Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Politics, International Relations and History (with Sandwich Year)

at University of Hertfordshire - De Havilland Campus United Kingdom

Environmental water management is of increasing importance to all types of organisations in the UK and throughout the world. There is a growing need for qualified and trained environmental water managers.

The MSc Water and Environmental Management course focuses on sound water management and the requirements of sustainable development. You acquire expertise in the choice, design and implementation of a range of environmental management tools and methods including environmental impact assessment, integrated catchment management and environmentally sensitive river management.

Whether you are a graduate looking for a career in environmental water management or a professional who already has experience in this area the course advances your knowledge and skills so that you can develop your career in implementing environmentally sustainable solutions in business and organisations around the world. Studying on the MSc Water and Environmental Management course is the first step to becoming a Chartered Environmentalist.

Five core taught modules are taken and students then choose three optional modules. Students also complete two modules (Research Methods and Research Project) which specifically support them through their independent research project. The project can be based on an environmental management issue that interests you or is relevant to your organisation, and you will be assigned a member of academic staff who will guide you through the research process.

Students will begin their studies, both full-time and part time, with a core module in Sustainability and Environmental Systems.

The structure of the MSc Environmental Management degrees is based on six core modules and a choice of three taught modules from specialists ones. Students will begin their studies, for both full-time and part time students, with a core module in Sustainability and Environmental Systems. To obtain a Masters degree you need to carry out a supervised research project comprising of another taught module, research methods and a 10,000-15,000 word research project. The project can be based on an environmental management issue that interests you or is relevant to your organisation. If you do not want to carry out a research project you may graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma.

This course is accredited by IEMA, a professional body for people working in environment and sustainability. This course entitles students to FREE student membership for the duration of the course and on successful completion you qualify for GradIEMA. Graduate membership is a launch-pad for future leaders within environment and sustainability and offers a range of benefits to support you throughout your career. You can then ‘fast track’ to Practitioner Membership (PIEMA) following successful completion of the work-based assessment of competence.

The course has also been accredited by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) which means that whilst students are enrolled on the programme they are eligible for complementary student membership with that institution. Upon graduation, students will be eligible to apply for graduate membership.

This course is available both full and part-time with intakes in September (Semester A) and January (Semester B). Full time study in Semester A takes 1 year. Full time study beginning in Semester B will take 15 months. Part time study options typically take two years but students are given a maximum of five years to complete.

The course is Suitable for

• This route prepares you for all aspects of environmental management in the water industry world wide
• Accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)
• It is structured around a modular short course structure to enable flexibility whilst working. This allows part-time student to not have to take more than 12 days off a year (if studying over 2/3 years)
• Networking opportunities per module with lunch and refreshments provided within your fees

One of a range of degrees from the taught Master's Programme at the Department of Computer Science

This course examines current research and practice in software engineering. You will develop knowledge and skills in the models, methodologies, measures and tools that can be employed in software development considered as an engineering discipline.

Why choose this course?

• This MSc is available with an optional one-year industry placement. The 'with placement' programmes give you additional industrial experience by applying the skills you have learned throughout your studies.
• One of a range of advanced courses within our postgraduate Master's programme in Computer Science, this particular course provides you with a specialism combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills in advanced computer science.
• This MSc develops graduates’ practical skills of producing models of software engineering processes and artefacts using appropriate modelling techniques, and applying measures to software engineering processes and artefacts and use the data produced to evaluate software engineering activities.
• Taught by a highly-regarded and long-established computer science department with strong links to business.

This course gives you a firm foundation for a career in finance. A degree in finance will give you the skills for a career in financial services such as banking, investment management, pension fund management and insurance. During the course you’ll develop the sharp evaluation and analytical skills needed to move into more functional and management roles.

The First Year introduces general business and finance agendas, including economics, quantitative methods and ethics. The Second Year explores employability and the business life cycle. The Final Year focuses on areas such as banking, current issues, and global finance and markets. You can also choose from several specialist options.

This course offers potential exemptions from the professional qualifications of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).

You can also study a language with this course. You can be awarded the degree ‘with language’ in the title if you choose to study a foreign language in all years of study.

• Study for your degree at one of the UK’s leading business-facing university.
• Develop the skills and knowledge to work in the dynamic, high-reward finance industry.
• Learn from inspiring, supportive teaching staff with innovative research records and extensive professional experience.
• Benefit from Hertfordshire’s unique collaboration with the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT), earning exemptions from professional exams.
• Gain incredible experience by going on a year-long, paid work placement or studying abroad

A degree in English Literature with Film will help you grow from passionate reader and film-fan into a critical thinker able to understand literary and cinematic works by applying a wide range of critical, theoretical, political and historical perspectives. The disciplines of Literature and Film Studies are highly complementary, and as you progress through your degree you will find many fruitful connections between them.

This fascinating degree is both geographically and historically wide-ranging. This means you’ll study literature written in English from the Renaissance to the present day, by writers from all parts of the globe; and alongside this, you’ll explore film and television from America, Asia, Britain and the rest of Europe, from the earliest days of moving images to some of the most exciting contemporary work being produced today.

In both disciplines, you’ll be taught by research-active academics who bring fresh thinking to our accessible, engaging courses. We’ll introduce you to writers and film-makers who will open doors to contemporary worlds and cultures remote from your own, and also help you explore more familiar works – both textual and visual – in ways that challenge your preconceptions.

Whatever your taste in literature, there will be something to interest and provoke you. From The Tiger Who Came to Tea to Jane Eyre, from Paradise Lost to Zadie Smith’s Swing Time, we’ll broaden your literary horizons and hone your critical thinking.

A core Literature module in your first year will equip you to read and interpret both traditional and contemporary literary texts critically as a scholar of English literature. Alongside this you can choose to revisit Shakespeare and consider his cultural relevance today through fictional, cinematic and TV adaptations; or to deepen your understanding of Gothic writing by tracing its origins back to the Romantic era.

In your second year you’ll focus on period-based literature from the Renaissance onwards and gain an understanding of literary history, from Elizabethan verse and drama, via Augustan poetry and the emergence of the novel in the 18 th century, to the radical transformations of the Victorian age, and the emergence of modernity in the twentieth century.

You’ll also have the opportunity to consider ways of reading that go beyond textual analysis or historical context, such as understanding literature through the political or ideological lens of Marxism, feminism and post-colonial theory. You’ll have the chance to specialise in your final year, tailoring your literary study to reflect your own interests. Themed options include children’s literature, young adult fiction, Renaissance tragedy, European crime fiction, literary adaptations and the culture of print in the 18th century.

At the same time, your minor in Film will further hone your analytical skills, and give you a sophisticated appreciation of the craft of filmmaking. You’ll look at how the film and television industry has evolved and adapted to new technologies, how novels are recreated in film and how film gives us fresh perspectives on the world. You’ll also have opportunities to design and run film programmes, write and produce your own short films and hear guest lectures by film, television and media professionals. Topics covered range from silent movies to the Golden Age of Hollywood, the birth of the blockbuster, the influence of European style on American film, the way digital technology has transformed the industry, and why franchises have proved so successful, from James Bond and Star Wars to the Marvel cinematic universe.

The School has a strong international reputation for research in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and this expertise influences this course which explores current research and practice in artificial intelligence and robotics. This MSc can lead to a career such as a designer of intelligent systems or in research.

This course is part of our Master's programme in Computer Science. 

• One of a range of advanced courses within our postgraduate Master's programme in Computer Science, this particular course provides you with a specialism in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
• Advanced topics studied include artificial life with robotics, neural computation and machine learning, theory and practice of artificial intelligence.
• Taught by a highly-regarded and long-established computer science department.
• Sixty percent of our research impact in Computer Science and Informatics at the University of Hertfordshire has been rated at world-leading or internationally excellent in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.

Biochemistry is the study of the fundamental processes of life. Biochemists seek to answer questions about life, health, disease, the natural environment, and materials and compounds, using scientific techniques developed in chemistry and biology. After an initial grounding in chemistry, genetics, cell biology, microbiology and human physiology, you’ll learn the complex biochemical processes that underpin the very latest discoveries. Explore how biochemistry affects the quality of people’s lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of medical treatments to the industrialisation of laboratory processes. Our strong links with industry offer you fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience during your placement year. This degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

• Biochemistry is the scientific study of the chemistry of living cells, tissues, organs and organisms.
• On this degree programme you will study how biochemistry affects our lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of new medical treatments , to the industrialisation of laboratory processes.
• Our links with industry provide you with fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience in the biosciences industry during the placement year.

The BA (Hons) Education Degree provides important multidisciplinary tools for studying education. It selectively draws from fields such as history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, linguistics, and economics aiming to promote critical understandings of such things as teaching, learning, curriculum and assessment. Importantly, it considers the moral, social and political issues which intertwine with these, such as inclusion, access and equity.

Education is important to the world. Studying it to the best of your ability is to exercise an equally important responsibility.

Joining a university is joining a culture. We co-create this culture through the way we behave:

• As open-minded scholars
• As caring individuals respectful of each other’s stories and ideas, and by
• Making the best use of the rich resources the University has to offer such as studying the core texts and beyond. 

In this spirit, and throughout the program, you will:

• Routinely be encouraged to share your works-in-progress in both face-to-face and online environments
• Be given tools with the expectation that you’ll use to think reflexively about education and your own learning journey; and
• Be given many opportunities to experience and explore real work environments inside and outside the University that will help to prepare you for the next phase in your journey.

Our BA Politics & International Relations and Philosophy degree allows you to explore the ethical and philosophical questions that help to shape and challenge national and international politics and political agendas.

Here at Hertfordshire, as well as learning about philosophical and political theory, you’ll be doing rigorous and creative thinking of your own. Our internationally regarded academics will help you learn to address the arguments of others, to understand and engage with them so that you can arrive at your own conclusions and create your own original work.

You will also explore topical practical questions. Issues that arise as a result of increasing political focus on different dimensions of security, for example, are raised in the modules ‘Terrorism and Security’ and ‘The State in the 21st Century’. Philosophy will help you to understand the ethical implications and social situatedness of security politics through modules such as ‘Social and Political Philosophy’, ‘Contemporary Moral Philosophy” and ‘Nietzsche, Genealogy and Morality’.

Key social issues, such as, gender equality will be addressed from the perspective of both disciplines in ‘The Politics of Gender’ and in ‘Feminist Philosophy’. Modules will also debate the ways in which religious belief is a driving force behind social and political events in today’s globalised world.

You will be taught by experts who work at the cutting edge of their research disciplines and will share the excitement of doing original work in a supportive and highly-rated academic community. Our Philosophy team is in the top 15 in the Guardian League Table 2019 and rates as one of the 100 best Philosophy departments worldwide in the 2017 QS rankings.

You will be able to undertake a placement or study abroad year to gain professional experience or increase global awareness to build skills relevant to your studies in Politics and International Relations and Philosophy.

This course follows a similar path to our geography degree, but after the First Year focuses more on the processes and landforms of the natural environment whilst also looking at human impacts on these. Fieldwork learning, and practical application are at the heart of this course, and you'll develop skills using our own field station, specialist laboratories and geographical information analysis facilities. You will go on two fully-funded field trips in the UK and Switzerland to learn more about the challenges of living in mountainous environments and climate change. Specialist modules include earth surface processes and landforms, quaternary environmental change, glaciology, and natural hazards and disaster reduction. Areas of optional study include conservation and food supplies, environmental problem solving, leisure and tourism, and digital information and location intelligence. Depending on how your interests evolve, you'll have a chance to switch between the different geography courses.

• No additional charges for compulsory UK and overseas residential field courses in Year 1 and Year 2
• Outstanding employability levels after graduation
• High student satisfaction, a vibrant student society and a strong staff-student community
• Regular opportunities for students to assist staff with field research and to undertake fieldwork in pursuit of final year dissertations in locations that have included Iceland, Switzerland and the High Arctic
• Excellent work placement and study abroad opportunities and strong links with local and national employers

Here at Hertfordshire, you won’t just be learning about philosophers and understanding their theories, you’ll be doing rigorous and creative thinking of your own. Our internationally regarded academics will help you learn to address the arguments of others, to understand and engage with them so that you can arrive at your own conclusions and create your own original work.

All our lecturers are active researchers, so you’ll share the excitement of doing original work in a supportive and highly-rated academic community. Our Philosophy team is in the top 15 in the Guardian League Table 2019 and rates as one of the 100 best Philosophy departments worldwide in the 2017 QS rankings.

On this course no prior knowledge of philosophy is assumed, although students with Religious Studies A-level may be familiar with topics such as ethics, mind, knowledge and reality. In your first year you’ll explore new dimensions to these topics and consider questions about the meaning of life. You’ll also study social and political philosophy, the central concern of which is the best way of organising society. A first-year module on the philosophy of film and literature takes you beyond the mainstream. Studying fiction and films such as Back to the Future allows you to address the assumption that anything is possible in fiction and consider to what extent that is true.

In your second year you’ll be able to delve deeper into areas such as philosophy of art and philosophy of mind. A module on virtues, vices and ethics focuses on specific virtues, such as forgiveness, hope or love, from both a secular and religious point of view and examines what it means to live a good life. 

In your final year you can pursue your own research interests through a dissertation. Recent topics have included the ethical issues of playing video games, the nature of the imagination, environmental philosophy and the obligations of the state, and a proposed solution to the paradox of the liar. You’ll also build on previous specialisms to explore in more depth philosophers such as Nietzsche or Wittgenstein, feminist or political philosophy, contemporary moral philosophy, or the philosophy of psychology.

• An exceptional academic team, conducting internationally renowned research
• A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
• The opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic about which you are passionate
• CV-building potential through extra-curricular activities