Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance with a Year in Business

at Royal Holloway,University of London United Kingdom

This advanced four-year course offers a thorough grounding in all the latest trends and technologies in the rapidly evolving world of computer science. You will have the chance to complete an extended final year project on a topic of your choice and it is particularly recommended if you want to go on to postgraduate study or a high-level technical career. You will also gain a competitive edge over graduates from standard three-year BSc courses.

Our progressive curriculum will give you the knowledge and technical skills that employers need, and introduce you to pioneering ideas and technologies to help you to realise your ambitions. You will graduate with transferable skills such as problem-solving, programming, team working, analytical skills, time management and self-motivation, and the confidence and ability to tackle real-world problems in a wide range of application domains. We cover all the essentials of computing and application development, and introduce you to a host of advanced topics, from computer games, machine learning and digital sound and music, to intelligent agents and multi-agents, computational optimisation, advanced data communications, digital forensics and more. You will experiment with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more.

The course’s modular structure gives you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests. At the end of year 1 you will have the option of transferring onto one of our specialist pathways (Artificial Intelligence, Information Security or Distributed & Networked Computing), or adding a year in industry to your degree. Transferring onto our Software Engineering pathway requires previous programming experience and early permission to take the Software Development course in year 1, rather than Object-oriented Programming.

We are a highly respected, research-focused department with award-winning teaching. We offer a summer work placement course and a dedicated personal adviser to guide you through your studies. You will also be welcome to join our thriving Computing Society. We are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for our commitment to increasing female participation in computer science.

• A flexible degree structure allows you to keep your options open and follow your study interests and career ambitions.
• You will acquire problem modelling and analysis techniques, as well as knowledge of and practical experience in modern software-development methodologies and techniques.
• You will develop extensive team-work skills, excellent coding skills, good communication skills, and a strong professional ethos.
• You will have access to a very wide range of optional modules, including those highlighted in the specialist pathways.

Our School of Business and Management has a fresh and intellectually challenging approach to research and education. Specialising in Accounting and Finance at Royal Holloway means that you will benefit from the in-depth knowledge of our academic experts.  You will study the core areas of financial accounting, management accounting and finance and obtain a thorough knowledge of both theory and practice. The valuable knowledge and understanding this degree will give you, combined with interpersonal and transferable skills, will lead to excellent career prospects.

Your studies will be grounded in the wider business environment, providing you with an understanding of international business, information systems, strategy, and ethical decision-making.  You will receive individual attention and the flexibility to take specialist options, such as business law, auditing and taxation.

This course is accredited by CIMA, CPA, CIPFA and ICAEW professional bodies. You may apply to the professional bodies for exemptions from some of their examinations. The number of exemptions depend on the options you choose and the marks you obtain on your modules.

As well as graduating with enhanced knowledge of accounting and finance, you will have commercial awareness, the ability to communicate clearly,work in a team, analyse and solve problems, and manage your time effectively. As a graduate you will be able to apply for exemptions and/or credit for prior learning from selected professional accounting bodies we have agreed exemptions with. The exemptions from examinations or credit for prior learning that students are granted will depend on courses chosen and the marks obtained on those courses.

• AACSB accredited - the longest-serving accrediting body and largest business education network worldwide.
• Examine the principles of financial decision-making.
• Understand the theory and techniques for appraising financing and investment decisions.
• Understand the basic components of financial statements.
• Understand information systems and the role they play in contemporary business.
• Accredited by CIMA, CPA, CIPFA and ICAEW

By combining the study of creative writing with English, you'll become an informed and critical reader as well as a confident and expressive writer - whether specialising as a poet, playwright, or author of fiction.

Studying at one of the UK's most dynamic English departments will challenge you to develop your own critical faculties. Learning to write creatively and critically analyse in tandem, you'll be exposed to a huge variety of literature while you develop your own writing practice. Studying English will allow you to place your writing within a wider cultural context of literature throughout history, considering key texts and acquiring a sound understanding of significant periods, genres, authors and ideas.

Modules are taught by nationally and internationally known scholars, authors, playwrights and poets who are specialists in their fields who write ground-breaking books, talk or write in the national media and appear at literary festivals around the world.  This means the course you take covers the most up-to-date ideas, whether in Creative Writing, Victorian Literature, Shakespearean studies or contemporary literature.

Find your voice as a writer and develop writing techniques, learn how to create, criticise and shape an artistic work: a valuable life skill with uses beyond writing poetry, plays or novels. From journalism and website creation to advertising and academic publishing – you'll be able to use the skills you pick up in character, voice, ambiguity, style and cultural context.

• Writing practice at the heart of your learning experience.
• Taught by high-profile, award-winning writers.
• Create and shape artistic work – ideal skills for a career in media or publishing.
• Choose one of three distinct pathways: fiction, poetry, or playwriting.
• Access to a thriving culture of creative writing.

Study our dedicated digital marketing degree course in the centre of London. If you are a finalist or recent graduate (any subject) wanting to boost your employability this degree course should provide you with the knowledge and skills needed for the digital era.

Being one of a few specialist digital marketing Masters degree courses in the UK you will gain a 360 degree perspective of digital marketing from digital branding and advertising to the consumer journey and metrics.

On graduating you will be able to create and analyse digital strategies and make well informed tactical and strategic decisions, having studied in the context of Royal Holloway Marketing’s distinctive critical ideology. You will be confident in using acquired skills to communicate strategies to stakeholders at all levels.

You will enjoy studying in our historic University of London buildings in central London and work with our experienced academic staff to realise your full potential.

• Great career prospects in digital marketing and any other related discipline
• Flexible studies over two days a week, combined with extensive self-study

Equipped with Artificial Intelligence techniques, today’s systems can teach themselves to perform tasks almost as well as humans can. This degree provides you with the foundational knowledge and the practical skills required to operate with these disruptive technologies.

• Benefit from strong industry ties, with close proximity to ‘England’s Silicon Valley’
• Graduate with a Master's degree leading to excellent graduate employability prospects.
• Tailor your learning with a wide range of engaging optional modules
• Choose from a one-year program structure or add an optional year in industry

In recent years, businesses of all sizes, across all major industry sectors have become project-based. Those projects can now easily span different companies, regions, time zones, and integrate diverse knowledge bases and disciplines. And business, services and governments are looking for teams that can plan, coordinate and control both the output and underlying processes of a project, made up of individuals who can make a powerful contribution to the decision making involved.

On our one-year Project Management MSc you’ll learn how to apply project management principles across a range of disciplines and business sectors, from fashion and film to the charity sector; from the sciences to working in government. We’ll equip you with practical tools and skills, plus an understanding of the academic theories underpinning them, to set you up on your future career path.

We place a strong emphasis on the scientific and technological revolutions underway and the process of technological convergence, which have had a major impact on both the older established engineering industries and the younger electronics, wireless, computer, media and creative industries and internet-based start-ups.

You’ll learn from highly experienced practitioners, including CEOs and senior executives with experience across a range of industries including manufacturing, electronics, finance, media and major consultancies (like PwC and AD Little Inc). These industry connections have informed the content and design of the course, in a way that will not only build on your existing knowledge and experience, but increase your chances of finding employment at a salary level higher than the graduate national average wage in your chosen sector.

The Centre for Professional Studies was founded in 2013, recognising that international industries, firms, organisations and governments are demanding exceptional candidates who have the knowledge base and practical skills to finance, manage and execute processes and projects successfully. It’s our ethos to combine academic excellence with industry related knowledge and expertise.

• Acquire the tools to succeed in today’s workplace, from applied management to financial and leadership skills in order to plan, design, execute and deliver projects on time and on budget
• You’ll gain the practical and academic qualifications to meet demands of employers across competitive global markets, including the industry-recognised PRINCE2 qualification.
• You’ll learn from highly experienced practitioners and senior executives with portfolios covering both complex, multi-disciplinary projects and small, bespoke interventions in niche sectors.

From climate change, food and water security and sustainable urbanisation, to poverty, health inequality, and migration, responding to the world’s challenges as a global society is more important than ever, requiring new thinking that cuts across traditional subject boundaries.

This new interdisciplinary degree is designed to address 21st-century issues facing humanity and our planet. It will provide the theoretical knowledge and skillset about our environments and environmentalisms for motivated individuals to develop their careers, as policy-makers, environmental experts and scientists, and advocates for change across diverse fields.

A key feature of this innovative degree is the opportunity to take modules across the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geography and Psychology, with further contributions from other disciplines including options in Politics and Business & Management. Students can choose to specialise through one of several pathways, for example, developing as skilled campaigners able to lead grassroots movements, policy-makers able to develop frameworks for governance, and scientists who are able to communicate state-of-the-art findings in accessible language and with contextual nuance.

You will be taught by international research leaders across a broad range of topics, with options to acquire real-world experience through placements as part of an embedded approach to developing your employability and transferable skills. Highlights include a social change toolkit, equipping you with practical skills and a research project, designed to apply knowledge to real-world problems, and develop your expertise to contribute to social change.

• Examine key questions about environmental challenges locally & globally
• Develop an understanding of how social change can be achieved to address these challenges
• Learn with internationally recognised experts in their fields
• Become versatile in synthesising diverse knowledge and how to communicate this effectively.

Geography concerns far more than just the physical makeup of our world. Study Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London and you’ll examine the social, political and economic aspects of geography as well as environmental and landscape issues.  

This flexible course lets you tailor your learning in years 2 and 3, offering optional modules including Political Geography, Tropical Savannahs and Gender and Development to suit your interests and ambitions. Fieldwork is a key part of the experience of doing Geography at Royal Holloway. As well as being excellent research training, our extensive programme of fieldwork helps bring the department together as a real community. The department offers a substantial and exciting range of field trips in the UK and overseas. Current locations include Cyprus, Spain, Malawi, Sicily, London and New York. The cost of the Year 1 fieldtrip to Spain is included in the student fee.

You’ll study in a department ranked 2nd in the UK for research by the Research Excellence Framework 2014, benefitting from world class research-led teaching by leading academics. You’ll use state-of-the-art equipment, with world-class facilities for GIS, image analysis, advanced cartography and the physical and chemical analysis of soils, sediments and water.  

Pursue your passion for Geography at Royal Holloway and you’ll graduate as an attractive prospect for employers in a variety of sectors, environmental conservation and NGOs to media relations and the Civil Service. You’ll develop a diverse portfolio of skills to take into your future career or postgraduate study, and enjoy a rewarding three years challenging and questioning key aspects of contemporary society.

This course allows you to develop your work as a writer to a professional level, going beyond the personal to write with an engaged sense of literary culture, its social role and contemporary practices. The MA is designed for students with an established writing practice who are intending to develop their creative writing beyond first-degree level. It is also designed for those students wishing to proceed to MPhil or PhD. This MA is taught in Bedford Square in Central London, in the heart of literary Bloomsbury, putting you within walking distance of publishing houses, bookshops, major UK libraries and all of the other cultural attractions of Central London.

You will take one of four distinct pathways:

• Fiction
• Literary Non-Fiction
• Poetry
• Poetic Practice

The MA ranks among the top creative writing courses in the country and is taught by leading writers whose work encompasses a wide range of approaches and styles.

• Sean Borodale’s Bee Journal was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and Costa Book Award.
• Lavinia Greenlaw has received a Forward Prize for Poem of the Year, the Prix du Premier Roman, a Wellcome Engagement Fellowship and the Ted Hughes Award.
• Nikita Lalwani won the Desmond Elliot Award, and was shortlisted for the Costa Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker prize.
• Nadifa Mohamed, one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists 2013, has won the Betty Trask Prize and a Somerset Maugham Award.
• Redell Olsen has been Judith E. Wilson Fellow in Poetry at Cambridge.
• Anna Whitwham’s novel Boxer Handsome was a New Statesman and Guardian Book of the Year.
• Eley Williams’s Attrib. and other stories won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize.

Our prizewinning, internationally successful alumni include the novelists Sarah Perry, Tahmima Anam, Jenni Fagan and Barney Norris; short-story writer and poet Eley Williams; and the poets Liz Berry, Kayo Chingonyi, Sam Riviere and Sophie Robinson.

Our two-year Information Security program with a year in industry will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to join the rapidly expanding field of information security. We will prepare you to work at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in 21st-century technology. You will gain first-hand experience of working in professional teams and applying your academic studies to real-world problems and scenarios. The mass creation, transmission, and storage of electronic data is one of the defining features of our age. Whilst the associated technologies bring us untold benefits, they also expose us to threats that require the specialist skills and experience of cyber security experts.

Our postgraduate Information Security programs were the first of their kind in the world. They are certified by GCHQ, the UK Government Communications Headquarters, and led by academics and industrial partners in one of the largest and most established Information Security Groups in the world. Our groundbreaking ISG is a UK Academic Centre of Excellence for research and home to an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber security.

In year 1 you will learn about cryptography, fraud detection, system security, network security, device security and all the technical, legal and commercial aspects of the industry, including how security itself should be managed. Your second year will include a full-time work placement, which will attract a salary and be assessed towards your final degree. On returning to campus you will complete a supervised dissertation on a topic of your choice. If you decide not to complete the second year you can revert to the standard MSc Information Security (1221) and complete your dissertation a year early to graduate at the end of year 1.

Our academic staff are renowned specialists in the field, with backgrounds in computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics and social sciences. You will have access to our virtualisation software for experimenting with network security settings and ideas, as well as our Penetration Testing Laboratory and industry-sponsored Smart Card Centre.

We offer a friendly, supportive learning environment and you will have a dedicated personal advisor to guide you through your studies. The skills you gain will provide a solid foundation if you wish to progress to a PhD. Our graduates are in demand for their cutting-edge grasp of the field, their first-hand work experience, and their transferable skills such as data handling, analysis, problem solving, research, time management, team working, self-motivation and professionalism.

• You will join a worldwide network as one of over 4,000 alumni information security professionals
• Equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to work at a high level in the information security industry or pursue further postgraduate research.
• Benefit from first-hand experience of the world of work during your assessed year in industry.
• Our strong ties with industry mean we understand the needs of employers and our curriculum will ensure that you are well prepared for employment.