Master of Arts in Community Development and Youth Studies

at University of Bolton United Kingdom

Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you’re looking to pursue a career in business, or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work. We’ll support you to enhance your existing Foundation Degree or HND-level knowledge and skills, ready to achieve the status of BSc (Hons) Business Management (Finance) Top-up graduate. You can study advanced aspects of business, management and finance, enhance your professional skills, and boost your employability.

Building on your prior studies, we’ll guide you as you explore specialist areas including financial reporting for management, the practice and regulation of financial accounting, and the role of the finance manager. This Honours-level programme will also support you to gain knowledge of strategic management, and develop critical inquiry and research skills to improve your work and enhance its quality. When you successfully complete the course, you’ll also receive the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management and benefit from exemptions from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Diploma in Business and Accounting.

Developing your employability is a key focus of this dynamic and flexible programme. Real-life case studies, guest speakers and industry visits are designed to help you to understand the business environment and the needs of employers in local, national and international contexts. We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as communication, data analysis, time management, team working and problem solving.

We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

• The Institute of Management Greater Manchester – and the wider University – provide a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• On successful completion of this dual award course you’ll receive both an academic degree and a professionally-recognised management qualification – the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. You don’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Award – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
• On the Business Management (Finance) Top-up pathway you’ll also have the opportunity to gain exemptions from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Diploma in Business and Accounting.
• This course is part of our Business Management suite of degrees. At Honours level, depending on your prior studies, you can follow this specialist pathway in Finance, choose the core Business Management route, or select one of our other specialist pathways in Enterprise, People Management, Supply Chain, Law, Marketing or Retail.
• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers who have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisation to SMEs.
• We’ll introduce you to your course and new study environment through a bespoke induction programme focused on helping you transition smoothly and effectively to Honours-level study.

Key Features

• This course is offered within our vibrant Institute of Management environment in Bolton town centre.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
• We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• Contemporary research findings are woven into our teaching. We offer a robust academic underpinning to your studies of business management.
• Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation or work-based project (if you’re in suitable employment).

Professional recognition

• Graduates of our BSc (Hons) Business Management (Finance) Top-up course will receive the Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute).
• Additionally, graduates of the BSc (Hons) Business Management (Finance) Top-up pathway will benefit from exemptions from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Diploma in Business and Accounting.

Our Masters in Civil Engineering is aimed at engineers who want to broaden and deepen their technical knowledge of specialised civil engineering areas and develop a wider perspective on the issues facing the civil engineering industry. The part-time programme is designed to build on the knowledge and skills already developed, introducing advanced concepts and theories to challenge your problem solving and critical evaluation capabilities.

This course explores the complex roles and responsibilities of civil engineers in relation to social, natural and built environments, assessing how economic constraints can influence project management and decision making.

Research and design also play key parts in this comprehensive course, which will challenge you to design creatively and apply engineering modelling and analysis methods to projects. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your skillset by linking theory with practice in a variety of assignments, reports and design processes, enhancing your literacy and risk management abilities along the way.

Highlights

• Build on your existing engineering knowledge with a series of modules designed to challenge and stimulate your abilities with rich and varied content.
• Benefit from the University’s longstanding and excellent reputation for civil engineering postgraduate and professional development courses.
• On successful completion of this course you will receive an MSc in Civil Engineering.

Key Features

• Our programme has been expertly developed to give a broad overview of the advanced civil engineering discipline, including influencing issues and challenges, such as economic constraints and professional and ethical responsibilities.
• Lessons are taught in small groups, maximising opportunities for personal tuition and contact with staff.
• As well as small group learning and support, the University has excellent libraries, 24/7 IT facilities and campus-wide WiFi for all students.
• English language support will be provided via a dedicated module that focuses on improving students’ English language skills, especially in relation to engineering.

The LLM in International Business Law is available to graduates from both a legal and non-legal backgrounds, including law graduates, business graduates, legal professionals as well as people working in commercial fields both nationally and internationally.

The programme will provide essential detailed knowledge of international business from a legal perspective. Regardless whether your goal is to progress within your current career, to join a global corporation or to learn more about international business law in practice, this programme will provide you with the necessary tools to achieve these goals.

This postgraduate course teaches students analytical and reflective skills as well as expert knowledge in the area of international business law. The learning experience will enable students to develop their academic ability and enhance their performance in employment and further develop their career opportunities. It provides the successful candidate with a recognised postgraduate qualification in International Business Law.

Our challenging but supportive environment gives you the chance to acquire postgraduate legal skills from a team of tutors with specialist knowledge and close links to the legal profession.

You’ll have the opportunity to explore the law’s key themes and focus your studies on areas of personal and professional interest, ranging from corporate and finance law through to employment law, intellectual property law, European law, international law, and medical law.

By the end of the course, you will have had the opportunity to develop key transferable skills that are in demand in both legal and non-legal careers within international business.

Highlights

• This professionally-focused programme is designed to provide advanced knowledge and skills of international business law directly relevant to international and corporate law sectors.
• You’ll benefit from the opportunity to critically analyse and understand the complexities arising in the field of international business law.
• You’ll have the chance to develop originality in the application of your knowledge, along with a practical understanding of how established research and enquiry techniques can be used to best effect.
• Students are given the chance to develop strength in data collection, critical data analysis, creative thinking, formulating, and solving complex legal problems.
• Students are given the chance to develop strength in data collection, critical data analysis, creative thinking, formulating, and solving complex legal problems.

Key Features

• Establish your knowledge and understanding of the doctrines and principles which underpin International Business Law.
• Learn about the sources of the law, how it is made and developed, the institutions that administer it, and the personnel who practice it.
• Enjoy the opportunity to explore a wide range of legal concepts, values, principles and rules of International Business Law and selected relevant areas of English law.
• Benefit from the chance to learn how to explain the relationship between legal concepts, values, principles and rules in several areas.
• Practice your skills in the university’s dedicated new court room, a cutting-edge learning environment – and an excellent venue for guest speakers.

If you’re looking for a postgraduate course that exactly matches your strengths and ambitions then your search is over. The University of Bolton's MA/MSc Professional Practice (Specialism) allows you to design your own master’s degree. We’ll help you personalise your postgraduate education by combining the disciplines that matter for your future. This bespoke course will support you to gain a combination of academic, analytical, and employment-focused skills that will prepare you for a career in your chosen professional area, as well as provide a sound basis for doctoral-level study.

Supporting your choices
Working with our expert tutors, you can choose two modules from across the whole spectrum of master’s level modules available at the University of Bolton. You’ll also be supported to devise a master’s-level dissertation or major project that develops your research and critical thinking skills and allows you to demonstrate your expertise. We’ll counsel you as you make these choices to ensure you create a coherent programme of study – one that is achievable and that will support you to develop the skills and knowledge you seek. We offer a wide range of subjects and you can choose modules from a single area or from two different disciplines, depending on your interests, prior qualifications and experience.

Capture essential employability, transferable and business skills
Alongside your subject-specific studies, you’ll have the opportunity to build the essential employability, transferable and business skills you need to compete with confidence for your dream job or build your own successful business from the ground up. You’ll focus on developing the skills that are most valuable to you as an individual, as shaped by your prior learning and future plans. We’ll guide you to explore areas such as influence and impact, self-management, creativity and innovation, and professional identity, bringing in business and psychological concepts to enhance your development as a professional.

Focusing on your future
We want to help you gain the skills and self-belief to showcase your worth in your chosen field. We’ll guide you to explore and understand the postgraduate labour market in the sector you wish to join, preparing you to apply your new knowledge, attributes and experiences so that you can satisfy and impress your stakeholders (such as employers, clients, commissioners and funding bodies). We’ll help you learn about the recruitment methods used by different types of organisations in your field, explore your personal brand and self-positioning, and prepare for recruitment and selection or self-employment. In addition, we’ll support you to develop skills in commercial ability and acumen, networking and professional relationship management, as well as strategies for career maintenance and growth.

Tried and tested research-informed coaching
Throughout the programme, we’ll use tried and tested, research-informed coaching and training methods to support your development. These will range from postgraduate-level skills in research, critique, problem-solving, professional presentation and synthesis to interpersonal and business-relevant skills such as innovative thinking, team working and project management, the effective use of technology, public speaking and professionalism. All this knowledge will be tailored to your chosen employment context to help you achieve your vision for your future.

An ideal course for graduates and professionals in a wide range of areas
This course should appeal to (but isn’t limited to) graduates and professionals in areas such as art and design, accountancy, science, engineering, business management, film FX, performing arts, community development and youth, computing, games, construction, law, crime and criminal justice, early years, education, English and creative writing, mathematics, nursing and the caring professions, media, psychology, the humanities and sport.

Would you prefer to complete your course over a longer time? We also offer this course with a duration of 18 months full-time or 24 months part-time. For full-time study, please visit our MA/MSc Professional Practice (Specialism): Extended course search web page for details and to apply. Alternatively, for part-time study, please visit our MA/MSc Professional Practice (Specialism) course search web page.

Highlights

• Dr Selva Pankaj, the author of ‘Thinking into Character – A Proven Methodology for the Creation of Success & Self-Fulfilment’, is a valued partner of the University whose work will support you in the development of business and career planning, confidence and knowledge.
• This course allows you to focus on one subject or to combine two areas of interest to follow an interdisciplinary route. When you successfully complete the master's, your degree title will be chosen to reflect the focus of your studies.
• Our highly qualified and professionally experienced staff have strong links with many economic sectors, offering opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects, and networking.
• The University of Bolton offers a host of world-class facilities across our campus and faculties. Depending on your choice of modules, you'll be able to make use of our specialist facilities to support your studies.
• This MA/MSc is part of the University of Bolton’s ‘Career Development Masters’ suite, which offers shared modules designed to give you a wider business perspective, including tax self-assessment, invoicing, intellectual property and risk assessments, as well as knowing how to start a business and to take advantage of opportunities for enterprise development.

Key Features

• Teaching and supervision are delivered by dedicated staff chosen for their expertise and experience in fields relevant to your areas of study and professional development needs.
• We offer an engaging programme of visiting speakers and practitioners that gives you opportunities to network with and learn from industry professionals.
• We'll offer you opportunities for interdisciplinary work and collaboration.
• Your studies will culminate in your Professional Dissertation, an independent and substantial piece of research that will further your knowledge and practice. This will demonstrate your mastery of an aspect of your field, showcasing your expert knowledge to employers as well as forming an ideal preparation for doctoral-level studies should you to wish to pursue a PhD.
• Your final master’s degree title will reflect your specialist areas of study (please note that the final award title will be selected in agreement with the University within the parameters specified in programme documentation). If you have chosen two specialist subject areas with equal weighting, the title will reflect both specialist subject areas; for instance, MA Professional Practice Creative Writing and Computing. If one of your specialist subject areas has a greater weighting than the other, the word ‘with’ will be used instead of ‘and’ between the two subject areas; for example, MA Professional Practice Creative Writing with Computing.

If you’re looking to pursue a psychology-related career or further professional training in psychology, this highly regarded conversion course is ideal. Maybe you’re considering a future in educational, occupational or clinical psychology, but don’t have enough credits in psychology at undergraduate level. Or perhaps your psychology degree didn’t come with eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership of the British Psychological Society. Either way, this course is a great solution.

The programme modules cover specific areas of psychology equivalent to those in the British Psychological Society‘s qualification exam, and will give you an opportunity to achieve a firm grounding in psychological theories, approaches and research methods.

While most of your modules will be at Master’s level, you can expect to study in classes alongside our undergraduate students. Learning alongside our undergraduates offers you the opportunity to share in a wider variety of opinions and experiences, helping to broaden your view of psychology. We then offer separate Master’s-level tutorials, designed specifically for our MSc Psychology (Conversion) students, to support your achievement of postgraduate academic and critique skills.

Psychology courses at Bolton benefit from excellent facilities and committed, enthusiastic staff – many of whom are involved in leading research that will support your studies.

Highlights

• You can enjoy support from approachable staff with a diverse range of research interests.
• Our well-equipped department is home to innovative methods of teaching and assessment.
• You’ll have the chance to learn how to apply advanced critical analysis and evidence-based reasoning to current research and methodology.
• We’ll support you to develop much sought-after transferable skills as you prepare for postgraduate employment or training.

Key Features

• The Department of Psychology at Bolton is well established – our undergraduate degree is one of the oldest in the country and we have offered conversion provision since 2001.
• This MSc Psychology (Conversion) course is accredited by the British Psychological Society, and offers you the chance to achieve the Graduate Basis for Chartership.
• Our excellent facilities include a fully equipped observation and psychophysiology laboratory.

Professional recognition
This programme is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS), provided you successfully complete the course by passing all the prescribed modules with an overall average mark of at least 50%.

Designed to assist the next generation of managers in developing the necessary knowledge and skills for career development, our Master’s in International Management aims to offer a comprehensive overview of global management theories and practices, with a focus on the different national and cultural contexts in which companies operate.

Stimulating and challenging, this course combines elements of research, innovation and application, with a view to building your academic and professional skillsets and opening up development opportunities in careers and areas of further study. A key course focus is global decision-making and exploring the role of management in a cross-cultural context, including the concepts and issues relating to diversity and human resource management.

You’ll study across a range of relevant subject areas, such as strategy formulation, sustainable business development, innovative marketing, and finance and accounting for a firm foundation in management skills that can be applied in an international setting.

Highlights

• In an increasingly international business world, awareness of global management practices is desirable among employers. You’ll have the opportunity to build cross-cultural management skills that could assist you in the international employment market.
• Teaching is provided by staff with a specialist knowledge in a range of management areas, with close links to business and industry.
• You can access course materials online and prepare for lessons in advance, allowing for more interactive lessons.
• On successful completion of this course you will be awarded an MSc in International Management.

Key Features

• The programme provides a significant grounding in international management theories and practices.
• You’ll have access to excellent facilities, including our 24/7 library and IT resources, WiFi and comfortable learning areas.
• Join our well-established postgraduate community preparing for careers in executive management.
• We’re committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in industry and contribute to your professional development.

Professional recognition

• Holders of our MSc International Management can apply for the status of Member (MCMI) or Fellow (FCMI) of the Chartered Management Institute. The point at which you can be accepted will depend on factors other than qualifications, such as your responsibilities at work. Full details are available on the CMI website: http://www.managers.org.uk/

Psychology is a core component of psychotherapy and counselling and the University of Bolton offers one of the oldest and most established psychology courses in the UK. Our BSc (Hons) Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degree offers you the chance to learn about the interaction between these disciplines, gaining an appreciation of the diversity of perspectives involved, along with an understanding of their therapeutic use.

Our friendly and experienced team will guide you as you develop knowledge of the theories, methods and debates central to the three core elements. We’ll support you as you explore psychology, gain specific counselling skills, and consider broader social issues that impact on the roles of psychotherapist and counsellor, such as assumptions, stereotyping, diversity and prejudice. We’ll also focus on developing your knowledge and skills in the use of psychological research methods, and your appreciation of the ethical issues involved.

Inter-personal and transferable skills are also vital, so we’ll challenge you to develop sought-after communication, problem solving, numerical, analytical, self-management, IT skills, and more. Overall, our dedicated team are focused on helping you gain the skills employers’ value along with a detailed understanding of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.

Highlights

• Our psychology courses are ranked top in the UK for teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020, as well as top in the UK for student satisfaction by The Complete University Guide 2020.
• This course is one of only a few Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degrees in the country accredited by the British Psychological Society. Accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership, this degree is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
• Integrated into this degree are opportunities for you to gain accredited qualifications in counselling skills. Through successful completion of this degree, you’ll also achieve the Level 2 and Level 3 Certificates in Counselling Skills conferred by ABC Awards.
• We emphasise inter-personal, transferable and employability skills as well as academic success. After graduation, you may have the opportunity to progress onto professional qualification in applied psychology, such as our Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies.
• We focus strongly on employability skills and the practical application of your studies as well as academic success. Workshops will involve analysis of life events and role playing of various scenarios using case study material. You can also benefit from final year applied sessions in counselling skills.
• Your personal tutor will be on hand to support you throughout your degree; one of our team of helpful and approachable psychology staff with a diverse range of research interests and professional experience.
• We’ve invested to create a learning environment that offers innovative methods of teaching and assessment using top-class facilities, such as our observation laboratory with video cameras, microphones and video editing equipment.

Key Features

• We stress the applied nature of psychology throughout the programme, emphasising learning through experience to help prepare you for further professional qualifications in psychology, counselling or psychotherapy.
• We’ll explain the principles and methods of psychological research, including the collection, analysis, reporting and interpretation of data. During your final year you’ll have the opportunity to carry out an individual research study.
• Teaching is dynamic and varied using methods that include lectures, small group work, discussion groups, case studies, demonstrations and laboratory workshops. You’ll be encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning with opportunities for you to participate and gain practical experience.
• Course content is delivered by our highly-qualified staff who have substantial experience in the field. By offering personal supervision throughout the course, we aim to give you the best possible opportunity to achieve your true potential.

Professional recognition
Successful completion of the degree course is approved as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved.

The British Psychological Society is the professional body for psychologists.

Through the successful completion of the module "Introduction to Counselling Concepts" (PPC4001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills. Through the successful completion of the module "Counselling Skills" (PPC5001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills.

Recent news reports reveal data breaches at large corporations and some people say the age of cyber-warfare has already begun. The need for talented, professional and ingenious computer network and security professionals has never been greater. Governments, organisations and individuals rely on being able to store and access information securely and efficiently, and our BSc (Hons) Computer Networks and Security degree offers an excellent preparation for a career in this field.

Our dedicated staff will support you to develop the strong understanding and practical know-how vital to protect data against all possible sources of disruption, at all times. Focusing on the design, configuration, management and support of all types of computer networks, we’ll guide you as you gain valuable hands-on experience with a range of industry-standard hardware and software. Areas of study include network architecture and management, network design and integration, routing, computer security, network operating systems, programming, wide area networks and wireless networks and security.

We’ll also support you to gain vital academic and lifelong learning skills so that you are well prepared to research new technologies, apply your knowledge in new ways, and keep abreast of innovations and enhancements in the computer networks and security industry throughout your career.

Highlights

• You’ll have the opportunity to gain Cisco certification to CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) standard. The Cisco CCNA examination is offered at external testing centres and incurs a separate charge. The course also includes training towards RedHat Linux qualifications.
• Our dedicated staff team have a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offering you a variety of perspectives and broadening your horizons.
• We prefer to keep lecture and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to ask us questions and get help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.
• Our dedicated laboratories are firewalled so that you and your classmates can experiment and evaluate attack tools without worrying about disrupting the wider University network.
• We’re committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in the industry, and contribute to your professional development.
• By designing the course assignments and projects so that they mimic industry pipelines and standards, we aim to give you a real feel for a career in computer networks and security.

Key Features

• We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• We want to work with you as an individual, giving you access to the help and support you need to succeed.
• Our dedicated networking laboratories have industry-standard hardware and software and you’ll have unrestricted access, so you’ll always be able to practice and develop your workplace skills.
• As you’d expect, many of our computing facilities can be accessed across the internet, allowing you to work on your assignments whenever and wherever you choose.
• Your final year project offers the chance to specialise in an area of interest. We’ll support you to develop it as a portfolio of work that demonstrates your knowledge and skills, ready to impress potential employers.

Professional recognition

• In the first two years of study, you’ll register with the Cisco Networking Academy to enrol for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) study programme. A Cisco certificate is awarded after you successfully complete each of the four parts. Once you’ve completed the CCNA study programme, you can choose to sit the Cisco CCNA examination at an external testing centre. A separate charge is payable to Cisco for the external exam.

From alien spaceships to samurai swords, and body parts to ancient statues, special and visual effects uses physical artefacts to inject reality into computer generated action, as well as provide a sense of place, time and atmosphere for actors and audiences. Our Special Effects Modelmaking for Film and Television degree is designed to train the talented artists and craftspeople this highly creative industry needs. We focus on preparing you for a career as a skilled artisan, creating visually stunning pieces that help bring on-screen productions to life.

We offer an intensely practical education in special effects modelmaking. We’ll encourage you to experiment with materials and tools, and practice contemporary and long-established modelmaking techniques. We’ll support you as you learn the principles of scale representation and how to create bigatures. We’ll lead you in an exploration of how models and props can combine with 3D computer graphics to create spectacular on-screen environments.

This highly creative industry demands transferable skills too – communication, project and time management, team-working and entrepreneurship are all needed for success in this often freelance profession. We aim to support you to develop these attributes, alongside the imagination, flair and curiosity that will enable you to help make the unbelievable, believable.

Highlights

• You don’t have to worry about the cost of the tools and materials needed to complete your studies – we provide these for you. This means you can concentrate on learning how to use expensive industry-standard materials, like silicones and resins, rather than worrying about how you are going to pay for them!
• Neill Gorton, multi-award winning artist/designer and founder of the world-renowned Millennium FX Company, is our Visiting Professor of Special Effects. His astonishing range of professional experience, knowledge of cutting-edge techniques and industry contacts brings enormous benefits.
• You’ll have your own personal bench space and locker in our dedicated special effects studio, providing a secure base for your studies. You’ll also have access to our fantastic range of facilities, including our casting and moulding room, boutique film studio, 3D workshop, heavy engineering and woodworking facilities, and composites laboratories.
• We’re committed to helping develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning and help you make contacts in the industry. For instance, the modelmaking masters Artem have recently shared their expertise with students on our SVFX courses.
• Alongside your special effects modelmaking skills and knowledge, we’ll support you to develop a broader understanding of production design, including concepting, cinematography and composition. This will help you appreciate the roles, skills and expectations of other professionals working in the industry.
• We’ll encourage you to research, analyse, design and develop modelmaking techniques so that you can take an idea from a brief or script scene and find the most time-efficient, cost-effective and visually impressive way to turn that vision into reality.

Key Features

• The course is designed in collaboration with professional special effects modelmaking designers and artists. This ensures that the content is industry-relevant and includes the latest techniques, materials and innovations.
• We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work/show reel that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.
• Course assignments and projects mimic industry pipelines and standards so your experience is a realistic preparation for a career in special effects modelmaking.
• Our dedicated staff team have a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offering you a variety of perspectives and broadening your horizons.
• We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• We prefer to keep lecture and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to us ask questions and get individual help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.

You are unique and we want to help you gain the skills and self-belief to showcase your worth and realise your potential. The University of Bolton's MA (Specialist Title) for Creative Industries: Extended course focuses on helping you learn to compete with confidence for your dream job or build your own successful business from the ground up. We’ll guide you as you gain a strategic blend of academic, analytical, creative and professional skills. As a graduate of this course, you’ll possess an impressive all-round combination of creative practice, commercial awareness and business-relevant knowledge. Overall, this course offers you the opportunity to develop projects in your specialist area of creative practice coupled with essential skills development for business and leadership that will take your CV to the next level.

Gain the skills and confidence to achieve your career ideals
The creative industries are highly competitive so we want to help you stand head and shoulders above the crowd. Throughout the programme, we’ll use tried and tested, research-informed coaching and training methods to support your development of key skills that are highly relevant to the creative industries. These will range from postgraduate-level skills in research, problem-solving, professional presentation and synthesis to interpersonal and business-relevant skills such as innovative thinking, collaboration, leadership and project management, the effective use of technology, public speaking and professionalism. Together, these will help you to develop your profile in your chosen creative industry and ensure your work reaches your desired audience.

Pursue your own creative practice
Our expert team will support you to develop your unique body of creative work, express your creative style and refine your practice. We’ll support you as you learn to design, plan and deliver projects that are as individual as you are. We’ll guide you as you set and achieve your own personal, academic and professional goals, helping you to develop and demonstrate an original and distinctive approach to your specialised creative area. We’ll work to stimulate your creative thinking and enhance your professional practice through a challenging programme of study which promotes critical self-awareness.

Strengthen your understanding of context
To use your knowledge to best effect, you need a sound understanding of context. To inform your creative practice, you’ll explore historical and contemporary concepts and theories relevant to the creative industries and artistic practice during this course. In addition, you’ll also need an in-depth understanding of the commercial and professional creative industries environment you wish to join. This course will help you identify the creative practice, employability and transferable skills you’ll need to gain entry to your chosen field and support you to develop those very skills.

Mastering your vision
You’ll have the opportunity to independently plan and deliver a professionally relevant project at master’s level. This is known as the Professional Dissertation and may take a variety of forms such as a large-scale technical or creative project that results in an online or physical exhibition, a live project working with industry or in the community, an event or a publication. For many students, this is the most exciting element of the course and the culmination of their studies. It will allow you to demonstrate the full range of your skills and knowledge and impress potential employers, clients or collaborators.

An ideal course for graduates and professionals of creative industries
This course should appeal to (but is not limited to) graduates and professionals in areas such as Animation, Art and Design, Creative Writing, Dance, Fashion, Fine Art, Games Art and Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Media, Performance, Photography, Special and Visual Effects, Textiles and Surface Design.

Would you prefer to complete your course over a different timeframe?
We also offer this course full-time over 12 months or part-time over 24 months. For details of the 12-month course, please visit our full-time MA (Specialist Title) for Creative Industries course search web page. Alternatively, to find out more and apply for the 24-month course, please visit our part-time MA (Specialist Title) for Creative Industries course search web page.

Highlights

• Dr Selva Pankaj, the author of ‘Thinking into Character – A Proven Methodology for the Creation of Success & Self-Fulfilment’, is a valued partner of the University whose work will support you in the development of business and career planning, confidence and knowledge.
• You may choose to focus on a single discipline or combine several areas of practice to follow an interdisciplinary route. When you successfully complete the master's, your degree title will be chosen to reflect the focus of your studies.
• Our industry?engaged staff are practising artists, writers and performers. You'll benefit from our strong industry links with a range of arts, cultural and creative organisations across Greater Manchester and the North West region, offering opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects, and networking.
• You'll be able to make use of industry-standard specialist facilities across the University of Bolton's Faculty of Engineering, Arts and Creative Technologies to develop high-quality creative outputs.
• This MA is part of the University of Bolton’s ‘Career Development Masters’ suite, which offers shared modules designed to give you a wider business perspective, including tax self-assessment, invoicing, intellectual property and risk assessments, as well as knowing how to start a business and to take advantage of opportunities for enterprise development.

Key Features

• Teaching and supervision are delivered by dedicated staff chosen for their expertise and experience in fields relevant to your creative practice and professional development needs.
• We offer an engaging programme of visiting speakers and practitioners that gives you opportunities to network with and learn from successful professionals working in the creative industries.
• We'll offer you opportunities for interdisciplinary work and collaboration, to take part in live projects and to showcase your work to the public and potential employers or clients.
• You'll benefit from our strong industry links with local and regional arts, culture and trade organisations, studios, galleries, games and film FX companies, publishers, manufacturers and companies specialising in creative art and design practice.
• Your final master’s degree title will reflect your specialist area(s) of practice (please note that the final award title will be selected in agreement with the University within the parameters specified in programme documentation). For example, if your specialist area of practice is Media Production, you could graduate with a degree called MA Media Production for Creative Industries.