Master of Science in Natural Sciences

at Durham University United Kingdom

The MA in Geography (Research Methods) - or MARM - aims to give a broad training in social science research methodology as well as more specific training in the approaches and techniques used in human geography. There is a balance between theory and practical application. The course includes skills training and reflection on personal experience, and those who are going on to MPhil/PhD work are encouraged to relate what they learn to their future research. Most of the teaching is in small groups and emphasises student engagement and discussion.

The MARM is an ESRC recognised Masters training course and all modules are designed and delivered in line within the ESRC's requirements. All modules include formative and summative assessment. The teaching is delivered in Terms 1 and 2. From Easter onwards you will work on your dissertation with the support of an allocated supervisor.

Our MSc Finance programmes are designed to provide you with rigorous training at the frontier of research, as well as the advanced analytical and technical skills that are highly sought after by global employers and, if you wish to continue your studies, by world-leading PhD programmes.

Our MSc programmes have partnership status with the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA). The CFA is the world’s premier association for investment professionals and the accepted benchmark for technical excellence in financial markets. It guarantees you benefit from a curriculum of the highest standards and enables you to participate in the CFA Global Investment Research Challenge, as well as CFA employer network events and scholarships.

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

Core Modules

• Banking and Financial Intermediation
• Bank Management
• Financial Technologies I
• Financial Technologies II
• Python for Finance
• Econometric Methods

This MA aims to introduce you to the issues involved in global cultural heritage management as a foundation for both professional and academic paths. It benefits from Durham University’s unique situation, living and studying within a UNESCO World Heritage Site and examines tangible and intangible heritage from international, national and local perspectives. Durham University established the first ever UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, held by Professor Robin Coningham. The degree has strong links with the Durham World Heritage Site and with other local, regional, national and international heritage sites and organisations, many of whom offer placement opportunities.

There are two routes through the MA: the Cultural Heritage Research route which concludes with a dissertation. The Professional Practice Route which concludes with an analytical case study report.

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.

Across all sectors and at all levels of business, financial management is fundamental to the success of organisations. By studying our MSc Management (Finance), you will build your knowledge and expertise in this area, giving you a strong platform from which to launch a career in management with a specific financial focus.

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:

• Business Economics and Accounting
• Corporate Finance for Managers
• Financial Management
• Fundamentals of Finance
• Organisational Behaviour
• Strategy

In studying BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences here at Durham, a mix of core and optional modules enables you to explore traditional sport, exercise and health science disciplines (across physiology; psychology; physical activity, nutrition and health). Modules from the Sociology of Sport and Sport Development and Policy subject areas are also available to select across all three years, allowing you to develop a broader, more holistic knowledge base and skill set across the wider study of sport and exercise

Research and academic study skills will be developed through bespoke modules, and during the final year dissertation project you will engage in deeper investigation of a sport and exercise topic that particularly interests you. In addition, our employability-focused course provides further opportunities for you to take sport and exercise leadership and placement modules, as well as open modules from other departments across the University.

Here at Durham, our multidisciplinary expertise across the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences allows you to tackle traditional and emergent sport and exercise problems from a variety of different perspectives. Learning, teaching and assessment approaches all emphasise the application of academic knowledge to real-life sport and exercise contexts and examples. As such, we enable you to develop your intellectual capacities and personal qualities, as well as to acquire a broad range of practical, professional and employability skills that can be applied to a range of future career paths and further postgraduate studies.

The MMath is a four-year degree in Mathematics. It offers a good basis for a wide range of employment, including a career as a professional mathematician or statistician in industry or if you wish to go on to do research in the higher education sector. You will spend one-third of your final year on project work, and consequently be able to study in depth a topic in which you are particularly interested.

The main objective of the course is to educate you in the key engineering aspects of electronic and electrical engineering, enabling you to undertake responsible, creative, challenging and stimulating posts in industry or research.

The course covers the key areas of electronic and electrical engineering. In addition to the technical background provided in these subjects, hands-on experience is gained through a major individual Research and Development project, a group design project and a supporting laboratory programme.

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, or financial mathematics).

Through MISCADA’s Earth & Environment domain specialisation, we seek to provide the advanced knowledge of how to use sophisticated datasets and tools to tackle cutting-edge and societally-relevant problems relating to the Earth’s environment and management of its scarce resources. We introduce a variety of Earth and Environmental datasets, as well as to the specialist mathematical and software tools required for their quantitative and computational analysis.

This one-year course (two years part-time) provides an ideal academic environment for those who would like to study the subject at a higher level in preparation for a PhD or as a basis for future employment. Significant numbers of former students go on to further study. The course includes research training and allows you to write a substantial dissertation on a topic you wish to pursue at PhD level. Our staff members have expertise in a very wide range of areas, so there is considerable flexibility over choice of dissertation topic. Modules are taught via group seminars and one-to-one tutorials.