Master of Science in Behavioural Science

at Durham University United Kingdom

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).

Through MISCADA’s FinMath specialisation, students will be introduced to the mathematical principles behind modern financial markets, and elements of programming and communication in the context of the financial industry. Financial mathematics draws on tools from probability theory, statistics, partial differential equations, and scientific computing, and is widely used in investment banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, corporate treasuries, and regulatory agencies to solve such problems as derivative pricing, portfolio selection, and risk management.

This course is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in a subject other than anthropology who would like to prepare for research in socio-cultural anthropology or for a career requiring expertise in anthropology.

High profile social anthropologist researchers at Durham, with experience of conducting fieldwork all around the world, introduce you to both classical and contemporary writing and research in the discipline. There is equal emphasis on theoretical and methodological questions, and plenty of opportunities to apply this new knowledge to issues of pressing social concern.

The full-time course consists of two terms of teaching, during which you are introduced to the range of research questions and methods used in social or cultural anthropology, and a dissertation, involving the design, development, and implementation of an independent research project. You will work closely with academic staff from our highly respected Social Anthropology Research Group receiving enhanced levels of support as part of the ‘conversion’ to anthropology, including fortnightly small group meetings with the course tutor, and have the opportunity to become involved in active research projects.

Despite the phenomenal technological progress of the 20th century, most people still live with the acute and chronic consequences of age-old hazards such as floods and earthquakes. This MSc is aimed at those interested in engaging with the natural and social dimensions of environmental hazards, including disasters and climate related risk.

You will receive specialised scientific training in the physical hazards that pose large risks to communities living throughout the world, from climate change and meteorological risks to flooding, earthquakes and landslides. On this course you will receive theoretical and practical training for understanding and quantifying risks and hazards. You will also learn about how hazards persist over long periods of time instead of merely as single events, but are composed of many smaller sub-events or how their effects are widespread.

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

Education Studies is a broad multi-disciplinary degree, designed for the intellectually and practically curious. 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.

The MEng Mechanical Engineering degree is a four-year first degree that delivers the breadth and depth that you will need in the world of engineering. It is designed to produce graduates who will go on and lead engineering teams. Your first two years offer you a broad-based engineering education. You then specialise into Mechanical Engineering in your third and fourth years. It is important to highlight that you can transfer between the different Engineering programmes that we offer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic, etc.) up until the end of the second year, provided that you meet the relevant progression requirements. We believe that students should make an informed decision about their futures and allowing our students to transfer between programmes, once they understand the different disciplines, demonstrates our commitment to this and the Department’s General Engineering philosophy.

In the first three years of your degree at Durham you will take six modules, the year is divided into three terms and there are examinations at the end of each year. The taught modules in the final year are smaller to reflect their specialist content – you will take six of these modules plus a dissertation, or final year, project.

 The MA in Classics is our core research training degree, suitable for anyone wishing to pursue doctoral work in a branch of Classics. The course places a strong emphasis on language training, on theoretically informed approaches to Classical texts, and on practical engagement with your chosen specialism.

This degree balances fundamental knowledge and practical application in order to provide you with both specialised and transferable skills that are greatly valued in the marketplace. The course emphasises from the start both programming and mathematical skills that allow in the later years engagement through your 'Individual Project' with cutting-edge research being done in the department.

Our MSc programmes in Economics will give you the opportunity to equip yourself with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue a career in economics and related disciplines.

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:

• Advanced Macroeconomics
• Advanced Microeconomics

The MA in Visual Culture at Durham is a distinctive interdisciplinary course that invites you to develop your knowledge and understanding of the visual arts and of visual culture. To study visual arts and culture is a way of paying attention to phenomena that are everywhere. The concept of ‘visual culture’ acknowledges the pervasive nature of visual phenomena, and signals openness towards both the breadth of objects and images, and the range of theoretical and methodological perspectives needed to understand them adequately.

Drawing upon research strengths across the departments that contribute to the course, the MA in Visual Culture encourages a broad geographical and chronological scope, while allowing you to engage with a wide range of visual phenomena, including fine art, film, photography, architecture, and scientific and medical imaging practices.

The importance of critical visual literacy in the contemporary world cannot be exaggerated. ‘The illiterate of the future’, wrote the Bauhaus artist and theoretician László Moholy-Nagy, ‘will be the person ignorant of the camera as well as of the pen’. This observation was made in the 1920s, when photography was first used in the periodical press and in political propaganda. The rich visual world of the early twentieth century pales in comparison with the visual saturation that now characterises everyday experience throughout the developed societies and much of the developing world. But the study of visual culture is by no means limited to the twentieth century. Turning our attention to past cultures with a particular eye to the significance of visual objects of all kinds yields new forms of knowledge and understanding.