Master of Science in Advanced Materials with Optional Industry Placement

at Manchester Metropolitan University United Kingdom

This course rethinks the use, practice and industry of Textiles within the 21st century. It is responsive to an emerging global landscape that requires, sustainable, design-led, innovative positions to be adopted from which to anticipate and forecast our Textile futures.

Manchester and the School of Art have been at the forefront of textiles innovation since the late 19th Century and this course is built on that rich heritage, offering students the opportunity to challenge and innovate in equal measure.

As a student, you will develop innovative study hubs of interdisciplinary expertise, which will both rethink and regenerate textiles within its expanded field (including Textile Craft, Innovation and Digital specialisms). You will address the future paradigms of environmental and social change, new materiality, and the development of 4.0 Textile Industry. Hybrid creative learning environments such as the Manchester Met Digital Lab and specialist Textile facilities support advanced digital learning and making, electronics, 3D printing and multi-media material making practices to be explored.

You will develop individual specialised projects which will become beacons within the expanded field of design. Learning is creative, innovative and interdisciplinary and teaching features design workshops, guest lectures, design events, reading groups, live industry projects and study trips.

Study a software engineering degree with us and you’ll build the essential skills you need to work with software systems – opening the door to a range of career opportunities. You’ll cover all aspects of the software engineering process, with a focus on the methodical approach to robust, error-free software design and development.

In your first year, you’ll start with the core principles of computer architecture, databases, web design and programming. You’ll then begin to specialise, with areas of study like software design and development processes, full-stack web development and advanced programming.

As you progress you’ll develop knowledge of cloud computing, full-stack web development, software testing, as well as advanced development skills in a range of programming languages. You’ll also tackle team-based projects and a large-scale software project in your final year. This will help you to build vital project management skills, as well as giving you a sound understanding of the role of software development tools within the software life cycle.

Our BSc (Hons) Software Engineering, BSc (Hons) Computer Science and BSc (Hons) Applied Computing degrees share a common first year, allowing you to switch between these courses at the end of your first year.

The Combined Honours program offers you an opportunity to study two subjects at degree level.

English:
English is a well-established humanities discipline, which explores the role of the written word in defining and transforming human experience. The modern discipline of English is rooted in the study of literature and the language in which it is written. Students of English can expect to study all major periods and forms of literature and to learn how to analyse literary texts by drawing on disciplines such as history, sociology and politics. The study of English develops strong critical thinking and communication skills, attributes that are highly valued in humanities graduates by employers. At the Manchester campus, the English department has access to a community of internationally renowned writers and critics through the Manchester Writing School, one of the most successful of its kind in the UK. Its Creative Director is Carol Ann Duffy DBE (Poet Laureate 2009-2019). You will develop the necessary skills in critical thinking and communication that are of value to graduates entering a wide array of career paths.

Linguistics:
If you are interested in the way in which we communicate and how it can influence people, studying linguistics will help you unravel how language is inextricably linked to who we are. You will also experience the theoretical and applied use of linguistics in social, educational, and practical environments and contexts. We have been providing professional language courses for more than 30 years and our staff are nationally, and in many cases internationally, recognized experts in their field. Our strong local, national and global links will help to enhance your study and future employment opportunities.

Creating art for games is both specialised and rewarding – a mix of technical know-how and creative thinking that can make a huge impact on the look, feel and experience of any computer game. A game artist can create entire living and breathing virtual worlds, dynamic animated characters and beautiful atmospheric effects in one of the most challenging and exciting roles in the creative industry. Our BA (Hons) Games Art course offers this mix, with core skills and vital understanding that will equip you for your future career in the games industry.

While it’s a specialist course offering a specialist skill set, being part of the School of Digital Arts (SODA) offers the unique opportunity to work with others from across our broad creative community. By working in collaboration with students of photography, animation, sound design and more, as well as students from the Department of Computing and Mathematics, you’ll get a taste of the kind of cross-disciplinary teamwork that’s essential in the fast-moving digital sector. It’s not only a creative environment, but a well-equipped one too. SODA has been purpose-built to develop industry-standard skills, so it offers industry-standard facilities – giving you every opportunity to get to grips with professional-grade development and design technology.

Just as SODA provides a vibrant, dynamic environment for studying games art, Manchester provides an exciting, creative setting. The city is not only home to one of the largest media and creative sectors outside of London, but also has a rich history of video games creation, from Ocean Software in the 1980’s to TT Games and much more today. On our doorstep, you can find renowned CG, visual effects and VR/AR agencies like Flipbook and Carbon Digital, not to mention the BBC’s entire digital and games teams. In short, it’s much more than an exciting city for students, for qualified, well-rounded game artists, Manchester can provide the perfect launch pad for a rewarding career.

Technology is disrupting almost every area of business and the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to accelerate the change.  As technology has increasingly become part of every business, data has become the new oil and businesses are striving to make the most of it in order to gain a competitive and lasting advantage.

But technology does not just happen on its own; it needs professionals to design, implement and manage technology systems.

Our BSc (Hons) Business Technology degree gives you the skills needed in a modern business environment. You’ll learn to identify business challenges, find technological solutions, manage technology projects and services, and analyse business data. This is an area that’s constantly evolving, so we’ll give you the tools to adapt to new ideas and new ways of working.

Discover your talents
With a wide range of topics, and the choice of optional units in other areas, you can really explore your interests. Business analysis, big data, app development, e-commerce, project management – whatever you want to specialise in, you’ll have the chance to develop a strong knowledge base.

As well as vital business skills such as global strategy and technology management, you’ll also learn about some of the biggest technologies of today. Cloud computing with AWS, enterprise resource planning with SAP, programming languages, and databases all feature on the course.

Develop in areas that are in demand
Many organizations are struggling to make the most of digital technology. They know it can transform their business, but they don’t know-how. We designed this program so you have the potential to support and eventually lead them through the digital transformation process.

There is also opportunity to specialize in routes with more emphasis on technology development, data analytics, project management and social media marketing, all of which continue to be in high demand in organizations.

Study Abroad
Instead of a placement, you’ll have the opportunity to spend up to a year overseas, studying with one of our partner institutions across Europe, or beyond. Go abroad in the third year of your degree, and you’ll not only learn about other cultures, improve your language skills and discover more about yourself – you’ll also boost your career prospects.

Having first-hand knowledge of another country’s culture and traditions can take you far in a range of careers. And, by going abroad you’ll also demonstrate the kind of independent spirit and adaptability that many employers want.

Our BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree provides a strong theoretical and practical foundation for those looking to open the door to one of the many career opportunities available to mechanical engineers. With project-based learning throughout, you’ll develop the transferable skills and multidisciplinary awareness that are highly valued in industry.

In your first year, you’ll get a grounding in the fundamental principles of applied mathematics and engineering sciences. What’s more, you’ll also get straight into the practical side of things, with a design-and-build challenge.

You’ll develop scientific and analytical skills as you study specialisms like solid and fluid mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics and engineering mathematics. And with project work that’s rooted in our research and shaped around industry, you’ll learn how to apply those skills to real-world engineering.

This mechanical engineering degree is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.

Placement options

All of our degrees offer the chance to spend a year getting a taste of professional life. If you choose to go down this route, your degree will take one year longer, with the third year spent working in industry. These optional placements not only give you the opportunity to develop your core skills and learn about how a business really operates in your industry, but also shows employers that you’re ready to get to work. We offer a range of services to help you find the right placement, including employer presentations, advice and placement fairs.

As computing technology becomes more integral to our homes, workplaces and public services, cybercrime is increasingly widespread and dangerous. With our BSc (Hons) Cyber Security, you’ll be part of the solution as you learn to investigate breaches and harness secure systems.

You’ll specialise in identifying different cyber security attacks and mitigation techniques, detecting and responding to network-based intrusions, ethical hacking and testing approaches, and applied cryptography. And because other people’s private data is involved, you’ll also explore the legal and ethical implications and how they relate to cyber security.

Throughout our cyber security degree, you’ll also gain a broad understanding of core computing subjects, such as programming, mathematics for computing, databases, networks and operating systems. Extensive group work will develop your ability to think logically and use your initiative to critically analyse problems. By the time you graduate, you’ll have a set of skills that are in high demand in our technology-led world, across both the public and private sectors.

The relationship between politics and communications has never been more dynamic or more important than it is today. Digital media, particularly social media, is fundamentally changing the terrain of politics.

This course allows you to study those interactions within an interdisciplinary environment, drawing on research and expertise from the fields of politics, international relations, information and communications, journalism and linguistics.

You will study media and communications theory, plus the historical development of international relations and key issues in contemporary global politics, becoming an expert in how new communication technologies shape societies, politics and individual lives.

Your introduction to degree-level mathematics will leave no stone unturned, with a broad range of topics including discrete mathematics, linear algebra, calculus, statistics and decision mathematics. And in our high-tech teaching laboratories you’ll learn to program in a mathematical language, using software packages that are commonly used for both commercial and research purposes.

As you progress, you’ll be able to choose from a range of subjects that reflect your interests and career aspirations, culminating in a chance to apply your learning in project work. Typical areas of study include further calculus and linear algebra, numerical methods and modelling, mathematics of computer graphics, number theory, cryptography, operational research, financial mathematics, statistics, machine learning, dynamical systems and group theory.

Placement options

Our BSc (Hons) Mathematics program offers the chance to spend a year getting a taste of professional life. If you choose to go down this route, your degree will take an extra year, with the third year spent working in industry. These optional placements not only give you the opportunity to develop your core skills and experience, but also show employers that you’re ready to get to work. Graduate employers report that students who have been on placement tend to be better organised and better able to apply their skills in a structured way.

Managing teams across a business requires specific skills. On this course, you’ll explore management styles and how to apply them. We’ll also help you identify your own style and hone the skills you need to relate to employees across organisations and cultures.

This course is open to applicants from all subject areas, not just business and management. The field of management is so varied that you can adapt the skills you have learned from your previous studies to shape your future career.

Optional internship year

If you choose to take the optional one-year internship, you’ll do so once you have successfully completed your taught units. The internship takes place over 36-48 weeks – you will be supported by our Placement Office, who have extensive contacts with the industry and over 25 years of experience of helping students to find placements.

The Placement Office advertise a variety of opportunities, supports and advise on the application and recruitment process and continue to support you whilst you are away from the University.