Bachelor of Arts(Hons) in Psychology and Criminal Behaviour (Top up)

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

This BA (Hons) Psychology course explores how professional psychologists use evidence-based practice to make a difference in people’s lives. It also introduces you to the psychological theories that explain human thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

The course shows how applying psychological knowledge can help us better understand and explain human behaviour. You learn about the key approaches - cognitive, social, developmental, biological, individual-difference psychology – as well as investigating psychological theories; historical and conceptual issues; and research methods.

In your final year, you complete a literature-based Honours project.

Why choose this course?

• Apply theory to real-life situations so you understand how psychology works in the real world
• Explore different perspectives on issues and problems, and learn to evaluate them in a critical manner
• Learn with an academic team actively involved in leading-edge research, activity which feeds back directly into your learning
• Benefit from studying in our modern facilities with a range of up-to-the-minute equipment to aid your learning
• Develop skills highly valued by potential employers such as the ability to conduct research, manage projects, problem solving, critical analysis, communication and team-working
• Use your degree to move on to postgraduate education and training to become a chartered psychologist, or specialise in a specific field such as forensic or health psychology
• It can open doors to a career in research, the prison service, police, social services, the mental health sector, business and HR, and teaching

The advent of digital media has created an explosion of possibilities when it comes to illustration. This innovative course gives you the drawing skills, techniques and industry know-how to produce, distribute and publish your graphic work.

This course takes in the full scope of contemporary illustration practice from craft-based techniques and drawing to digital and sequential moving image-based work. It ensures you develop the drawing, photography and digital-media skills you need for a career in areas such as film, animation, music video, advertising, publishing, video games and app design.

Working in small, lively, creative groups, you study a cluster of design courses including Animation and Graphic Design, with units covering materials and methods; studio practice; context and ideas; thinking through making; collaborative partnerships; and the critical and creative background to modern design.

Why choose this course?

• Work in spacious, well-equipped studios and benefit from high-spec facilities in digital media, motion graphics, bookmaking, stop motion, risograph printing and screen printing
• Gain skills and confidence with regular one-to-one contact with industry-experienced teaching staff and excellent technical support
• Explore the changing role of the designer and design in society so you can challenge current social, political and environmental thinking in your work
• Develop skills in creative problem solving, collaboration and entrepreneurship
• Take the course over four years and benefit from a year’s placement in industry, building your experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need to step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which gives you guaranteed entry to the undergraduate course

This innovative course gives you hands-on experience across a wide range of journalistic and creative fields. You learn from an inspirational academic team of professional writers, using the latest technology to produce your work.

This degree leaves nothing to chance, covering reporting, news and features, fiction, creative non-fiction and new-media writing. You study cross-industry writing, editorial and production skills, with options in radio journalism, innovative writing and specialist fiction. You work with the latest technology in our TV and radio studios, fully equipped edit suites and Press Association news feeds.

Tutors are all professional creative writers with publishing and broadcast expertise who support you as you develop your own unique voice and channel it through your writing. They can also give you practical guidance when it comes to getting recognised and published.

Why choose this course?

• Learn the essential tools you need for writing across genres and media from experienced writers, journalists, academics, research students and alumni
• Develop practical skills in production for television, print and online journalism
• Gain links with the publishing industry and other writing-related industries through the professional practice element of the course (see below)
• Explore outlets for your own work including the Creative Writing Guild which runs workshops and open mic nights as well as publishing anthologies of student work
• If you need a step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the degree course

This course is ideal for computing graduates who want to prepare for a general career in IT without the need to specialise at this stage.
Subjects range from data modelling, embedded systems and systems architecture to intelligent agents, equipping you to fully understand the application of computing technology in real-world situations whilst gaining the practical business skills that employers seek.

Why choose this course?

• Study a broad range of IT disciplines including online database applications, intelligent agents, programming embedded systems, professional project management systems architecture, network systems, distributed and parallel architectures and cryptography and cryptanalysis
• Explore and analyse current trends in the continually expanding area of internet technologies including wireless internet and network configurations and enjoy opportunities to work with innovative distributed environments and architectures
• Develop practical and business skills necessary for a wide range of careers in IT from management to high-level web application development or system administration
• Gain in-depth skills in network management and administration (allowing you to work as a Network Manager) including essential security aspects, grid-computing and fault tolerance
• Benefit from developing expertise equipping you for a career as an IT Consultant, Programmer, Systems/Business Analyst, in web development/web services or in further study on an MSc by Research, MPhil or PhD.

This BPS-accredited conversion course is open to anyone with a recognised undergraduate degree in any subject who now wants to take the first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist.

This unique course – accredited to the British Psychological Society (BPS) - provides you with the knowledge and skills you need to go on to develop a successful career in the field of psychology.

You study the essential core topics of individual difference, developmental, social, cognitive and biological psychology. You need to have studied these areas to gain BPS Graduate Membership, the first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist specialising in a chosen area such as health, forensic, counselling, education or clinical.

Why choose this course?

• Study how psychology can be applied in daily life, in the specific areas of health, wellbeing and criminal behaviour
• Explore intellectual functions, the biological basis of behaviour and the effects of impairments on the mind
• Develop a deep understanding of the role learning and memory play in our everyday lives
• Focus in more detail on the specialist areas of health and forensic psychology
• Gain the skills and expertise necessary to use the qualitative and quantitative methodologies commonly used by professional psychologists
• Benefit from access to a wide range of departmental facilities, including expert advice and specialist software such as SPSS, ATLAS, EEG and driver simulators

This course responds to the growing market demand for graduates who aim to work with the information and organisation needs of businesses.

Students will gain understanding of information and organisation structures in a business as well as skills of using existing software required for designing and developing information systems.

Students will also obtain skills and ability to interact with business analysts, computer programmers, and software engineers. Graduates are expected to be able to obtain knowledge and understanding of Business Processes and their applications.

Why choose this course?

• Learn how IT plays an essential role in supporting the strategic, operational and tactical needs of domestic and international business
• Study the importance of IT systems to business analysis and intelligence
• Develop your knowledge of system analysis and design, modern database practices, decision support systems and data mining
• Gain a thorough understanding of project, finance and virtual management techniques
• Explore the entrepreneurial possibilities of IT, and discover how the needs of business can offer an enormous range of opportunities
• Challenge your preconceptions of what makes a business successful, and refocus your ambition
• Benefit from a series of talks and guidance offered by inspirational speakers and leaders from a range of business sectors

The MBA is a flagship generalist management qualification designed to meet the needs of early career individuals and is structured to support your aspirations for fast track career progression through the development of leadership and strategic management skills and a contemporary understanding of business.

The course adopts a practice-led curriculum and aims to develop an advanced knowledge of organisations and their effective management in the dynamic competitive global context, and the ability to creatively apply this knowledge and understanding to complex issues to systematically and innovatively enhance strategic business and management practice.

This offers a challenging learning opportunity to encourage the integration of theory and practice supported by experienced academics with substantial management experience.

Through practice events you will work with academics and professors of practice on live consultancy projects with leading employers in organisations across private, public and not-for-profit sectors to support your personal and professional development as a creative and innovative leader with the knowledge and skills needed in the global, knowledge-based economy.

You will develop the attributes and skills expected of post-graduates, as recognised by professional and industry bodies such as the Chartered Management Institute and the Confederation of British Industry, including team-working, negotiation skills, leadership, confidence and the ability to apply critical and creative thinking to complex and unclear problems to develop innovative solutions.

This degree aims to enhance your professional prospects by developing your capability to apply the latest thinking relating to organisational development and change in the competitive global context. Successful completion of the MBA highlights your potential to have a real impact on the transformation of the organisation you join.

Combining practical design skills with creative problem-solving and reflective insight, this inspirational course offers a thorough grounding in contemporary and evolving forms of visual communication across a wide range of platforms, from digital to print, moving image to illustration.

Our degree course explores all contexts where graphic design is found such as digital content; interface design; web and social media; editorial design; print and publishing; moving image; visual identity; typography; and graphic illustration.

Working in creative teams, you learn about materials and methods in a cluster which includes Illustration, Animation, and Advertising and Branding Design. You also study studio practice; collaborative enterprise; context and meaning; and professional practice. This winning combination allows you to develop practical design skills as well as the ability to work collaboratively and show entrepreneurship.

We foster a reflective, outward-looking approach to design challenges; for example, by exploring the ways digital media has created new possibilities for producing, distributing and publishing graphic design work. We also believe a sense of responsibility is essential for a contemporary designer so ethics, sustainability and inclusion are fundamental themes running through the course’s context and debate.

Why choose this course?

• Study in small, lively and committed groups, in spacious, well-equipped studios
• Gain a solid knowledge of the cultural, critical and creative contexts of contemporary practice including how social media has transformed the role of the graphic designer
• Work on live briefs, submit for national competitions and participate in collaborative projects with leading design practitioners
• Learn the team skills required for exhibition curation and group collaborations
• Understand the standards you’ll need to reach to enter the world of professional employment
• Take the course over four years and benefit from a fee-free year in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need a step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry into the degree course on completion

In 2019, WHO listed high-threat pathogens, influenza pandemic, antimicrobial resistance and vaccine hesitancy among the ten top threats to global health. In 2020, the world suffered the profound effects of the novel SARS-CoV2 virus. There has never been a more compelling time to become a skilled professional in microbiology.

These global threats highlight the need for highly trained professionals who fully understand the role of micro-organisms in public health. This Master’s course focuses on the science of micro-organisms and the range of strategies employed for public health protection including epidemiology; public health intelligence; vaccination; antimicrobial chemotherapy; diagnostic microbiology; and outbreak investigation.

Why choose this course?

• Study microorganisms that impact on health and disease focusing on applications, including diagnosis, epidemiology and control of infectious disease
• Explore how the developments in molecular biology and genome sequencing have altered diagnosis of infectious disease and impacted on outbreak investigation and management.
• Learn about current practice and new developments in vaccines and antimicrobial chemotherapy and consider the challenges faced by efforts to eradicate specific infectious disease.
• Gain practical experience in laboratory techniques and data analysis and be encouraged to think about their wider significance.
• Challenge yourself by undertaking a microbiology research project or public health dissertation (depending on your specific interests), enabling you to consider a particular topic in detail and develop key transferable skills in research and scientific writing.
• Benefit from a course that prepares your for a career in pharmaceutical or biotechnological industries, or health-related industries, including the NHS and Public Health, as well as academic research.