Master of Science in Mathematics and Philosophy

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

This course will equip you to combine the critical, theoretical and practical skills central to psychology with a cellular, synaptic and systems-level understanding of brain function from neuroscience. The course emphasises the experimental study of the mind and nervous system and we want our students to share a sense of fun and adventure in exploring and combining these different perspectives.

MSci Psychology and Neuroscience is taught by experts who are enthusiastic about teaching students the latest developments in the field based on the research that they are conducting. It is specifically designed to meet the requirements for accreditation by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and gives you eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). It provides you with a pathway to becoming a psychologist along with knowledge and skills from both disciplines, which you can apply in a wide range of careers.

In the first year you will be introduced to what psychology can reveal about how the mind works and the neuroanatomical pathways and cellular and synaptic mechanisms underlying brain function.

In the second year you will continue to develop your understanding of biological, cognitive, social and developmental aspects of psychology alongside the different techniques used to study nervous systems.

The third year will combine training in psychological experimental design and statistical analysis with the opportunity to focus on specific research areas, such as neurological and psychiatric disorders or interdisciplinary areas, such as behavioural and cognitive neuroscience.

In your fourth year you will apply what you have learned to investigate a specific psychological research question. You will also develop valuable skills in communicating science and developing ideas, as well as deepening your understanding of specialist and interdisciplinary areas of psychology and neuroscience.

Studying neuroscience will enable you to explore the workings of the brain, from molecules to neural systems, answering questions such as: how do neurones communicate with each other to lay down memories? What goes wrong in neuropsychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia? How do we feel pain?

Your knowledge will build from studying core units in years one and two to studying selected, in-depth courses in your final year. Second-year units explore many aspects of neuroscience, including the neurophysiology of the central nervous system; the pharmacology of drugs that affect the nervous system; and the techniques that have enabled advances in understanding the nervous system.

Final-year units are run at the forefront of current research and include subjects such as synaptic plasticity and brain and behaviour, as well as studying specialised topics, such as neuropsychiatric diseases. You will also spend 30 days on a research project.

Physics is a truly international venture. This degree generally follows the structure of the MSci Physics course, offering a comprehensive grounding in physics and mathematics, practical work in the laboratory, and computational physics, alongside the study of a language to prepare you for your third year in Europe.

You will be placed at a partner university in Europe for an academic year, studying units that parallel, as far as possible, the third year of the Bristol degree programme. For further details of year, abroad opportunities visit Global Opportunities.

In your final year back in Bristol you will undertake a major project or dissertation, working in a research group with a member of staff. Our students' final-year projects address questions at the frontier of our research fields, and the most successful have been published in scientific journals.

You will join a friendly department with a very active, award-winning student society. We encourage you to develop a broad range of skills, including problem solving and communication while experiencing life as a physicist in a different culture.

Our physics graduates have an excellent record of employment, a testament to the value that employers place on these skills.

The MSc Education Open Pathway allows you to design your own programme of study based on your areas of interest, rather than tying you in to a particular subject area. You can therefore pick and choose units from across the seven different specialist pathways as well as from our wider bank of optional units. For example, if your interests spanned both educational policy and the use of technology in education you might combine units from the Leadership and Policy Pathway with units from the Learning, Technology and Society Pathway.

A very diverse range of students take this pathway, attracted by the freedom that it offers. Many students are international drawn from a range of countries beyond Europe having recently completed their undergraduate studies. Many of these students nonetheless have some experience of teaching, volunteering or some other work experience in schools or education more broadly.

Other students, are more mature and returning to education after a longer period of work and so bring a wider wealth of experiences, yet wish to formalise their learning. All this diversity in backgrounds and experiences creates a rich learning environment and sharing of ideas among students and academics alike.

After completing the MSc, most students want to work in education in some form. But here too there is range in students’ goals and aspirations. Other students want to use the Masters year to develop their skills as educational researchers in order to go on to study for a PhD with us or elsewhere.

The MSc Business Analytics is a one-year specialist program for graduates with a bachelor’s degree with a substantial quantitative component, and highly qualified graduates from other backgrounds with demonstrable advanced quantitative skills. It will suit graduates or early career professionals who wish to pursue a career in business analytics across sectors including digital marketing, human resources, logistics, retail, banking, insurance and healthcare.

The MSc Business Analytics will equip students with the skills and ability to develop actionable insights on customer behaviour, market trends, and business opportunities based on data and statistical methods. Students will also gain an understanding of the strategic value and managerial implications of business analytics, in line with a socially responsible and ethical use of data.

You will learn statistical and machine learning techniques for data mining and forecasting, social media/web analytics, modelling analytics for data-driven decision making, linked to practice and theory.

You will gain a critical understanding of organisational, societal, and ethical issues in the use of business analytics in decision making and the development of data-driven business solutions.

We will give you the opportunity to apply knowledge and techniques learned in the program to real-life business problems, building your communication, research and analytical skills. Where possible, projects will be run in partnership with IBM and other business and third sector organisations.

The importance of addressing the climate emergency has never been clearer. Climate change experts are needed in government, business, research, and non-governmental organisations, to help drive sustainable transformation in changing environments.

The University of Bristol's MSc in Climate Change Science and Policy trains highly skilled graduates with a solid grounding in climate change science, alongside a critical understanding of the context for action on climate change. The programme is designed for students with a background in science (through their undergraduate or work experience) and includes hands-on quantitative training with climate models and climate data. Graduates of the programme have experience in the tools and methods of climate science, and an understanding of the role of scientific evidence in policy, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to governing the environment.

This course combination offers an enriching experience, with exciting intellectual challenges, in two schools with strong reputations for teaching and research. By studying these two social sciences you will develop a deep understanding of global markets and political systems.

Economics study is based on a series of core units in the first and second years covering micro- and macro-economics, mathematics, statistics and econometrics. This lays the foundation for you to specialise in your third year in the areas of economics that most interest you. Popular unit topics include Development Economics, Behavioural Economics, History of Economic Thought and International Economics.

You will also study the politics of individual countries and governments and the relationships between countries, communities and individuals. Politics is organised around three themes: political theory, comparative and national politics, and international relations. In addition to compulsory units, which will give you a solid grounding in politics, you will have access to a range of units that are closely linked to staff research interests and thus unique to Bristol.

Politics units may include subjects such as, international relations, political economy, UK politics, US politics, gender, security and conflict. There is a strong emphasis on research skills, with the possibility to complete a dissertation in the final year.

We offer you the opportunity to extend your degree to four years, spending your third year studying economics in English at a university in Europe or farther afield before returning to Bristol for your final year. This course allows you to combine the challenging, broad academic content of our economics degree with an overseas dimension that reflects the international nature of the economy.

This programme is designed for anyone involved in conceptualising or administering policies related to the Global Development Challenges. It is especially suitable if you are already involved in planning development strategies, currently working for non-governmental or governmental organisations in the development field or planning for a career in development.

The programme combines an intellectual and academic approach with policy-oriented and empirical studies of development. It addresses three separate, but related, facets of the development process:

• Analysing what development means;
• Studying the processes of planning (external aid, regional disparities, environmental factors, poverty and industrialisation);
• Examining how development policies may be delivered and administered, analysing the importance of effective political and bureaucratic structures, and evaluating the contributions of NGOs and other external bodies.