialisation in digital communication systems.This programme will help to develop underlying knowledge and skills appropriate for today’s digital communication systems including introduction to standardised systems.

You’ll gain a good understanding of the different engineering areas, giving you the opportunity to learn more about the fundamental engineering subjects such as design, structures, materials, fluid mechanics, electronics and maths and gain skills in technical drawing.

By specialising in communication systems you’ll develop in-depth knowledge of communication systems and apply techniques on individual programmes.

Access is available to modern technical facilities including computer, electronics, and power and control laboratories where you’ll work on your experiments. The latest industry standard engineering software packages are available for you to use in dedicated computer clusters.

Brunel's BEng electronic and electrical engineering (artificial intelligence) course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). This professional engineering institution ensures that your engineering degree meets the academic requirement to qualify as a professional engineer. This accredited BEng degree in electronic and electrical engineering can be studied full-time over three years, or four years with a placement year. The BEng degree meets the educational requirement to become an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).

We encourage the placement year option. This time in industry helps you to further prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you decide to go on an engineering placement year, you will have the opportunity to work in an engineering or technology company.

Anthropology offers a unique and powerful means for understanding cultural and social diversity in the modern world. It considers issues which can lead to mind blowing revelations about how individuals and cultures experience life differently.

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 perennial questions about human nature, such as: ‘What do we have in common with each other cross-culturally?’ and ‘What makes us different?’.

If you are intrigued by these questions and want to study a discipline that will enrich your everyday life as well as equip you for a great variety of occupations, anthropology is the right course for you.

Our rigorous program gives you the freedom to choose one of our pathway options early on:- 

• Anthropology BSc 
• Anthropology (Childhood, Youth and Education) BSc 
• Anthropology (Development, War and Humanitarian Assistance) BSc 
• Anthropology (Global Health) BSc

A special feature of the course at Brunel is the opportunity to do fieldwork placements anywhere in the world according to your anthropological interests.

Fieldwork is excellent preparation for work and a chance to make useful contacts and will help to add greater meaning to academic studies.

Around half of Brunel’s 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.

Examples of dissertation titles based on fieldwork findings have included work in a Nepalese monastery, a South African women’s refuge, the Police Complaints Authority (on the Stephen Lawrence case), as well as in schools and charities.

Outside of classes, you can look forward to a one of the most cultural diverse campuses in the UK with opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

Additionally, Brunel’s anthropological student society arrange class trips to places like the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, and the campus’s London location makes it ideal for exploring places like the British Museum in Central London.

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.

Building services engineers are involved with virtually every aspect of a building’s interior environment. They design, install and maintain electrical and mechanical services - heating, cooling, lighting, water, lifts, and telecoms - and advise on issues of health and safety, security, sustainability and energy efficiency.

In short, they help buildings work, whether for residential, educational, commercial, industrial or cultural purposes.

Brunel's Building Services Engineering MSc gives graduates with engineering or technology backgrounds the technical, design and management skills they need to excel in this lucrative and multi-faceted profession.

You'll get a solid grounding in core subjects of heat transfer, energy conversion, acoustics, electrical services and lighting design as well as in the practicalities of building management, fire and smoke control, waste disposal and lifts and escalators.

Additionally, as there is a growing demand for a new generation of environmentally responsible buildings, you’ll also examine energy efficiency and sustainable design.

You can choose to study 1 year full-time at Brunel or the distance learning programme over 3 years.

This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute (EI), which means your degree will put you on course to gain Chartered Engineer (CEng) status in the UK.  

Throughout your studies you’ll have use of our state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and 24-hour access to industry standard specialist software for engineering design at dedicated computer clusters on campus, so you’ll have the opportunity and equipment to explore ideas and tackle problems.

With the growing complexity of engineering services in modern buildings and the significance of energy conservation and emissions control, the role of the building services engineer is becoming increasingly important. Your Brunel engineering master’s will give you the technical, creative and managerial expertise that lead to excellent career opportunities.

Using mathematics to solve industrial and commercial problems has led to vital breakthroughs for human advancement. Mathematical models underpin engineering, the applied sciences, computing and many aspects of business and management today. If you have a skill for mathematics and statistics and a flare for management then this could be the course for you. The combination of skills developed on this course will open doors to a wide range of careers.

This course focuses on how mathematics can solve industrial and commercial problems. You’ll develop a broad knowledge of general management alongside applicable skills and knowledge in mathematics and statistics.

Follow the four-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.

The Brunel MA in Law, Policy and Practice is a unique interdisciplinary programme that focuses on key legal and regulatory developments from an international perspective.

This programme offers a detailed analysis of the theory, law, policy and practice in two contemporary and fast-growing areas: migration and ethics, governance and compliance. Both pathways have an emphasis on policy and practice, as applied in the specific areas to form two options of a coherent MA.

You can choose to study full-time (one year) or part-time (two years) and to begin your course either in September or January. 

The two pathways are:

Ethics, Governance and Compliance

The Ethics, Governance and Compliance pathway is focused on international regulation and compliance from an interdisciplinary perspective. This is an innovative programme offering an overview of how modern markets operate – from the perspective of law and also finance, business, economics and management.  It provides an in-depth understanding of the challenges that modern businesses face, especially in the financial services sector. This pathway is designed to offer a combination of practical and theoretical knowledge, complemented by a unique set of skills that are essential for succeeding in an environment where compliance, ethics and good governance are becoming increasingly important.

Migration Law, Policy and Practice:

The Migration Law, Policy and Practice pathway is the first programme in the UK that offers multi-disciplinary, theoretical and practical insights into arguably the biggest challenge of our society today, namely migration. 

The programme will go beyond examining the relevant legal frameworks.  It will provide critical insights on policy and current practice related to migration and refugee rights. This pathway offers a unique opportunity for acquiring specialist cross-disciplinary knowledge from world-known experts and current leaders in the European migration response. You will learn about law and policy as well as acquiring invaluable practical experience and the opportunity to experience fieldwork. 

In 2020 Brunel was awarded a three-year EU grant with partners for its ITFLOWS research project to predict and manage migrant flows.  The MA in Law, Policy and Practice is at the cutting edge of migration law.  This research project consolidates Brunel's worldwide reputation as an important hub for migration and refugee studies within our Brunel Law School.