Bachelor of Arts in Music and Philosophy

at Durham University United Kingdom

This course provides you with the systematic knowledge and intellectual tools to critically review developments in the theory and practice of international relations. It will enable you to evaluate in a sophisticated and critical fashion concepts, theories and paradigms within the broad field of international relations, drawing lessons from empirical studies involving both quantitative and qualitative investigations.

You will develop the ability to deploy research strategies and methods in an appropriately advanced fashion to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship. Each study route aims to provide advanced knowledge and understanding of the dynamics, including cultural and local political and ideological factors, which shape the contemporary international relations of the relevant area.

The course also provides an opportunity for studying international relations in comparative and historical perspective taking account of regional specific political and economic factors.

The study of philosophy at Durham does not follow one particular school. The Department is unique in the UK in its wide-ranging expertise in Anglo-American analytical philosophy and continental philosophy. Each of these has its own distinctive set of issues and approaches to resolving them. We also have special expertise in the philosophy of science, and social science, and the history of science and medicine. So at Durham, you will follow one of the widest-ranging philosophy degrees in the country.

At Durham, you will have the opportunity to study Philosophy as a Single Honours degree, or with another subject including: English, Psychology, Politics or Theology. Philosophy can also be combined in a Joint Honours degree within the Natural Sciences degree or as part of a Combined Honours degree.

Philosophy is a new subject for many students, so in your first year, you follow a range of introductory courses, introducing the fundamental philosophical subject areas.

Our BA (Hons) Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a prestigious programme offering you the opportunity to explore three subjects – their connections, influences and impact. You’ll gain an understanding of how and why they’ve been so inextricably linked historically, and the ways in which they’ve developed and diverged over the course of the last two centuries, both in content and in method.

Throughout the course you’ll investigate the subjects in theory and practice, gaining the knowledge and skills to pursue different lines of inquiry and interrogate your own ideas. All this provides a rigorous academic framework which is highly-regarded as excellent preparation for a successful career, no matter what path you take.

Durham is one of the leading physics and astronomy departments in the UK, enrolling around 170 students each year. The dedication to our teaching and research consistently puts us high up in all the league tables. While studying here you will benefit from the buzz and creative environment of a large research department and join a dynamic and focused intellectual community. Our research ranges from fundamental elementary particle physics and cosmology to more applied topics in which we collaborate closely with industry.

We offer degrees in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Physics, all of which are accredited by the Institute of Physics. Our course structures have been designed to provide flexibility in your final choice of degree course. The three-year BSc degree is aimed at those mainly interested in a degree in Physics as a preparation for a career not necessarily in the Physics area.

Our four-year MPhys degrees will suit those looking for professional training leading to research in physics or a physics-related career. The first year of the BSc and MPhys degree courses in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Physics is identical, and it is possible to select modules in your second year such that you need not make a firm choice of course until the end of the second.

Advances in fields such as Physics, Engineering, Earth Sciences or Finance are increasingly driven by experts in computational techniques. Notably, people skilled to write code for the most powerful computers in the world and skilled to process the biggest data sets in the world can truly make a difference.

The MSc in Scientific Computing and Data Analysis offers an application-focused course to deliver these skills with three interwoven strands:

• Computer Science underpinnings of scientific computing (algorithms, data structures, implementation techniques, and computer tool usage)
• Mathematical aspects of data analysis
• Implementation and application of fundamental techniques in a domain specialisation (presently astrophysics, particle physics, financial mathematics, or earth and environmental sciences).

MISCADA’s Astrophysics specialisation aims to equip students with the background needed to address some of the biggest research questions in fundamental science, such as how we can use large surveys and supercomputer simulations to probe the nature of the dark matter and dark energy. The courses include stellar structure and evolution, galaxy formation, large-scale structure and simulations of structure formation.

With this route, you could study the same three subjects each year. You could also build on your first-year studies in one or two subjects and then combine advanced modules in these subjects with a new subject(s) in your second year.

You could then study two or three subjects in your third year, all of which you must also have studied in earlier years. With this route, you would graduate with a BSc (Hons) degree in Natural Sciences with your main subjects studied listed on the degree certificate.

At the end of Year 2, the BSc allows you the option of transferring onto either “with Year Abroad” or “with Placement” pathway. Note that these options are competitive and so applicants cannot apply for these pathways through UCAS.

The degree courses offered by the Department of Earth Sciences are intended to give you as much flexibility as possible while retaining the core Earth Science subjects. Individual degree courses are comprised of modules, and you will take a total of six modules (120 credits) in each academic year. This allows you to follow your own interests, as they develop.

In the first year, you will be introduced to major topics in Earth Sciences, developing the practical skills required to study rocks and fossils in the field. In Year 2 you will deepen your understanding of these topics. A key part of this year is to gain the knowledge and skills required to undertake your Dissertation. In Year 3 a mix of compulsory and elective modules allow you to specialise and study topics at the cutting-edge of Earth Sciences.

The MSci Earth Sciences course allows those with an aptitude to make the first steps to a research career. The majority of our degrees are accredited by the Geological Society of London, this gives you the assurance our teaching is of the highest quality, has been approved by an independent body of academics and industrialists and provides a fast track to Chartered Geologist status.

Our graduates secure employment in the fields of mineral exploration and petroleum geology, engineering geology, environmental and hydrogeology consultancies, GIS companies, geological surveys, as well as securing places on Masters and PhD courses. Numeracy, critical thinking and problem solving skills developed on the course are highly valued in a wide range of non-geoscience careers, including teaching, business management, insurance and accounting, banking and finance.

Our one year, full-time MSc in Management programmes are designed to provide you with the tools, techniques, and knowledge to succeed in business.

Our MSc Management (Entrepreneurship) has been developed to help entrepreneurial thinkers turn ideas into action. It could be launching your own idea, developing something in partnership, or investing in new ventures – or perhaps you want to find fresh ways to foster and harness entrepreneurial thinking in a business context. Whatever your aims, you’ll learn in a stimulating and enjoyable environment, guided by experienced academics.

The programme consists of a set of core and elective modules, culminating in a practice-based business project or a research-based dissertation.

Core and elective modules:
You will study:

• Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Process
• New Venture Creation
• Organisational Behaviour
• Strategy
• The Entrepreneur's Environment
• Either Strategic Marketing Management OR Business Economics and Accounting

We operate a modular system where you will study six modules each year. The Biosciences MBiol four year degree is designed to allow you more choice between modules in each year so that you can follow specialised routes within Biological Sciences, or address specific areas of interest, as you progress.

Recommended module combinations (“routes”) allow various themes of specialisation, although these still allow choice at each level, we have specified recommended routes corresponding to the following subject areas:

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biomedical Science
• Cell Biology
• Genetics
• Ecology and Environmental Science.

From the philosophical foundations of schooling, to the political implications of policy, education is a vast field that has multiple avenues to approach a seemingly straightforward subject. Our degree goes far beyond any classroom and considers education, people and their relationship to the ever-changing world.

The breadth of our modules allows for the creation of pathways through the course. This may be linked to one of the degree's four strands of educational expertise: pragmatic; sociological-philosophical; psychological; and international-intercultural education. You will also study modules in the Department of Psychology.