Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biomedical Science with International or Placement Year

at Keele University United Kingdom

In today’s globalised, highly competitive world, experts have predicted marketers, writers and salespeople will be among the most
in-demand jobs of the next decade – with skills in content  creation and curation, social media strategy, digital marketing and analytics the most sought-after.

You’ll learn to use technology to create new opportunities and to solve a wide range of problems, benefiting every aspect of society from the home to business, government and beyond.

Our teaching is informed by our cutting-edge research, and we also reflect what’s happening now in industry. There’s a strong emphasis on programming – but don’t worry if you don’t have A Level Mathematics because the course covers what you need to know. You’ll have access to our computing labs, based on Microsoft Windows and Linux, plus a wide range of software. Our excellent central location is ideal for industrial placements, with over 40 companies situated on the Keele Science Park alone.

Ongoing developments in IT, transport and communications have accelerated the pace of globalisation leading to increased interconnectedness of national economies and an integration of markets in the world’s economy. Employers, large and small, need managers who can see the big picture when it comes to spotting opportunities and solving business issues, who understand the impact of different cultures, markets and geographies.

Grounded in theory and practice, our MSc focuses on developing your understanding of business and management within a global context, offering a deep insight into areas such as strategic management, cultural management issues, ethical and environmental issues and international value chains.

Referring to real-life business examples and hearing direct from practitioners, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategic and tactical challenges of operating internationally when confronted with, for example, mergers and acquisitions or foreign direct investment. We’ll also share our own research, for example, studying the role of Chinese trade union organisations on collective wage consultation and strikes, and the challenges of developing countries’ labour market, income and employment.

We’ll uncover some of the different and often fascinating trade practices that exist across continents and countries, such as the varying age restrictions on child labour, often influenced by historical, cultural and social background. You’ll also be exposed to the unique challenges of identifying, managing and training a global workforce with diverse staff of multiple nationalities and ethnicities, with the chance to take part in a practical mock interview scenario.

The study of International Relations covers key issues of international threats, conflict, competition, cooperation, development and globalisation, provides a solid understanding of international organisations such as the UN and
the European Union. IR as a discipline also covers structures of power and influence. Our IR experts specialise in a broad range of topics, which currently include security and terrorism studies, the environment, gender, development, peace and conflict, international history, political economy, international organisation, and IR and political theories. We currently have regional expertise in the politics of Europe, Eurasia, Africa, China and the Middle East.

Our programme develops a range of analytical skills to help you interpret and explain the processes at work in unfolding current events. In a world of complex interdependence, such skills are of increasing relevance to many areas of business, industry and government. 

You will learn about the history of the Earth, its past and present environments, and the planet's resources and hazards. We look at the Earth as a global system, including the causes and effects of global environmental change. There is strong emphasis on developing both laboratory and fieldwork skills.

Combining fieldwork, practical classes, tutorials and lectures, this course provides a diverse range of specialist options. You will focus particularly on research skills and aim to collect, analyse and interpret different types of data, and to carry out your own research using specialist software and equipment.

Media and Sociology is a distinctive combined degree which enables you to explore the sociological implications of social media, popular culture, and the mass media, whilst offering opportunities to engage in creative media practice such as film-making and photography.

You will attend lectures led by an interdisciplinary team of experts in their field, participate in seminars, and get hands-on experience of media production including pre- and post-production techniques. You will have access to media production facilities and the opportunity to try a range of media forms including photography, digital video, magazine production, newsmaking and social media.

The media modules combine a distinctive balance of theory and practice so you can develop as a critical and thoughtful practitioner. You will study the role of media in society, the impact of the political economy on media content and the relationship between content and audiences. You will analyse popular cultural forms such as TV, memes, film and news, think about their meaning in contemporary social life and explore your ideas through media production.

Studying English Literature and History at Keele will enable you to develop your appreciation of various global histories and literature, whilst enjoying the rich history of our local area. In your spare time, you might find yourself exploring the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon metalwork most likely deposited in the 7th century in the then Kingdom of Mercia. The Staffordshire Hoard provides a window to England in the 6th and 7th centuries and also to the warrior elite that existed during these times and now rests less than 5 miles away from Keele.

The History element of the programme will carry you chronologically from the medieval period to the present, and span the globe. You will be introduced to a wide range of history – from political, social, economic and cultural history to the history of gender, health, sexuality and religion. Throughout your first year, you may engage in modules that encourage you to explore topics such as how European rulers tried to strengthen their authority with the increase of military power between the late fifteenth and late seventeenth centuries, or some of the key defining moments in History which may include the 1720 South Sea Bubble in Britain, the 1791 Haitian Revolution or the 1933 Bauhaus movement.  

Throughout the degree you will explore and interpret literary texts that will challenge your views, advance your tastes, prompt your creativity. You'll be encouraged to delve deep into a range of literary works, which may include authors such as Emily Bronte, Aphra Behn, Tsitsi Dangarembga and J M Coetzee. Our intellectually stimulating and engaging approach to exploring novels, poetry, drama, graphic novels and other types of literature produce intelligent, perceptive, socially aware and compassionate individuals who are able to make a real impact. You'll tackle a range of issues and unprecedented challenges of our cultural moment, which could include decolonisation, sustainability and the environment, gender and sexuality, migration, political extremism, or the role of literature as an arbiter of truth in an era of information overload and fake news.

Through a range of activities and assessments, our diverse course will equip you with a wide array of attributes that employers are looking for, including problem solving, creativity, emotional intelligence, and digital literacy. You will pursue your passions, grow in confidence, and gain a unique set of transferable skills that will be invaluable for your future career in a variety of sectors.

The course is designed with the aim of producing a new generation of potential global industry leaders with a broad, solutions-focused knowledge of the applied pharmaceutical sciences and who are able to participate in and manage global product development teams.

This year-long, 180-credit MSc is split into three, equal-credit semesters. The first semester of the course aims to equip you with the necessary business skills and integrate this with the pharmaceutical science knowledge needed in product development and management with two business modules delivered by our Keele Business School. The second semester continues to build on this knowledge but also has more laboratory-based modules to allow you to develop your laboratory skills and demonstrate how well you are able to apply the necessary pharmaceutical knowledge required within each session. The final semester allows you to specialise into an area of your interest with a project that can either be research or audit based, in an appropriate subject relating to pharmaceutical development and business management.

This course is aimed at developing your programming skills from a very basic level, using Python, so you can move onto more advanced programming concepts used in other modules. Our experienced lecturers will help you develop an advanced knowledge of software engineering methodologies, as well as data analytics and databases.

You will develop and extend the practical skills that are necessary for the designing, building, deployment and evaluation of distributed information systems and enterprise applications over the Internet, with a focus on security issues.

Biology at Keele focuses on the amazing world of organisms – from how they’ve evolved to their relationships with the environment and each other. Keele takes a broad approach to biology, examining the diversity of life and its evolution from the geological past. You’ll consider a range of engaging biological topics which may include the complexity of biological processes and mechanisms at molecular, cellular, organismal and ecosystem levels, philosophical and ethical issues. You’ll develop your pratical skill set through engaging in activities which could include sampling, recording and analysing data in the field and in our well-equipped labs.