Master of Arts in Fine Art

at University of Hertfordshire - De Havilland Campus United Kingdom

Study English Literature with us and we’ll help you grow from passionate reader into critical thinker and literary scholar.

You’ll be taught by research-active academics who bring fresh thinking to our accessible, engaging courses. This means you’ll study literature written in English by writers from all parts of the globe, whose voices are relevant and important in our modern world.

We’ll introduce you to writers who will open doors to contemporary worlds and cultures remote from your own, and also help you explore more familiar literature in ways that challenge your preconceptions.

Whatever your taste in literature, our courses will 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 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 study international and American literature or revisit Shakespeare and consider his cultural relevance today through fictional, cinematic and TV adaptations.

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 18th century, to the radical transformations of the Victorian age, and the emergence of modernity in the 20th 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 degree to reflect your own interests. Themed options include children’s literature, young adult fiction, Renaissance tragedy, 21st century American literature, European crime fiction, literary adaptations and the culture of print in the 18th century.

If you have a particular interest or independent research idea you can choose to work with a supervisor to write an extended dissertation. Previous dissertations have focused on subjects as diverse as anthropomorphism in Beatrix Potter’s animal tales; Black British identity in young adult fiction and grime music; women in Shakespearean tragedy; and slavery and the frontier in early American gothic short stories.

This is a fascinating time to be a journalist, with traditional media like newspapers, magazines, television and radio, jostling for attention alongside online news, blogs, podcasts and social media. This exciting course will develop your practical, professional writing skills, shed new light on how the media works and get you some hands-on experience that employers are really looking for.

Our inspiring, industry-experienced academic team will develop your journalistic skills, introducing you to the concepts of ‘news’ and ‘features’, and teaching you how to carry out research, conduct interviews, structure your writing and get published. As the course progresses, you’ll discover how journalism varies across video, radio and the internet, hear from inspiring industry guest speakers and take placements in real newsrooms.

You’ll also delve into the history of media, its role in society, how it shapes our views and how new technologies are disrupting traditional communication channels. It’s this combination of the theoretical with the highly practical that will turn you into a skilled, well- rounded media practitioner ready to launch an exciting, rewarding career.

Bridging theory and practice — Students studying this course will gain a theoretical and critically reflective understanding of media whilst gaining practical skills as an author and designer of published material in variety of formats including print based publications to broadcast and advertising campaigns to web based publications. This means that The majority Almost all of our courses taught are assessed by 100% coursework.

Value added — Every student is allocated a personal tutor to monitor and advise on their overall academic and personal development supplemented with drop-in skills sessions and specialist tutors to refine and polish your writing. Our Media Matters series of Media Industry talks and Creative Writing talks are career-focused, delivered by industry specialist professionals.

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 covers the three main disciplines of sport science: physiology (including nutrition), biomechanics and psychology. You’ll gain a fundamental understanding of physiology, anatomy, psychology, biomechanics, sports performance, biochemistry, nutrition, and strength and conditioning – and then apply your knowledge through practical classes and research. During your studies you’ll have many opportunities to use our state of-the art human performance labs, where you’ll learn to assess and improve sporting performance, as well as gain invaluable knowledge on the role exercise plays in improving health and wellbeing.

You’ll also develop the analytical, written and verbal skills expected by employers. The course is also aligned to  a vocational qualification accredited through the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) with the option after year one of becoming a qualified fitness instructor. Furthermore, this course is a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recognised undergraduate programme, allowing students to complete the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist qualification near graduation.

Our excellent facilities ensure we can deliver a comprehensive programme of practical work to support lecture material. A focus on Personal Transferable Skills throughout the first and second year enables you to develop competence in a range of skill areas which will be of benefit professionally and personally and which are essential to success in a competitive employment market.

Other additional opportunities include

• Guest lecturers: e.g. GSK, HSV, Felicity Aston (first woman to walk the Antarctic solo)
• Work Experience: including local, national and international employers taking students for their work experience module in final year (e.g. football, rugby clubs, hospitals, other universities)
• Opportunities for students to support applied testing and research in the labs
• Opportunities to gain internationally recognised qualifications:
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA)
• ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist

This degree involves a practical workshop programme, establishing and refining your understanding of the tactile qualities and properties of materials and how they can be manipulated to express your ideas. In the First Year you’ll learn contemporary approaches to designing and making across a range of 2D and 3D media. Then, in the Second Year, you’ll focus your interests in order to reach the high level of refinement necessary for the professional marketplace.

The final year results in a production of richly diverse range of artifacts - such as experimental clothing and accessories, objects and surfaces for interiors, site-specific pieces and conceptual works for exhibition or commission. Our students produce a richly diverse range of artefacts, such as experimental clothing and accessories, objects and surfaces for interiors, site-specific pieces and conceptual works for exhibition or commission.

• The Contemporary Design Crafts Textiles degree encourages fresh ideas, inventive use of materials and techniques, and awareness of contemporary markets.
• You establish and refine your interests in the field of textiles to reach the high level of skills demanded by the professional marketplace.
• Placements develop a versatile understanding of the workplace, establishing our graduates as contemporaries in a competitive professional market.

Studying Philosophy, Religion and Ethics at Hertfordshire will enable you to explore the connections and contradictions between thought and faith in the world today.

You may have taken Religious Studies at A-level or be fascinated by how religious belief is a driving force behind social and political events in today’s globalised world.

This degree course offers you the opportunity to explore the beliefs that guide people’s lives using the logical and critical skills gained through philosophical inquiry.

You’ll be taught by internationally regarded academics, who will help you understand how the practices of religion and philosophy have influenced – and been influenced by – the modern world. You’ll learn to address the arguments and beliefs of others and to 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.

In your first year you’ll take philosophy modules exploring ethics, mind, knowledge and reality alongside an introduction to four of the major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. This will be given a modern context through a module on religion and the contemporary world.

Seminars in your first year will explore how to investigate and discuss different beliefs and ideas and to develop your critical thinking, all within a respectful and empathetic environment.

In your second year you’ll study the philosophies of religion, and explore virtues, vices and ethics. Focusing on specific virtues such as forgiveness, hope or love from both a secular and religious point of view, you’ll examine what it means to live a good life.

Alongside options in your final year to explore religion and popular culture, as well as feminist and political philosophy, your dissertation will allow you to develop your particular interests, perhaps encompassing an exploration of some aspect of your own religious belief system.

• 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

This course specialises in aircraft design, especially aircraft structures, materials and aerodynamics. You’ll learn CATIA, a computer-aided design package, as well as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics. Once you have developed key skills, you’ll work with other students to design a complete aircraft. Modules along the way include aerospace technology and industry, engineering mathematics, materials and electrical science, mechanical science, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, computer-aided engineering, structural mechanics, control systems, project management and product development. You’ll also have the exciting opportunity to study abroad or spend a year in industry, either of which will enhance your career prospects.

• This BEng Honours degree in Aerospace Engineering has an excellent, long-established reputation with the aerospace industry
• Experienced aerospace staff with a wealth of industrial know-how will teach you. We have an applied approach to teaching and our contacts prove invaluable to graduates seeking employment
• Our BEng Aerospace Engineering students have previously completed work placement years at companies including Airbus, Virgin Atlantic Engineering, and BAE Systems
• Excellent facilities at the School of Engineering include the best equipment: flight simulator, wind tunnels, specialist laboratories and CAE software
• Recent Aerospace Engineering graduates have gone on to work at organisations including The Royal Air Force, Jaguar Land Rover, and BAE Systems

If you aspire to pursue your legal career internationally, this course is the one for you! The combination of compulsory and optional modules will ensure that you have the grounding you need, while providing you with the tools and knowledge to build upon it according to your own particular dreams and ambitions.

The Public International Law module gives you a solid understanding of public international law within its political context. The module begins by exploring the sources of international law and its key actors. You will also study areas such as dispute settlement techniques, the use of force or international criminal law, and the critical interplay between law and politics.

The Private International Law module focuses on the rules of private international law as they operate in England and Wales. You will receive a thorough grounding in the basic concepts, and then move on to consider the law on connecting factors and the rules on jurisdiction within common law and as they operate under European legislation. In addition, the module includes study of the relevant choice of law rules in contract and tort, and examination of the various legal regimes that provide for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements.

Both modules are assessed by written coursework. In addition, you will study two modules of your choice from the wide range that is available.
We also offer a range of other Master of Law pathways.

Why choose this course?
In the twenty-first century, global travel, instant communication and cutting-edge technology have made the world a much smaller place than it ever has been. In this context, a comprehensive understanding of international law is vitally important for anyone wishing to pursue a legal career.

Taught by specialists in their field, and continually reviewed to ensure it is up to date and relevant, the LLM International Law will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need for your career, whether you choose to follow a professional, commercial, business or an academic route. Successful completion will ensure you have a well-rounded knowledge of international law, whether from a state, public perspective (often political and controversial), or with an individual, private focus.

If you wish, you can combine a similar pathway, and graduate with a named joint pathway. In addition, you may wish to complement the subject areas on this course with our co-curricular programme, which will further enhance your skills.

You’ll be introduced to Linguistics, the scientific study of everything to do with language, from its structure and how it develops in children, to the ways it reflects society, how it’s used, and how it changes over time. You’ll be taught by research-active academics working in cutting-edge areas such as language and gender, formulaic language, corpus studies, bilingualism, bilingual processing and codeswitching.

What links our work is our focus on the applied use of English language, from English Language teaching to the use of forensic linguistics in solving language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation, to speech and language therapy and the study of language disorders.

In your first year, alongside core linguistics modules, you’ll study language and mind, where you’ll analyse child speech transcripts and consider language acquisition. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English.

Core modules in your second year focus on English grammar and the sounds of English. You can explore theories of how and why language developed and take a language competencies module leading to a work placement.

In your final year you can develop your own interests in short projects, or follow modules in different topics, including child language and communication, clinical linguistics, gender and language, and formulaic language, informed by our academics’ own research specialisms.

One final year option is corpus studies in English language, which will develop your research skills through your use of Sketch Engine, a text analysis tool that allows you to search vast samples of language, or corpora. Want to know when the word ‘Brexit’ first appeared in print or when ‘backstop’ acquired a new meaning? Find out by delving into databases of billions of words, to pursue your own original research projects.

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.