Master of Science in International Relations Management

at University of Bedfordshire - Luton Campus United Kingdom

The MBA (Marketing) is a flagship qualification designed to meet the needs and aspirations of early career individuals through the combination of a general management education with the specialist area of Marketing.

It is designed for individuals who want to develop both their management skills and new areas of business interest and those seeking fast track career progression opportunities.

This postgraduate 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 (Marketing) highlights your potential to have a real impact on the transformation of the organisation you join.

Our courses are designed to be engaging, attractive and flexible in the current global marketplace. There are six entry points through the year. This allows you to start when it is most suitable.

Your course takes place over three semesters. Depending upon when you join the course, this will determine the order of units which you will study. You will benefit by beginning your studies with others who started at one of the earlier points of entry.

Why choose this course?

• The course adopts a practical and applied business 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.
• 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 confirmed by partner industry bodies including 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 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

In following this Master’s course, you develop the essential knowledge, attributes and professional skills you need to pursue or further your career in operational forensic casework.

The forensic industry is highly competitive, requiring skilled professionals across diverse fields including pathology, toxicology, drug analysis, fire-debris analysis, wildlife crime, microbial forensics, forensic genetics and document analysis. This course prepares you to meet the needs of the industry and enter a career in areas related to civil and criminal investigation as well as wider science- or research-based positions.

On the course, you develop your theoretical understanding and practical experience alongside your skills in analysing and evaluating your findings. You also learn how to communicate these findings to a variety of audiences, including other scientists, the court and the media. Units may include forensic chromatography; evaluation and presentation of evidence; forensic spectroscopy; and biological advances.

Why choose this course?

•  Learn from staff with experience in operational forensic casework. Develop your practical skills through hands-on experience in our exceptional laboratory facilities, including a Scenes of Crime Laboratory.
• Study a course informed by the latest research, ensuring you are aware of current and emerging developments in this specialist field.
• Gain a qualification, the skills and the knowledge to meet the wide-ranging needs of the forensic and other science-based industries, making you well-placed to enter a career in a number of specialised fields.
• Develop strong research skills for form the basis of those required for study at PhD level. Benefit from the University’s strong links to external stakeholders in the forensic industry and related organisations and practice sectors.
• Take up career opportunities that could include forensic consultancies; government agencies; related industries; and research and development

This course aims to enable you to develop the necessary skills for, and knowledge, practice and understanding of, the events industry.

You will become a self-directed, self-regulated reflexive learner, using an awareness of opportunities for careers or further study in the event industry.

With a good grounding in business and marketing the course offers students an industry focus in event management with good employment opportunities across a range of roles in both marketing and events e.g. Strategic Event Designer, Trade Show Manager, Events Marketing Communication Managers, Social Media Event Managers, Sporting Events Manager.

This inter-disciplinary course combines key subject areas of business, marketing and event management in a practice-oriented way that allows you to develop a deep theoretical understanding and practical knowledge of events management.

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?

• Benefit from a course that opens up career opportunities as an Event Manager, Festival Organiser/Co-ordinator, Exhibitioner Organiser, Events Marketing Communications Manager or Conference and Events Manager, and offers access to a wide choice of further study.
• Learn essential skills for careers in the events industry, in a department with close links to local cultural, sporting and business organisations.
• Study areas including: event planning and operations; risk and crisis management for events, events and destination marketing, event planning in practice; and marketing communications through a combination of classroom-based learning and fieldwork activities.
• Gain additional insights through field trips to organisations like Luton Town Football Club, Twickenham and Woburn Abbey, and working on annual events hosted by your Department.
• Explore the relevant theory and research areas and learn how to apply them through practice, working on real-life briefs and case studies.

If you’re interested in a career in forensic science, we have a crime scene for you! A unique mix of biosciences and criminal psychology, our degree course offers you the opportunity for practical forensic processing in our crime scene facility.

Technological advances have made the role of the forensic scientist – the expert who collects, preserves and analyses evidence - increasingly important in crime investigation, and also in other fields such as archaeology.

The course starts with an introduction to psychology and the sciences relevant to forensics, followed by more detailed applied forensics including the preparation of evidence for court, pathology, medical physiology and haematology. You’ll also study the most recent advances in DNA analysis, toxicology, criminal psychology, and fire and explosive analysis.

Why choose this course?

• The Forensic Science team includes international experts in the psychology of criminal behaviour and forensics experts from a variety of operational backgrounds
• Our teaching is rated as ‘Excellent’ by the QAA and the team is part of a highly experienced department that has run biological science courses for over 30 years
• You’ll study in a specialist forensic laboratory, with key laboratory skills incorporated into most of the taught units, especially your final-year research project
• You’ll learn the skills and techniques needed to evaluate a real-life crime scene in our scene-of-crime lab, designed to resemble an 'normal' flat
• There’s the option to take the course over four years and include a year’s work placement (see below) to gain experience and industry contacts
• If you’d like to step-up into higher education, you can take an introductory Foundation Year (see below), which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate course

    "Studying forensic science with Bedfordshire has been an awesome, inspiring experience, with lecturers who are specialists with industry experience in the areas they teach. I highly recommend anyone wishing to study this subject with Beds to 'Go 4 it'."

Bringing together the emerging fields of forensic science and criminology, this course gives you the lab skills and practical crime-scene experience of the scientist combined with a criminological exploration of why people commit crime, and the role of the police and criminal justice system in its prevention.

Our degree provides you with a foundation in the biological and chemical sciences that apply to forensic science as well as exploring criminological theory, crime-scene investigation and the role of scene-of-crime officers. In the Criminology units, you gain understanding of how data can be analysed to identify and predict factors that may cause people to commit crime. You also explore the role of forensic science, the police and the criminal justice system in the prevention, deterrence and punishment of criminal behaviour.

The course has been designed to develop your skills in laboratory analysis; the interpretation and evaluation of evidence; and the communication of scientific findings. You also learn how to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different criminological explanations; make reasoned arguments; and bring together information from different sources.

Why choose this course?

• Explore topics at the forefront of current developments in forensic science
• Study in a specialist forensic laboratory, with key laboratory skills incorporated into most of the units
• Learn the skills and techniques needed to evaluate a real-life crime scene in our scene-of-crime lab, designed to resemble an 'normal' flat
• Work with a Forensic Science team that includes international experts in the psychology of criminal behaviour and forensics experts from a variety of operational backgrounds
• Acquire key transferable skills including in oral and written communication; IT; group and team work; analysis; critical thinking; and problem solving
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry, gaining work experience, building your CV and making contacts for the future
• If you need a step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees you a place on the degree course

This course offers you the opportunity to develop a particular strength in the management of international business issues, with a particular focus on aviation management.

You will focus on strategic areas of international business, intercultural competencies, financial management aviation strategy and management all framed by the lens of developing patterns of world trade and the global market place.

As the business world morphs to accommodate the dynamic economic environment of today, this course introduces non-specialists to a range of business functional areas so that you become knowledgeable and effective managers.

You'll develop a deep understanding of organisations and their external context. You also learn how to manage yourself, and others, in a supportive and academic environment.

The course focuses on developing an awareness of business operations in an international environment, the aviation strategy and management governing international business and investments, finance and cultural awareness in global contexts.

This course is designed for non-computing graduates who need to apply information technology to their current career, or want to change career direction. It 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.

Why choose this course?

• Study key areas of information technology including applications of web technologies, information systems strategy and emerging technologies
• Explore creative and innovative applications of technology  to real-world problems
• Develop your analytical, evaluative and problem-solving skills in relation to IT-based solutions
• Gain a thorough understanding of the social and legal aspects of the Information Technology field (e.g. British Computer Society Code of Conduct and Data Protection)
• Benefit from valuable experience of working on projects for real business, opening up new career opportunities in management, supervision or as a practitioner (eg database/IT developer or system designer/analyst) in industries which make substantial use of computers and information technology.

Offering in-depth technical training, you will need to begin your career as a practising automotive engineer. You will work closely with local automotive and motorsport companies, gaining experience of working on real-world solutions throughout.

You will begin by gaining the underpinning skills and knowledge needed to pursue specialisms later on, along with theoretical subjects like mathematics and engineering science.

Your technical and practical skills will be honed through study of engineering design and application, and vehicle development history, and study of new products and technologies will give you a thorough grounding before you move on to specialise from Year 2.

As you move through the course, you will benefit from practical sessions and have the opportunity to take part in the prestigious Formula Student Racing Car project or Shell Economic Car competition project.

Why choose this course?

This course combines practical and theoretical study, and uses individual and group work to provide a thorough grounding in the essentials needed to enhance your career prospects in the exciting world of Automotive Engineering.

Choose BEng (Hons) Automotive Engineering

• Learn both technical skills and theoretical knowledge including engineering science, structural mechanics and dynamics.
• Study core disciplines and specialist advanced units including automotive systems and design as well as developing project management skills.
• Develop your skills using excellent industry-standard facilities including high-end equipment, machines and testing workspaces.
• Gain a qualification that will enhance your prospects of a fulfilling and exciting career in a wide range of engineering scenarios including car or motorbike motorsports.
• Explore career opportunities through a placement year with nearby companies like BMW Mini, Nissan and AVL Powertrain.
• Challenge yourself to participate in exciting competitions, developing your individual and team working skills.
• Benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with local companies either on campus or in nearby company workshops

This course offers you the opportunity to develop a particular strength in the management of international business issues. You will focus on strategic areas of management, international business, intercultural competencies, brand management, and financial management, all framed by the lens of developing patterns of world trade and the global marketplace.

You will develop the skills required to adopt appropriate strategic responses to different market environments through the study of and working with an organisation. You will also understand and experience at first hand the impact of contextual forces on international organisations, including the management functions of business such as corporate and brand reputation, corporate governance and ethical, economic and environmental change issues.

You will develop your knowledge of the financing of organisations including the sources, uses and management of finance and the use of accounting for managerial and financial reporting. You will also study and experience the management and development of people in organisations within a cross-cultural context, the use of relevant communications within the global economy.

You will appreciate how cultural differences affect both buying behaviour and marketing approaches. As well as specific knowledge relating to international business, you will develop enhanced personal and interpersonal skills through work experience in a professional placement. These include critical thinking, team working, problem solving, numeracy and quantitative skills, self-management and negotiation skills.

The placement will provide the basis for the delivery of the Business Placement Dissertation and comprise one block of study on Campus preparing for the project in the organisation followed by four blocks of study in the organisation and a final block back in the University to complete the write up. The project will be fully academically supervised throughout the six blocks of study.