Bachelor of Science in Economics (Single) (Accelerated)

at University of Buckingham United Kingdom

This postgraduate research degree is offered by the Cyber and Interpersonal Behaviour Research (CIBR) hub at the University of Buckingham. The main focus of this research hub is the exploration of human behaviour, emotions and experiences in relation to technology and the impact of technology on individuals both online and offline. We are engaged in a number of external collaborative projects with colleagues at other universities, organisations and schools. Key topic areas we explore include:

• Cyberbullying, cyberaggression and other online risks
• Parental and school mediation strategies in relation to online safety
• Motivations and social effects of gaming
• Media consumption and influence on attitudes and beliefs
• Individual differences in online expression and self-presentation
• Bystander behaviour, prosocial behaviour and social identities

This programme leads to the award of an MSc (Research) in the area of Cyberpsychology. In addition to completing a 25,000 word thesis within a topic area relevant to Cyberpsychology, you will gain wide knowledge of the broader field through guided self-study topic areas and research skills workshops. This will mean that you develop an in-depth knowledge of the area, which is informed by current issues and advanced research.

As a result of your studies, you will develop a strong knowledge base and core transferable skills which will enable you to become an independent researcher in your field, and will provide you with a solid foundation for further study and/or employment.

You will complete your MSc studies in 12 months (full-time; 24 months part-time), and we will support you to achieve timely completion by setting out key progression milestones such as submission of the research proposal, comprehensive literature search, completion of self-study topics, ethics application etc. Full milestone details will be sent to you when we invite you for interview.

The unique structure of Buckingham’s Law and Criminology degree (LLB), with four full teaching terms per calendar year, enables you to graduate after just two years of study (eight, or nine terms with September start).

In addition to your legal studies, you will complete 120 units of criminology, allowing you to develop a deep and wide-ranging understanding of the origins, causes and consequences of crime and criminality. This includes knowledge and understanding of legal and criminological research methods, referencing protocols and the different primary and secondary sources of law. Criminology itself is an interdisciplinary subject comprised of the legal, social, psychological, and cultural aspects of crime.

The Law and Criminology degree also satisfies the necessary first step for qualifying as a lawyer in various common law jurisdictions, including Canada, Nigeria, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

For those interested in qualifying as a solicitor in the UK, the Law and Criminology degree provides you with thorough preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam 1 (SQE1), enabling you to choose the accelerated SQE1 preparation courses after graduation. Our innovative and diverse curriculum also contributes to preparation for the practice-orientated SQE2, both SQE1 and SQE2 being necessary for qualification as a solicitor.

For those UK and international students wishing to qualify as an English barrister, the Law and Criminology degree satisfies the academic component of Bar training, the necessary first step to qualifying as an English barrister.

Buckingham Law School also offers a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities to develop your professional skills and experience of legal practice. These opportunities include the possibility, between the first and second year of your LLB, of a sandwich year placement with a professional organisation.

We often accommodate the particular requirements needed to practise in various common law jurisdictions other than the UK. If you are an international student from one of these jurisdictions, we are happy to discuss what subjects you must take to qualify.

Our Law and Criminology graduates who gain a second-class honours degree, or higher, are guaranteed a place on our LLM programme in International and Commercial Law. This opportunity greatly enhances specialist knowledge and enables our students to acquire two degrees in only three years.

BA History and Heritage Management is one of the five most popular subjects among UK university students, and with good reason. Having a historical perspective enables people to make sense of today’s rapidly changing world. Employers like it because history teaches you to think for yourself, to work under pressure, and to construct a coherent argument from the evidence. Historical research has never been more exciting than it is today, with the internet making available so many treasures from the archives.

This BA in History and Heritage Management has been carefully designed and fine-tuned by Buckingham’s team of experienced and high-calibre historians. It offers an outline and conceptual modules which concentrate on the period from 1800 to the present day – though we do study some earlier periods too from the 1500s onwards too.  It covers, in particular, empires, the rise in political polarisation, World Wars and the shaping of our modern political systems, whilst considering the relationship between ideology and the historical process.

Students progress to study the history of history and to reflect on historical method. In the last part of the course, we study historical documents and texts and develop research and writing skills through a long essay and a dissertation. So the programme not only teaches history; it also teaches you to think historically and to research and write history.

Heritage Management

This distinctive combination of theoretical and vocational study of the BA History and Heritage Management provides students with a pathway to careers in the heritage sector; our students find employment in museums, galleries, the art market and with prestigious organisations like the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Royal Palaces. Of course, our students also acquire transferable skills applicable in other fields, such as journalism, law and business.

This MA programme is a continuation of the project established by the late Sir Roger Scruton at the University of Buckingham. It is a one-year, London-based programme of ten evening seminars and individual research.

Sir Roger Scruton was very critical of the current academic approach to philosophy, where direct engagement with fundamental philosophical questions and the training of the philosophical mind have been displaced by a focus on engaging with the  thoughts of philosophers through the lens of linguistic analysis and examination of minutiae. Central to Scruton’s vision in designing the programme was his conviction that the best way to learn philosophy is by doing philosophy, i.e.: engaging in philosophical dialogue. This lies at the heart of the seminars.

Dr. Alicja Gescinska, was chosen by Sir Roger to assist him in this task, and continues the programme in the same spirit, where the exchange of ideas and a vivid dialogue are central to the course. She does this, together with Professor Raymond Tallis.

Together they have crafted a programme of ten guest lectures which will not only introduce the students to key topics of philosophy, but which will also allow them to take part in real philosophical discussions. The guest lectures will be provided by internationally renowned philosophers. The students will thus have  the chance to exchange ideas,  and enter into dialogue, with leading figures in the field. During the course of the year these seminars are supplemented by additional online lectures by the course organisers.

The range of topics covered in the programme reflect the wide range of research areas that were central to the work of Sir Roger Scruton.

Each seminar takes place at the Reform Club, Pall Mall, central London and is followed by a dinner during which participants can engage in discussion with the course directors and guest lecturer.

Examination will be by a research dissertation on an approved philosophical topic chosen by the student, of around 25,000 words. Guidance and personal supervision will be provided.

With military history one of the fastest-growing areas of academic study, the University of Buckingham introduced a one-year MA in Military History, by research, in 2009. This is a groundbreaking programme: the first one-year Research MA in Military History, and the first with an integral course of seminars by visiting lecturers of international repute. The programme was enthusiastically reviewed by The Financial Times, which noted that “Intellectually curious professionals are signing up for a new course that gives them the opportunity to exchange thoughts on security, diplomacy and the armed forces over dinner with stellar historians and military top brass.”

The programme is London-based and directed by one of the country’s finest military historians, Professor Gary Sheffield. The lectures offered by the Course Director will be supplemented by a series of ten guest seminars by some of the most eminent scholars and authors in the field, including Professors N.A.M. Rodger, Sir Hew Strachan, Richard Overy, Sir Richard J. Evans, David Reynolds, Saul David, and Sir Antony Beevor.

You will encounter the canon of great authors, from Shakespeare onwards, but you also study themes like Film, Gender, and Empire. In other words, the degree combines traditional and contemporary aspects of the subject. Buckingham’s unique tutorial system makes for highly personalized teaching. If you’d like to try out a tutorial, come along to one of our free taster sessions.

What is Buckingham English?

• It is an encounter with the complexity and beauty of great literature
• It aids you on your journey to becoming a professional-level writer, able to write fluently and well in any context
• Like philosophy, it teaches you to argue and debate your ideas
• As a central liberal arts subject, it is a clear space to address the big questions of meaning and existence

We don’t think that formal essays are always the best way of assessing how students understand a subject, so you will find that you have opportunities to write a book review, reportage, poems and short stories, even part of a screenplay. You will learn a number of skills, not least how to write fluently and persuasively. As a result, our graduates go on into a range of careers in media, teaching, publishing, academia, business, and marketing.

BA English Literature Single or Flexible Honours options
Make your degree as unique as you! If you choose BA English Literature (Single or Flexible Honours) you’ll have the freedom to tailor your English Literature degree to reflect your interests and passions by combining it with a wide range of other subjects taught here at the University. This means that when you graduate you will have a highly personalised degree that will suit you and your aspirations perfectly.

If you choose Flexible Honours you have the freedom to select up to a third of your modules from the whole range of what is taught at the University. This means you can mix and match lots of different subjects ?with English Literature or focus solely on English Literature. At every stage, your Personal Tutor will be on hand to advise and guide your choices.

BA History of Art and Heritage Management provides a first-class rounded education and excellent intellectual training.

While the primary focus is on the visual arts, the subject also touches on many other traditional humanities disciplines such as literature, history, religion, languages, classics, psychology and philosophy, with which it provides natural subject combinations.

Students acquire skills of critical and historical analysis and the ability to evaluate evidence and present arguments fluently, both orally and in writing.

A BSc in Computing looks at the computing and communications technologies lie at the heart of modern society. They include hardware, software, networks, tools, telecommunications equipment and required standards that provide the technological framework on which the delivery of information services is based. The IT industry is reporting a widening gap in software skills while hard technology is developing and diversifying fast.

The overall aim of this intensive programme is to enable all students to develop their potential so that they can apply what they have learnt to deal with computational problems and develop solutions in a real-world environment. Through studying this programme, students learn how to specify, design, develop and operate efficient and innovative computer-based systems and gain up-to-date knowledge of the relevant computing technologies at an advanced level within a shorter space of time. Graduates of the degree programme will be able to undertake a variety of careers in the IT industry, including programming, systems analysis and design, network and systems management, and technical support. Alternatively, they can advance their careers in research in computing/computer science in academic institutions at Buckingham, other UK universities or universities abroad.

BA Modern Languages  will develop your linguistic competence in both French and Spanish and gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of their cultures, communities and societies.

Languages are taught at Intermediate Level (stages 3-6) and Advanced Level (stages 5–8). Students will also have the opportunity to undertake a dissertation project and/or, subject to availability, an external work placement in France and/or Spain.

Upon completion students will have a range of transferable skills directly relating to employability, as well as developing their communication, critical and analytical skills. It is designed for students who wish to work in a range of careers or pursue further studies within an international context or related to international institutions.

 Modern Languages ( BA) Flexible Honours
Make your degree as unique as you! If you choose BA Modern Languages (Flexible Honours) you’ll have the freedom to tailor your Modern Languages degree to reflect your interests and passions by combining it with a wide range of other subjects taught here at the University. This means that when you graduate you will have a highly personalised degree that will suit you and your aspirations perfectly.

If you choose Flexible Honours you have the freedom to select up to a third of your modules from the whole range of what is taught at the University. This means you can mix and match lots of different subjects ?with Modern Languages. At every stage, your Personal Tutor will be on hand to advise and guide your choices.

BSc Psychology with English Literature looks at the discoveries and hypotheses of psychologists who over the last 100 years have been enriching the study of English literature, either as a way of understanding the mind of the artist or of the characters they create. Studying BSc Psychology with English Literature at Buckingham as with English Literature as your minor subject, gives you the chance to ‘apply’ the insights which the scientific study of individual and group psychology provides to a range of powerful and enigmatic works of literature, from the plays of Shakespeare, through the Gothic and Romantic projections of the late 18th-century, to the short stories and novels of British and American women writers writing in a post-Freudian universe.

Both subjects require the close analysis of texts (spoken, written, uttered) and the discipline of clear report and essay-writing. Their combination in this programme gives you the imaginative scope of an arts programme with the vocation and professionalism of a Bachelor of Science degree.