Master of Science in Data Analytics and Technologies

at University of Bolton United Kingdom

In our ever-changing world, novel ideas can create new businesses, help them grow faster than ever and develop new industries overnight. We aim to prepare you to lead these changes. The University of Bolton’s MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation will build your knowledge in the three key areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and business development and help you gain the skills and self-confidence to showcase your worth. Our expert team will work to nurture your entrepreneurial mindset so you can realise your entrepreneurial potential.

Innovation for everyone
Entrepreneurship and innovation play vital roles in knowledge creation and exploitation to generate value and drive sustainable economic, social and organisational development. Organisations are increasingly seeking people with the ability to spot and take advantage of new opportunities so entrepreneurial and innovation skills are highly sought after. It doesn’t matter what your background or area of expertise is, this course is open to everyone with entrepreneurial drive and the desire to innovate.

Be the change
The need for professionals who can create and grow innovative companies and sustainable social enterprises has never been greater. We also want to prepare you to bring innovative insights into existing organisations so they can better respond to the complex challenges facing our society. Many business executives link the success of their businesses to innovation and as a result, put a lot of emphasis on it. Not only does it allow organisations to stay relevant in the competitive marketplace, but it also plays an important role in economic growth. Our MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation is designed to help you develop the high-level skills and critical competencies you’ll need to become a successful innovator and an entrepreneur who can build ethical and sustainable businesses.

Study in one of the most innovative regions in the UK
The North West of England was a powerhouse of the industrial revolution, and Greater Manchester remains at the heart of innovation in the UK today. MediaCityUK is an international hub for innovation, technology, and creativity and has been chosen as a base by over 250 media and digital businesses. Moreover, industry heavyweights like Google, Amazon, Freshfields, LLP, the BBC and Microsoft have opened offices in the Manchester area. Overall, the diverse industry base and the region’s growing population offer rich opportunities for those with innovative ideas coupled with the skills, knowledge and self-belief needed to build a new business from the ground up. As a graduate of this master’s degree, you’ll be well placed to thrive in this environment.

Supporting you to become the ‘complete package’
To succeed as an entrepreneur, you’ll need a combination of high-level business development expertise coupled with essential interpersonal and thinking skills, such as persuasion, negotiation, critical thinking, collaborative working and problem-solving. We draw expertise from across the University to ensure you gain the vital mix of hard and soft skills necessary for career success. In addition, our extensive links with regional and national employers offer opportunities for masterclasses, networking and individual industry-based projects. Overall, this course supports you to develop extensive knowledge of innovation and entrepreneurship, coupled with essential skills for business and leadership. Together these attributes will take your CV to the next level.

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 MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Extended course search web page for details and to apply. Alternatively, for part-time study, please visit our MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation 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.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent and often personalised support offered by our teaching staff.
• Contemporary research findings are woven into our teaching and this is supplemented by colleagues from our enterprise lab who are on hand to offer practical support throughout the programme.
• Our industry?engaged staff have strong links with organisations across the range of public, commercial and industrial sectors, offering opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects, and networking.
• This MSc is part of the University of Bolton’s ‘Career Development Masters’ suite, offering shared modules that give you a wide business perspective. Inspired by the graduate training programmes of major companies, these modules will help you develop high-level employability and transferable skills and apply them in your career.

Key Features

• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• Teaching and supervision are delivered by dedicated staff chosen for their expertise and experience in fields relevant to entrepreneurship, innovation and your professional development needs.
• We regularly invite guest speakers with varied and extensive experiences in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and mentorship.
• You’ll benefit from opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and network building with students from our other Career Development Master’s degrees, including the Human Society, Data Analytics and Technologies, Professional Practice and Creative Industries courses.

Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you are looking to pursue a career in business, or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work.

Our BSc (Hons) in Business Management (Retail) offers a strong grounding in an essential range of contemporary business management subjects combined with the opportunity to focus your studies in the final year. When you successfully complete the course you’ll also receive the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.

By studying core modules that are common between all our BSc (Hons) Business Management programmes, you’ll be exposed to key concepts in areas such as business law, leadership and people management, marketing, strategic management, information systems and big data, project management, finance, innovation and enterprise. This solid foundation will support your advanced studies into specialist areas including retail operations, global consumer behaviour and digital marketing strategy.

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

• Our team of highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic business management lecturers offer face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support, ensuring you can access help and advice when you need it.
• 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 Diploma in Leadership and Management. You don’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Diploma – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
• This course is part of our Business Management suite of degrees. All students study the same modules at the first two levels of the course to gain an in depth knowledge of the major business disciplines. At Honours level, you can follow the specialist pathway in Retail, choose to transfer to one of our other specialist pathways in Law, People Management, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing or Enterprise, or follow the core Business Management route.
• 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.
• The University offers excellent 24/7 library and IT facilities, WiFi, and well-appointed learning areas.

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.

Professional recognition

• Graduates of the BSc (Hons) Business Management (Retail) pathway will receive a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute).
• The Level 5 Diploma is the CMI’s benchmark qualification and offers the quickest exemption route towards Chartered Manager (CMgr MCMI) status. Chartered Manager status is only awarded by the CMI and is the highest status that can be achieved in the management profession.

If you have a passion for the arts and culture and a keen interest in areas such as creative producing, galleries and curation, and cultural heritage and museums, this master’s degree offers you a route into a rewarding career in arts management. Whether you are progressing straight from undergraduate study, or are already working in the sector, this programme aims to prepare you to work in partnership with a range of arts, theatre and cultural organisations to develop and manage projects that have tangible social, educational and commercial benefits.

Our dedicated team will support you as you investigate the current arts landscape to develop your understanding of the social, political and cultural contexts for the arts, examining growth areas such as arts and wellbeing, social prescribing, social engagement and regeneration. The applications for arts and culture are varied and you’ll have the opportunity to explore areas such as social enterprise, creative engagement, and arts and culture for health and wellbeing.

Your studies will focus on key aspects of arts management practice, including leadership and management, networking and collaboration, logistics and managing risk. Audience engagement, project planning and development, and impact evaluation will also form key cornerstones of your learning. You’ll have the opportunity to work with a number of arts and cultural organisations via live briefs and work-based learning, as well as to gain additional qualifications such as safeguarding, health and safety in the workplace, equality and diversity, and risk assessment to further strengthen your professional profile. Our aim to support you to develop the real-world skills that will enable you to work freelance, on contracted roles within existing organisations, or to set up your own company.

Highlights

• This MA offers opportunities for you to work with a range of arts and cultural organisations across Greater Manchester and the North West region on live projects.
• Our industry-engaged staff are experienced in developing and leading arts and cultural projects, so are well-versed in the skills and knowledge needed for success in the field.
• We’ll focus on helping you develop the practical, real-world arts management skills you’ll need to work freelance, start your own company, or secure employment with established organisations.
• We'll help you learn about tax self-assessment, invoicing, intellectual property and risk assessments, as well as offer business start-up sessions to prepare you to take advantage of opportunities for enterprise development.

Key Features

• Teaching and supervision are delivered by our dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff who are engaged in arts practice, management and research.
• We offer an engaging programme of visiting speakers and practitioners that gives you opportunities to network with and learn from industry professionals.
• You’ll have opportunities to gain additional qualifications such as safeguarding, health and safety in the workplace, equality and diversity, and risk assessment, alongside your master’s degree to ensure you achieve a strong professional profile in preparation for employment.

Photographs are the most exciting and important visual form of global communication, forming a significant part of everyday life. It’s estimated that 4.2 billion people now use the internet and that around 1.2 trillion photos were taken last year*. The image has become the most widely used international language, and the ability to communicate concise visual statements that engage audiences is at the heart of our course and teaching.

Our broad-based degree offers you a unique pathway of visual self-discovery. You’ll benefit from the freedom to pursue your own interests while receiving expert support from our industry-experienced tutors, developed with help from a panel of industry professionals. We offer a supportive market-aware environment, in which you can explore a variety of photographic genres such as documentary, fashion, editorial, photojournalism, commercial advertising, portraiture, architectural, wildlife, landscape and fine art.

We’ll invite industry experts to share their knowledge during guest lectures, and offer you opportunities to work on placements, ‘live briefs’ and commissions. Our industry links will help to enrich your learning experience and provide you with invaluable ‘insider’ information and possible employment opportunities. You can be part of this fully integrated programme of practical and theoretical knowledge, building your confidence and skills ready for a career in this dynamic industry.

Highlights

• Our team of highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic photography lecturers offer face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support, ensuring you can access help and advice when you need it.
• Based on your interests and strengths, our experienced team will work to help you identify a potential career path and plan your future professional development based on your individual needs. We want to support you as you establish the foundation of your career in your chosen area of the photography industry.
• Exhibition and display are key themes in the final year, and we’ll offer you the opportunity to present your work in an external exhibition as well as during Bolton School of the Arts’ Creative Showcase.
• We offer opportunities for you to participate in foreign study trips, as well as visit collections and current exhibitions at galleries, museums and arts centres around the UK. In recent years, visits to major cities such as New York, Paris, London and Toronto have proved valuable learning opportunities for our students.
• You’ll also have the opportunity to progress seamlessly onto our Master of Arts Photography programme.

Key Features

• Our custom-designed photography department offers outstanding facilities including darkrooms, a dedicated computer suite with a high output printing facility and four studios with specialist lighting.
• Practical knowledge, such as studio lighting and location techniques, combined with research and critique help you learn to develop your ideas and produce innovative research-led work.
• You’ll have access to a rich visiting speaker programme, providing insight into industry experts’ professional practice and up-to-the-minute developments in the sector.
• The programme offers work placements, internships, masterclasses, awards, competitions and open calls, such as the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
• Our specialist tutors and technical support staff have professional experience and industry connections.
• As a graduate, you’ll have a wide range of independent, specialist photographic styles based on your own planning and development.

If you’re skilled in science and want to make a difference in the healthcare industry, our Biomedical Engineering degree course could give you the opportunity to fulfil your goals and reach your full potential. Incorporating elements of engineering, health, biology and sport, biomedical engineering is concerned with the design, development and technical support of medical equipment used by the healthcare industry.

This course aims to provide you with a good grounding in biomedical engineering principles and related subjects like biomechanics, application of engineering materials and product design. Run in collaboration with the University’s specialists in human movement science, the course also presents opportunities to learn more about how biomedical engineering supports rehabilitation for a diverse population, from general public patients, to professional athletes.

We offer access to the latest technology, high-specification laboratory equipment and the chance to work with internationally recognised research teams. You’ll also benefit from varied teaching and interactive learning opportunities designed to help you develop and apply problem solving, modelling and analytical skills, based on theory and practice.

Highlights

• This course has been developed with input from key industry employers. We have strong industry links, reinforced by live briefs and case studies developed in conjunction with industry, as well as opportunities for placements.
• You’ll receive hands-on access to a wide variety of specialist facilities, including our high-spec instrumentation laboratory, microscopy facility, tissue engineering suite, biomechanics facility, biomedical sensors lab and rapid prototyping facility.
• You can participate in the annual IMechE challenge, where you’ll have the opportunity to design, create and operate a device to solve real world problems.
• This course follows the guidelines developed by the Engineering Council (UK-SPEC).

Key Features

• You’ll have the opportunity to access advanced technology, such as our 3D motion capture system (with ground reaction force platforms), isokinetic dynamometer, mass spectrometer, 3D printing, teaching robot, composite materials manufacturing cell, engineering simulation software and confocal microscope.
• Working with internationally recognised research teams, you’ll explore subject areas like materials, medical devices and biological systems in depth, witnessing real life applications of biomedical devices in sports science and rehabilitation contexts.
• You’ll be introduced to topics that explore the principles and influencing factors of medical engineering and the wider multidisciplinary engineering context, such as issues of ethics and economics.
• On successful completion of this course, you’ll be awarded a BEng (Hons) in Biomedical Engineering.

Professional recognition
We’re in the process of obtaining accreditation of the BEng (Hons) Biomedical Engineering programme from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

The University of Bolton’s MSc Social Care, Health and Wellbeing is designed to prepare future leaders for the health and social care sector. The social, cultural and political climate has an enormous impact on the lives of vulnerable people in our society, influencing the care they receive and the life chances they experience. This postgraduate course is designed to develop your awareness and understanding of these factors while cultivating your leadership, critical analysis and communication skills. We focus on supporting you to integrate these ideas with your knowledge of social care, health and wellbeing, helping you to achieve career success and champion the uniqueness of individuals, carers and their families.

The aim of this course is to extend your already considerable professional skills and knowledge with specialist modules that deepen your understanding of areas such as equality and diversity, integration and collaboration in health and social care, and the importance of engaging with service users. Our expert team will help you gain critical reflection, analysis and evaluation skills that support your ability to determine the impact of professional interventions in social care and health services.

Combining this knowledge with the principles and techniques of academic research and investigation will help develop your evidence-based practice, and grow your skills in evaluating options and formulating creative solutions to complex problems. Studying leadership and management styles, theories and frameworks will support you to become more actively involved in the planning, delivery and transformation of social care and health services.

Overall, our aim is to help you gain the professional and transferable skills to move forward in your career, improving the services you provide to individuals and their communities.

Highlights

• Our students are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds – sharing the individual and unique educational insights and perspectives of your peers helps to enrich your learning experience.
• We promote research and critical enquiry helping you learn to make sound, evidence-based independent judgements.
• We have an excellent record of working with NHS, social care and community-based services, enabling us to offer postgraduate programmes that are responsive to employer and service user needs.
• Modules on this programme combine concepts and knowledge from across the divisions of health, community and early years, fostering a dynamic multi-professional approach.
• On successful completion of this course you’ll be awarded an MSc Social Care, Health and Wellbeing from the University of Bolton.

Key Features

• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated experts.
• Staff and students from across our Faculty of Health and Wellbeing work closely together. By studying alongside people from related specialisms and sectors, such as youth, community and early years, you can benefit from a wider range of knowledge and experience that supports cross-disciplinary thinking and inter-professional working.
• Our academic team is actively involved in social care, health and wellbeing research, helping you to explore issues from a robust research-informed knowledge base.
• Specialists in the field of social care and health will be invited to join us as guest speakers and lecturers, offering you first-hand live examples of current practice.
• Our highly experienced team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research evaluation skills and apply these during your independent master’s-level project.

The Harvard Business Review has called the data scientist ‘the sexiest job of the 21st century’*. Our BSc (Hons) Computing (Data Analyst) course offers a route into this exciting career, along with global opportunities in a huge range of sectors. Data analysts provide up-to-date, accurate and relevant data analysis for organisations, making recommendations to improve business performance. Throughout this course, we’ll guide you as you develop technical knowledge and applied skills with a range of data structures, software development procedures and analytical tools.

Our expert and dedicated team will cover managing, cleansing, abstracting and aggregating data, a wide range of standard and custom analytical studies, as well as data visualisation techniques. We’ll support you as you learn how to provide insight and analysis through clear visual, written and verbal communication. The department’s strong links with business mean you’ll have the chance to work on ‘live briefs’ in your coursework assignments, so you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy real-world context and application for the skills and knowledge we’ll help you develop.

With intentionally small class sizes, we can offer you meaningful and personalised interaction with our dedicated and enthusiastic lecturers – many of whom are active researchers and come with extensive industry insights and experience. Meanwhile, guest speakers and lecturers give you access to highly relevant and up-to-date input from industry settings.

All of this is backed by our well-equipped IT suites, where you’ll get to apply and develop your learning individually and in groups, with expert guidance and support.

* https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century visited on 07/01/2019

Highlights

• The department – and the wider University – provides a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• Your teaching and tutorial team brings an impressive range of professional experience and technical prowess to the course, so you’ll have the chance to explore and evaluate a range of perspectives relating to your studies.
• A big part of our commitment to your progress is helping you develop your employability and industry networks. So we’ll encourage you to attend guest lectures that give your learning context, offer industry contact, and contribute to your underlying professional development.
• By underpinning our content and assignments with a strong industrial focus, we foster a keen understanding of the role and value of data analysis in the business environment, and help you develop essential skills such as attention to detail, communication and time management.
• We’ll focus on your individual needs, and provide personalised support to help find the learning strategies that best support your learning and ultimate success.

Key Features

• Our dedicated laboratories, servers and end-hosts feature high-specification hardware and the latest software, so you’ll have industry-equivalent hands-on experience.
• You’ll also get to experience the latest technologies, such as OpenStack – developed by Rackspace and NASA.
• As you’d expect, many of our computing facilities are accessible online, so you can work on your assignments wherever you are, and whenever inspiration kicks in.
• We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as background research, critical reasoning and problem solving, as well as professional communication, time management, teamwork, and lifelong learning.
• We’ll also encourage you to build a portfolio of evidence representing the projects and tasks you’ve completed during your studies, ready to impress potential employers.
• We continually monitor and update the course to reflect current and ever-changing issues in computing, and to keep your learning in line with technological advances and innovations.

The MSc in Software Engineering offers graduates with a background in computing and programming the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of advanced software methodologies. This intensely practical course supports and encourages you to hone your creative thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills through the use of realistic scenarios inspired by the industry experience of our tutors and professional software engineering contacts.

You’ll have the opportunity to study the latest methodologies and development techniques and deepen your understanding of approaches such as design patterns and contemporary software engineering practices. We’ll support you as you acquire the capacity to adapt and learn new skills ready to respond as the software engineering industry evolves throughout your career. Since software engineering is an international business unconstrained by geographical area, you’ll also explore issues such as localisation within application development.

The programme has been designed collaboratively with industrial partners, giving you the chance to equip yourself with professional skills, and understand the ethical and environmental issues you’ll encounter in your professional life.

You’ll also be encouraged to prepare for your postgraduate career with coursework designed to help you develop sophisticated intellectual capabilities in research, critique, synthesis and innovation, and enhance essential skills such as group working and report writing.

Highlights

• 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 us ask questions and get help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.
• We have well-established links with the software engineering industry, and continually monitor and update the course to make sure the content is industry-relevant and introduces you to the latest thinking and innovations.
• We are committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You will be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in the industry and contribute to your professional development.

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 commitment to provide the best possible learning environments has seen us make significant investments in our IT facilities.
• Many of our computing facilities can be accessed across the internet, allowing you to work on your assignments whenever and wherever you choose.
• Our lecturers take time to build strong personal relationships with all students, enabling questions to be answered quickly and easily.

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): Extended 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 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/MSc Professional Practice (Specialism) course search web page. Alternatively, to find out more and apply for the 24-month course, please visit our part-time 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.

Textiles and surface design is a fast-moving global industry encompassing a wide range of commercial contexts – from fashion fabrics and accessories, through stationery products and packaging, to interior fabrics and wall coverings, as well as contemporary gallery/design led pieces. Our creative and challenging degree is taught by a dedicated and passionate team with extensive professional experience of researching, designing, creating, selling and exhibiting textile/surface design work. We understand the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed as a professional designer.

Our intensely practical approach aims to help you gain a broad portfolio of traditional and digital design skills. You’ll have space to experiment with different approaches, materials and techniques, and we’ll support and encourage you to ‘cross the boundaries’ of textile disciplines and develop your own innovative approaches to designing and making. Historical and contextual studies help to underpin your practical knowledge and provide sources of inspiration.

Our professional design studios are equipped with work spaces, and high-specification facilities for embroidery, digital printing, non-woven textiles, garment manufacture, felt making, printed and dyed textiles, and computer aided design are available.

We’ll also support you to develop commercial awareness and entrepreneurial skills, including how to market, exhibit, work with design studios and set up in business, ready for success in this often freelance career.

Highlights

• Our Art courses are placed in the top ten in the UK for student-to-staff ratio by the Guardian University League Tables 2020, so you have access to individual tutor support and small group teaching.
• We’ll encourage you to enter national and international competitions, and are proud that many of our students have gained prestigious awards through the Bradford Textile Society, Première Vision Paris, New Designers Awards, Embroiderers Guild and the Society of Dyers and Colourists.
• In 2016, second year student Kera Allen won top award at the highly esteemed Surtex Designext Awards in New York.
• We offer numerous opportunities to visit national and international trade fairs. In recent years we’ve organised study trips to Surtex New York, Indigo Paris, The British Craft Trade Fair and New Designers in London.
• Our dedicated and specialist tutors have industry connections and extensive experience in researching, making, exhibiting and selling textiles, surface and design work, and are engaged in PhD research that feeds into the content of the programme.
• You’ll be introduced to the varied working practices of studio designers in industry, contemporary textile artists and designer-makers and explore the range of materials and products textile and surface designers use and create – everything from fashion and interior fabrics, through wallcoverings, gift wrap, stationery, and cards, to ceramic tableware.
• You’ll benefit from the opportunity to work on a major personal project and present it to the public as part of the Bolton School of the Arts final-year Creative Show.

Key Features

• Bolton has an impressive history of textile manufacturing and engineering spanning over 650 years, so you’ll be studying at a historic home of textile innovation in the UK. The University of Bolton maintains this tradition and is a leading centre of textile and materials research of global importance.
• Facilities on campus include design studios, computer suites, a printed textile workshop, digital textile printing, embroidery and textile workshops, and paper print facilities. We offer industry-standard software and access to the latest global trend prediction sites. You’ll also have access to our wider arts and design facilities, including photographic studios, fine print and ceramic workshops.
• Our long-standing reputation in the teaching and development of textile subjects means we can attract outstanding visiting speakers from across the commercial design and craft-led sectors. Recent speakers include Concetta Gallo MA Royal College of Art (RCA) designer for Habitat, Leigh Cooke designer for Salvatore Ferragamo and Hermes Paris, and Alison Willoughby MA RCA.
• Our close proximity to Manchester, and links with the North West Craft Network and major galleries, workshops and associations in the region, mean you’ll be well-placed to take advantage of work placement opportunities.
• We regularly set-up industry-relevant live projects with external organisations and companies in our practical modules. These are designed to give you experience of working to industry standards, help you learn the realities of working to design briefs, and offer insights into current design practice.
• We pride ourselves on the small group learning and one-to-one support we offer. You can expect to receive individual attention and guidance from our expert tutors, as well as online support through the University’s eLearning system Moodle.