Master of Arts in Mass Communications with Data Analytics

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

After graduation of this course, you'll be producing quality journalism for audiences from the hyper-local to the global. You will have developed an internationalised approach, and be able to challenge specific cultural perspectives, deepening the quality of your analysis. This course will teach you to evaluate issues of media and international development, such as human rights and media structures and explore the latest academic and journalistic research technique

Why choose this course?

• Articulate your journalism across media platforms
• Produce a final project of your choice, either in the form of a journalistic portfolio or an academic dissertation
• Attend master classes and visit the BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, Bloomberg and others
• Interview top UK politicians, human rights lawyers and others visiting the university
• Data Analytics Units covers a wide range of topics including programming, databases, security, project management and computer networking, giving you both the underpinning theory and the ability to apply it to complex real-world problems, as well as an awareness of emerging technologies and developments

If you have a passion for photography, this course gives you the knowledge, skills and techniques you need for a successful career in the field, whether your dream lies in fashion, advertising, animation, scientific and medical, or local studio photography.

Gain the practical skills and theoretical knowledge of both traditional and digital photographic formats on a course that includes darkroom techniques; medium- and large-format photography; studio photography; stop-motion techniques; and event and location photography.

See your images come to life collaborating on projects with students from other degrees such as fashion, animation, art and graphic design. Every day is different, whether working on location or in our airy, open-plan studios at Alexon House, formerly home to a leading UK fashion house.

Why choose this course?

• Explore the ways a professional photographer works alongside other professions in the creative industries such as fashion designers, art directors, graphic designers and animators
• Learn from leading professionals in photography and design who exhibit internationally and work with clients including The Sunday Times, Mack Books and international design magazines such as Eye Magazine
• Amass a professional-standard body of work and a network of contacts through events, exhibitions and industry-based opportunities
• Learn how to use social media and other digital platforms to promote your work
• Develop your personal communication and entrepreneurial skills so you enter the world of work with confidence
• Take the course over four years and include a year’s placement in industry, building your experience and creating contacts for the future
• If you need to step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the undergraduate course

Radio is as popular as ever and has evolved excitingly to keep pace with digital technology. This degree opens up many opportunities for graduates in both broadcast radio and in the creation of audio content for other platforms, such as podcasts and websites.

As well as delivering a range of practical broadcasting and journalistic skills, the course gives you a grounding in media theory and history; a thorough understanding of how the medium works; and what goes into creating great content. You will graduate as a professional ready to work in broadcast media or within the wider field of audio-content creation.

You study a combination of units that, together, provide a broad range of professional knowledge and skills including Radio Skills, Reporting and Writing, Understanding Media and Preparing for the Audio Workplace. You can also specialise with optional units in your second and third years.

Throughout your study, you have access to Radio LaB, the University’s own community radio station, offering opportunities for presenting, producing or working on promotions and special events.

Why choose this course?

• It gives the practical and academic skills needed to produce creative audio and broadcast radio content
• Through Radio LaB, you can broadcast on FM across Luton and surrounding areas as well as worldwide online, building up your experience and CV
• In your final year, you work independently on a special project of your choosing
• It opens up wider work opportunities in technical and managerial broadcasting roles, providing a broad knowledge of industry practice and regulation
• It develops your range of operational skills, particularly in relation to programme planning and content development. These skills are transferable if you decide to pursue other media-related career paths
• Take the degree over four years and include a Professional Practice Year in industry where you gain experience, build your CV and make contacts for the future

Marketing graduates, with understanding of the dynamics of modern business marketing, are highly employable, and this professionally-accredited degree will ensure you are up-to-date with developments in communications, digital and social media as well as essential business functions like finance, HRM and operations.

Marketing embraces psychology, consumer behaviour, management, innovation, sociology and popular culture and is central to life in the 21st century.

After studying buyer behaviour, marketing data analysis, branding, competition, and media and communications, you will combine it all in practical assignments.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from staff with extensive industry experience as you engage with real marketing projects
• Study the latest marketing developments ensuring you graduate with up-to-date knowledge
• Develop your career opportunities with an optional placement and links to industry practitioners
• Gain knowledge of marketing and communications areas including management, marketing in contemporary contexts, marketing data and international business
• Explore a range of potential career options including sales, brand management, business development, market research, communications and customer liaison
• Benefit from studying a degree accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), with an optional placement (sandwich) year.

In each year of study, you will be involved in  practical marketing projects from real companies and you will interact with professional practitioners, allowing you to engage with theory and practice and encourage you to make links between your studies and workplace practice.

This provides you with an understanding of modern business marketing and will ensure that you are up-to-date with developments in communications, digital and social media, as well as business functions like finance, HRM and operations.

Our professionally-accredited course will provide you with the opportunity to take the Introductory Certificate in Marketing qualification awarded by the renowned Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), with further exemption opportunities for the CIM Professional Certificate and CIM Professional Diploma.

After graduation, this could provide a great way to start your marketing career and save you time and money towards your professional marketing qualification

Business touches almost every aspect of our world and this degree is designed specifically to meet the needs of modern business, opening up a wide range of rewarding careers. It also adapts to suit your goals, with options to specialise in specific business fields in your third year.

This course combines academic theory with practical real-world business projects, giving you experience of a spectrum of organisational roles. Making extensive use of the most up-to-date technology, you produce business plans and market analyses while developing the skills to tackle a range of business problems.

Over three years, you gain skills in problem-solving, work analysis, presentation, team-working, communication and critical thinking, all of which give you the potential to be a rounded, capable manager.

Pursue your dream of performing in TV, film, radio, on stage or online with this degree covering the creative and technical aspects of radio programme making, directing, script development, performance management, and lighting for the stage and for the camera.

On this wide-ranging course, you gain the skills to work within the professional media industries as an actor or presenter before the camera. Optional units also widen your skill base to include production/technical roles like scriptwriter, director, production manager, stage manager or radio presenter.

Graduates of this course are now working in front of the camera, presenting on CBBC, CBeebies, community channel local news, internet sports radio and news programmes. Other Media Performance graduates are working behind the camera as directors, in production roles or working within radio, at Radio 1, Radio 1 Xtra, Kiss and BBC local radio.

Why choose this course?

• Develop the necessary skills, knowledge, self-motivation and professional approach to follow a satisfying and stimulating career path
• Study a variety of approaches and techniques, with your practical work underpinned by media and cultural theory, along with the historical, cultural and social dimensions of performance
• Enjoy masterclasses and workshops from leading figures with opportunities to learn insights, make industry connections and take up placements
• Gain opportunities for work experience via the course unit in Performance Management - Work Based Learning.
• Take the course over four years and include a year’s placement in industry (see below), gaining experience and adding to your contacts
• In your third year, you are eligible to join Spotlight as a TV presenter
• As a postgraduate, you can progress to the Screen Performance and Communications Techniques MA

The contemporary professional and economic environment of globalised markets commands persistence on quality, the immediate adjustment to the rapidly changing conditions and opportunities, as well as the need for a long-term vision. The world is recovering from a very severe economic crisis which originated in the financial sector and very quickly affected the economies of most countries in the western world.

In the aftermath of this and in a globalised world, the study of finance proves to be essential in understanding the way businesses operate, governments exercise policies and countries cooperate and compete with each other.

Economics on the other hand is the foundation of modern finance. It offers students the opportunity to acquire the cognitive knowledge and skills required to understand the structure of the world we live in.

This course will provide students with an intimate knowledge of the structural issues economies are facing and the way they are being realised in today’s economic affairs through the dominance of financial institutions. Student will be able to apply economic analysis to real-life issues while the technical and analytical skills that are necessary to understand key developments in the global markets will be developed.

The Department of Law and Finance has a critical number of academic staff who will support the delivery of this course. They are highly qualified academics and experienced professionals whose research achievements in the areas of economics and finance and real-life experience promise a unique student experience.

Why choose this course?

The world is recovering from a very severe economic crisis, which originated in the financial sector and very quickly affected the economies of most countries in the western world. In the aftermath of this and in a globalised world, the study of Finance is essential in understanding the way business operate, governments exercise policies and countries cooperate and compete with each other. Economics on the other hand is the foundation of modern finance.

If you are willing to pursue a degree in Economics, driven by the need to understand how the western world is structured and how the environment, in which businesses and financial institutions operate, is working, this course will be of interest to you. You will be able to apply economic and financial analysis to real life issues. All necessary technical and analytical skills that are desired by employers in economics and finance relevant institutions will be developed.

Biochemistry has revolutionised our understanding of biological systems, from microbes to humans, and led to ground-breaking biotechnology applications. Our degree equips you with the specialist knowledge and skills you need for a career in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries, as well as other related sectors.

Offering a strong foundation in modern biochemistry, this course allows you to explore core subjects such as genetics, cell biology and molecular biology along with specialised fields including bioinformatics and molecular modelling; drug design and development; biotechnology; and genetic engineering.

You gain specialist knowledge in areas such as structure-function relationships; signalling and regulatory systems; and metabolic pathways as well as building the practical laboratory skills to work at the forefront of this exciting and developing field.

Why choose this course?

• Learn the techniques and practical laboratory skills essential for working in the field of biochemistry
• Benefit from our new science facilities and STEM building, which offer a modern working environment including high-spec laboratories
• Study with research-active experts in their field, many having previously worked at leading institutions such as Cambridge University, Imperial College London and King’s College London
• Develop transferable skills highly sought after by employers, such as independent thinking; planning and problem solving; analysis; and communication skills
• As a graduate, seek wider career opportunities in hospitals, government departments, academic organisations and the publishing industry. Or move on to further study at postgraduate level
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry (see below), gaining experience, adding to your CV and making contacts for the future
• If you need to step up into higher education (see below), start with a Foundation Year which guarantees your place on the full degree course

Models of work are constantly evolving, but one thing does not change: people still need to be recruited, trained, motivated and paid to meet an organisation's requirements. If your interests lie in effective people management, this course puts you on the right path.

You begin your journey with a thorough grounding in business before exploring the many aspects of human resource management (HRM): professional practice; leadership and motivation; creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; business systems including international business; selection and recruitment; employee relations; and employment law.

Learn from expert tutors as you carry out practical projects that emulate working as a professional manager, and develop your practical experience with an optional year’s paid work placement in a HRM role.

In your final year, study strategic HRM, examining real firms with a view to solving people problems, and carry out an independent research project.

Why choose this course?

• Develop your understanding of how HRM works with other business disciplines, knowledge that will enable you to fit into numerous types of organisation in the future - private, public or not-for-profit
• Learn from experts in their field, active within the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and in both consultancy and research
• Challenge yourself with an optional sandwich year placement after your second year.
• If you want to step up into higher education, we also offer a degree path with an initial Foundation Year (see below)
• Equip yourself with a range of subject-specific and transferable skills suited to a career in specialist human management roles or professional business and management environments, both national and international

“The University has offered me numerous opportunities to develop my skills and expand my network, and has constantly pushed me outside of my comfort zone, helping me become a real HR professional. My lecturers have always been supportive and understanding, and put great effort into communicating with us. All in all, these have been the most important three years of my life!”

This course allows you to develop a deep theoretical understanding and practical knowledge of tourism and aviation management. It will help you understand the changing nature of international tourism as it faces the challenge of rapid growth, emergence of new destinations, climate change, and the ethics of managing a business in which the prime attractions include the natural environment and people’s culture.

This innovative and interdisciplinary course provides you with a critical view of the broad range of global issues which affect how international tourism and aviation are organized and managed.

Topics include: management; heritage, cultural, social, environmental and political issues; and sustainable development.

This course will also provide you with a basic understanding of the nature, structure and organisation of the aviation and airport industry. It examines the key developments within aviation sectors and focuses on the component sectors of the industry and their operating characteristics.

The University of Bedfordshire is a member of The Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE). ATHE is the subject association for tourism in higher education in the UK. It represents universities that are leading providers of tourism programmes.

Why choose this course?