Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Economics and Politics

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Explore the mechanisms of policymaking to understand the key dilemmas and challenges around social rights, equality and the distribution of resources.

On this course, you’ll learn about the social and political underpinnings of key policies affecting our lives. Understand the implications social policy has for questions of identity, political organisation, social justice and human rights.

You'll learn about the origins and transformations of the institution of the state and how it interacts with the economy and third sector in the UK and beyond. You'll relate these changes to societal, technological and economic developments in Britain and around the world.

Placement Year

The placement year will give you valuable practical experience and is an excellent opportunity to try different careers. It enables you to leave university with a strong CV and may set you apart from other graduates entering the job market. You can take placements in commercial, voluntary or government organisations, or in a research setting.

Develop skills in mathematics and theoretical computer science, preparing you for roles involving computational analysis, modelling and simulation.

This joint degree is for you if you enjoy and excel at computing and want to combine that with a very strong interest in mathematics.

By combining our computer science degree with pure mathematics, probability and statistics, you’ll be prepared for careers in data science relying on a combination of mathematical and computational modelling.

Tailor to your interests

In the first two years, you’ll study a mix of mathematics and computing units, including computational approaches to finding patterns in data. You'll also share lectures with Mathematical Sciences students to study fundamental algebra and mathematical analysis. In the final year, you can choose to specialise in areas of numerical computer science and mathematics.

Computer scientists with good mathematical knowledge are in great demand worldwide. On graduation, you can apply what you’ve learnt to roles in software development relying on a combination of mathematical and computational modelling, such as data analysis and forecasting.

Year abroad

Broaden your horizons with a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We have links with universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, currently including Binghamton University, University of Nebraska, University of Canterbury, TU Vienna and National University Singapore.

Learn the core knowledge and technical skills of chemical engineering and focus on the environmental challenges of new technologies, processes and products.

The first three years of our course develop your understanding of the core practices of chemical engineering. Through problem-based learning, you'll critically apply mathematical, scientific and engineering knowledge to projects. A mix of practical work in laboratories and theory in lectures and seminars gives you the breadth of learning needed to become adept in the subject.

You’ll also develop transferable skills such as problem solving, teamwork and resource management. Integrating these with your technical knowledge, you’ll learn how to tackle complex, and often open-ended, engineering problems. Individual and group projects are a chance for you to develop scientific ideas from bench scale to process scale.

In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to build on your chemical engineering knowledge by specialising in environmental engineering. Choosing this route allows you to explore aspects that address social, environmental and health issues, as well as sustainability. Focusing on environmental science and engineering, you'll study the economic, legislative and ethical issues that control environmental protection and sustainability. Areas you'll cover will include clean technologies such as water treatment and waste management.

You can switch between this and our MEng Chemical Engineering course up until the end of your third year. This is so you can use your study experience so far to help you decide on your final degree.

Studying an MEng gives you an in-depth study experience through advanced taught units and project work. You can explore topics in more depth through a semester-long research project that can be completed at Bath, a university abroad or in industry. Our MEng degrees also fulfil the educational requirements you need to become a Chartered Engineer.

Placement Year

A placement gives you the chance to gain experience and develop skills in a commercial or industrial environment and can count towards becoming chartered. The professional knowledge you gain can benefit the rest of your degree and improve your career prospects. It can also be an opportunity to earn a salary during your degree.

You can decide whether you want to apply for a placement up until the end of your second year. Placement opportunities cannot be guaranteed but you will receive tailored support from our specialist team to help you secure a placement. Recent employers of our Chemical Engineering placements students include Mondelez, Biobean and Exxon Mobil.

Mathematics enables us to reason logically, to understand structure and to formulate scientific principles, whether from the physical, life or social sciences.

Choose this course to gain specialist knowledge in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and/or statistics.

Tailor to your interests

At the start of the course, you’ll gain a broad education in pure and applied mathematics, including programming and statistics. You’ll have the freedom to study a broader mathematical pathway or specialise in your favourite subject areas, enhancing your analytical thinking and appreciation of the beauty of mathematics.

All of our courses are flexible and allow for a wide choice of units after year one. You may be able to switch courses during the first year.

Make sense of issues underpinning contemporary global challenges such as the impact of climate change and international inequalities.

On this degree you’ll combine the study of politics with an engagement in economic theory and practice. It will appeal if you’re interested in issues of global power, decision-making, democracy and inequality.

You’ll cover topics such as international politics, political ideologies and economic thought. You will explore a range of contemporary economic and political challenges facing national and international society, such as terrorism and climate change.

In your first year you'll focus on concepts and theories relating to both politics and international relations. You'll study economic theory and methodology, and explore contemporary political and economic systems.

In your second year you'll advance your knowledge in political and economic theory. You can focus your studies through optional units covering areas from global responses to international environmental crises, to the nature of UK Parliamentary politics. You'll also develop your skills in research design and methods.

You’ll carry out a year-long dissertation and select optional units relating to your interests in politics and economics, with themes such as financialisation, inter-state relations, and gender politics.

Placement Year

The placement year is an opportunity for you to use the theory you have learnt in a practical context. You will learn about an organization and its area of work. This is an excellent opportunity to test potential career paths. Sometimes permanent jobs are offered to our students.

You’ll develop skills such as teamwork, planning, problem-solving, decision making and project management. Employers value a year of professional work and you’ll gain an advantage in the job market.

Over the years we have built contacts with a large number of organizations that can provide the high standard of training we expect.

Equip yourself to work as a proficient Chinese-English translator and business interpreter on this master's course.

Our MA Translation with Business Interpreting (Chinese) is a highly competitive master's, ideal for those with an interest and aptitude for translation or business interpreting.

You may already be working as a translator and interpreter in mainland China, Taiwan, the UK or elsewhere, or looking to establish yourself with the specialist skills needed to excel in this profession.

The focus of the course is on written translation from English to Chinese and Chinese to English, as well as business interpreting between English and Chinese. In particular, you'll develop translation and interpreting skills suited to working in business and tailored to market needs in mainland China, Taiwan, the UK and other regions.

The course is highly practical, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to hone and develop your skills. You will:

• Gain extensive experience in translating a wide range of texts, from general business communications to specialist and technical materials
• Take part in weekly simulated 'real life' business liaison scenarios to enhance your interpreting and negotiation capabilities
• Gain practical experience of translation management software
• Develop sought-after and important business skills such as editing and proofreading
• Gain useful insights into marketing yourself as a freelance translator and interpreter

Combine your passion for chemistry with a desire to make a real contribution to the development of new pharmaceuticals.

If you’re interested in the drug discovery process and want to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry, this is the course for you.

You’ll gain a solid foundation in chemistry with a focus on how drugs and medicines are designed and made, how they work and why they’re successful. Major pharmaceutical companies have contributed to the design of the course so you can be sure your studies will be relevant for industry. You’ll develop in-depth knowledge of the drug design process, and the skills to carry out experimental and computational drug discovery projects.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working in industry. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent employers include GlaxoSmithKline, Syngenta, AkzoNobel and Pfizer.

Learn the latest theoretical, hardware and software skills to pursue a professional career as an electrical and electronic engineer.

Our course gives you a broad and flexible education in electrical and electronic engineering. The range of engineering units lets you tailor your degree to your interests to support your future career choices.

From your first day, you’ll build on your understanding of electrical and electronic principles and gain an appreciation for new engineering techniques. Learning about the practical technologies used in industry will give you insight into current practices in professional engineering.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you a chance to apply theoretical knowledge to the workplace and develop skills in a professional environment. Your placement experience can benefit the rest of your degree and improve your career prospects after graduation. It can also be an opportunity to earn a salary during your degree.

Our students have worked at companies including Intel, Jaguar Land Rover, Thales, Renishaw, Nordic Semiconductor, Siemens, Ultra Electronics, Surrey Satellite Technology and McLaren.

Learn about the deep connections between mathematics and theoretical physics and develop your scientific computing and theoretical modelling skills to understand and solve complex physical problems.

This course is for you if you want to study a broad physics degree with less emphasis on experimental laboratories and a stronger focus on theoretical, mathematical and computational aspects of physics.

You'll study the cornerstones of theoretical physics while developing your understanding of their mathematical foundations. Our courses reflect our theoretical research expertise in condensed matter, photonics and astrophysics. The computational physics and programming aspects also reflect the more applied nature of our theoretical research.

The combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of physics and mathematics is highly sought-after by employers and also gives an excellent grounding for postgraduate or industrial research.

Year abroad

Broaden your horizons by spending a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We currently have links with universities in North America, Australasia, Asia and Europe, including Purdue University, the University of Queensland, National University Singapore and the University of Helsinki.

Prepare yourself for a career in specialist language work including translation, editing and précis-writing.

If you're interested in working as a professional linguist or working with the written word to provide translations and specialised language services, this course is an excellent option.

With a growing demand for highly trained speakers of English in the UK and abroad, this specialist master's will equip you to set up your own freelance business or work in-house for an international organisation or language service provider.

Unlike other courses of its kind, ours covers a wide variety of skills, including editing, revision, précis-writing and proofreading. Employers and agencies have told us they’re looking for these services, so having the right skills will place you in a strong position for securing work. You'll have the opportunity to gain skills in public service and commercial interpreting, and you will learn about setting up your own translation business.

In some cases, we can arrange external translation training. This may be in international organisations, such as the EU and UN, or an independent translation agency, and will give you first-hand experience of the workplace and valuable contacts for building your career.

The course is taught by qualified tutors. While some have worked for international organisations, others have developed their careers as freelance linguists. All bring extensive experience to the classroom to give students invaluable advice.